In my last game, the ships I got for anomalies were 0 engine 1 life support 4 weapon 3 shield. With credits now being important, I was unwilling to upgrade most of them to a design I liked. This design works great on pirates, but I suffered 50% casualties when I attacked a pirate base with a fleet of 6.
I would like the ability to specify a build order for the most basic craft in the designer. For example:
Small combat ships: Weapon (any); Shield; Life Support; Engine; Defense 2; Defense 3; Life Support; Weapon 2; Life Support; Weapon 3
With one of each defense they can be used to attack pirate shipyards
Tiny Scout: Sensor, Life Support, Engine, Life Support, Life Support, Engine
Small Scout: Sensor, Life Support, Engine, Life Support, Sensor, Life Support, Engine, Life Support
Constructor / Colony ship: Module, Engine, Life Support, Life Support, Life Support, Module, Engine, Life Support, Life Support, Life Support
Medium Survey Ship: Survey, Life Support, Engine, Life Support, Shield, Weapon (not beam), Life Support, Engine, Life Support, Defense 2, Defense 3, Weapon 2, Weapon 3
Shield + 1 non beam weapon will let them kill anomaly pirates
Freighter: Module, Life Support, Engine, Life Support, Life Support, Engine, Life Support, Life Support, Engine, Life Support
Just allow us to line up the modules in a row and have the game fill up the design to max capacity, then generate bonus ships based on the latest design. If we want a custom ship, we will make one - like a cut rate colony ship with just an engine and colony module for early rush builds, or the Thulium / Promethion build I like to use for scouting and collecting anomolies.
I like playing on larger maps, so my designs usually have a lot of engines and range, unless they are designed for planetary defense.