Am I the only one who like the RND factor with the Engineers and how it fits into the BGS?
Look at what happens: You decide to upgrade some component or weapon on your ship. You first have to do some task to get noticed by the Engineer then provide some service to gain admittance to him/her. Then you have to go out and find certain material to provide to the Engineer so they can do the modification. Remember, the Engineer doesn't charge you for any of this, they are doing it solely because you have gained their trust and provided the basic materials for them to manufacture the upgrade.
Now the materials. None of them you can buy, you have to find it. Some are either found via mining an asteroid or on a planet/moon. Some are man made items you have to pick up floating in space as debris. Data is from encounters with other ships and from datapoints. If you look at it logically, how do you know the polonium you just found is 100% pure. How long has that Chemical Distillery be in operation on the ship before it got blown up so you could salvage it, could it have been damaged in the explosion? That data you just received, how do you know it was 100% up-to-date and accurate or was it an slightly older version?
So factoring the unknown condition of the materials you supply to the Engineer, it stands to reason that there would be differing, not large, but not all the same either, end results. To have every modification come up with a set, predetermined result would actually discount how you found the materials and data required for the mod.
The only part I don't like is the 'Possible Experimental Effects', it should be retitled 'Possible Additional Enhancements' in my opinion. For example, applying a Efficient mod on your multi-cannon shouldn't suddenly result in a new ammunition type, it just doesn't make sense. These are things I would like to see taken out of the Engineer process but available as an additional cost (very expensive preferably) as a bonus depending on what level upgrade you get the engineer to apply. Think of it like this - you have gained the complete trust of the Engineer, you have provided him all the materials needed for him to do his task, both of you are happy with the end result, so he takes you aside and says 'Look, I have this new type of ammo, won't damage ships you haven't targeted. Since you have been a great customer, it's yours for 1m Credits, no questions asked'.
Anyway, I just think the RND factor fits in better within the BGS and how you found the materials.
Look at what happens: You decide to upgrade some component or weapon on your ship. You first have to do some task to get noticed by the Engineer then provide some service to gain admittance to him/her. Then you have to go out and find certain material to provide to the Engineer so they can do the modification. Remember, the Engineer doesn't charge you for any of this, they are doing it solely because you have gained their trust and provided the basic materials for them to manufacture the upgrade.
Now the materials. None of them you can buy, you have to find it. Some are either found via mining an asteroid or on a planet/moon. Some are man made items you have to pick up floating in space as debris. Data is from encounters with other ships and from datapoints. If you look at it logically, how do you know the polonium you just found is 100% pure. How long has that Chemical Distillery be in operation on the ship before it got blown up so you could salvage it, could it have been damaged in the explosion? That data you just received, how do you know it was 100% up-to-date and accurate or was it an slightly older version?
So factoring the unknown condition of the materials you supply to the Engineer, it stands to reason that there would be differing, not large, but not all the same either, end results. To have every modification come up with a set, predetermined result would actually discount how you found the materials and data required for the mod.
The only part I don't like is the 'Possible Experimental Effects', it should be retitled 'Possible Additional Enhancements' in my opinion. For example, applying a Efficient mod on your multi-cannon shouldn't suddenly result in a new ammunition type, it just doesn't make sense. These are things I would like to see taken out of the Engineer process but available as an additional cost (very expensive preferably) as a bonus depending on what level upgrade you get the engineer to apply. Think of it like this - you have gained the complete trust of the Engineer, you have provided him all the materials needed for him to do his task, both of you are happy with the end result, so he takes you aside and says 'Look, I have this new type of ammo, won't damage ships you haven't targeted. Since you have been a great customer, it's yours for 1m Credits, no questions asked'.
Anyway, I just think the RND factor fits in better within the BGS and how you found the materials.
