I have always loved this game for the ability to customize ship load-outs, but it always struck me as odd, that other than guns, the ships were exactly the same component-wise. I would like to propose a method to address this. In ship customization, we add 4 more slots. A slot for turning engines, main engine, balloon, and hull armour.
For turning engines a customizable option may be allowing a +/- 25% change in angular acceleration, at the expense/benefit of a +/-25% change maximum angular velocity.
For main engines a customizable option may be allowing a +/- 25% change in linear acceleration, at the expense/benefit of a +/-25% change maximum linear velocity.
For balloons a customizable option may be allowing a +/- 25% change in vertical acceleration, at the expense/benefit of a +/-25% change maximum vertical velocity.
For hulls a customizable option may be allowing a +/- 25% change in hull armour, at the expense/benefit of a +/-25% change maximum hull health.
The current values would be considered the default values for each component. Therefore, each component would have 3 settings.
I think this would allow captains to fly more towards their own tuning of their ships. After all, this is post apocalypse, gone are the ways of standardization, and in are the days of innovation. Just my thoughts at least, i would love to hear feedback!