I do not know if this has already been suggested (Moderators, if it has please feel free to delete this thread), but I have come up with a two part idea that could help make ship building easier. I do not know how much work this would entail for FDev, but I hope that it is worth consideration.
As we know, there are various 'shipyard' websites that allow you to try out various ship configurations. Because of the randomness of the Engineers, it is not possible to calculate the capabilities of an 'engineered' ship. Taking the Engineers out of the equation, my idea intends to build upon the 'shipyard' websites. FDev would allow you to create a template, following the format of the 'shipyard' websites (although their template will not show values or costs, in order to reduce their workloads, so you would have to use on of the regular 'shipyard' websites to try and develop your ideas). Once you have created the template, it would be saved locally (and, before anybody suggests the possibility of cheating the load-out, the equipment would only be for standard equipment, so in the FSD slot it would only be something like 'A6', while in the weaponry hard-point it would be the Class/Rating/Weapon name (so, if it exists, this could be G3Multicannon)). Then, when you were in the game, that template could be accessed within the game.
Now onto the second part of the idea. Please bear with me, as it is somewhat more complex. If you are docked at a station where ALL of the resources required to build the template are available, within the Shipyard menu there would be a new option; that of "Build from Ship Template". If you were to click on it, your template would be used to build that ship. If you have multiple templates a sub menu would appear, showing you the templates that can be currently built (with the name you gave each template). Only templates that can be completed at a Station would appear in the list; any others either would not show up, or would be greyed out. Templates can be viewed within the game (say, in the Status screen), so that you can plan purchasing/transporting parts from one station to another.
Going on with this second part, you may have noticed I said "All of the resources are ... available"? This allows for you to automatically purchase required parts from the Outfitting, AND to make use of any parts you have stored AT THIS STATION. This would allow you to lay the groundwork before building your ship (as, barring a few station, it is likely most stations won't have all of the parts required). It would NOT scavenge any parts from any other ships you have stored at the Station (only YOU have the right to remove parts from any of your ships). If the parts stored are factory standard the template system will automatically make use of them, but if there are 'Engineered' parts (and they are required to complete the template) you will be asked to confirm the use of each 'Engineered' part in turn.
There would be safeguards. The main one is to manage the costs. You could have a cost slider, as a percentage of your available BALANCE, but this could only go up to 75%, for example, so as to leave sufficient funds for a couple of REBUYS and a couple of cargo loads. This way you can also set the financial level as to WHEN you can trigger a ship template build. As the templates (and you could have multiple templates that you can name) can only be created using regular parts it should not be possible to produce a 'cheat ship'.
As we know, there are various 'shipyard' websites that allow you to try out various ship configurations. Because of the randomness of the Engineers, it is not possible to calculate the capabilities of an 'engineered' ship. Taking the Engineers out of the equation, my idea intends to build upon the 'shipyard' websites. FDev would allow you to create a template, following the format of the 'shipyard' websites (although their template will not show values or costs, in order to reduce their workloads, so you would have to use on of the regular 'shipyard' websites to try and develop your ideas). Once you have created the template, it would be saved locally (and, before anybody suggests the possibility of cheating the load-out, the equipment would only be for standard equipment, so in the FSD slot it would only be something like 'A6', while in the weaponry hard-point it would be the Class/Rating/Weapon name (so, if it exists, this could be G3Multicannon)). Then, when you were in the game, that template could be accessed within the game.
Now onto the second part of the idea. Please bear with me, as it is somewhat more complex. If you are docked at a station where ALL of the resources required to build the template are available, within the Shipyard menu there would be a new option; that of "Build from Ship Template". If you were to click on it, your template would be used to build that ship. If you have multiple templates a sub menu would appear, showing you the templates that can be currently built (with the name you gave each template). Only templates that can be completed at a Station would appear in the list; any others either would not show up, or would be greyed out. Templates can be viewed within the game (say, in the Status screen), so that you can plan purchasing/transporting parts from one station to another.
Going on with this second part, you may have noticed I said "All of the resources are ... available"? This allows for you to automatically purchase required parts from the Outfitting, AND to make use of any parts you have stored AT THIS STATION. This would allow you to lay the groundwork before building your ship (as, barring a few station, it is likely most stations won't have all of the parts required). It would NOT scavenge any parts from any other ships you have stored at the Station (only YOU have the right to remove parts from any of your ships). If the parts stored are factory standard the template system will automatically make use of them, but if there are 'Engineered' parts (and they are required to complete the template) you will be asked to confirm the use of each 'Engineered' part in turn.
There would be safeguards. The main one is to manage the costs. You could have a cost slider, as a percentage of your available BALANCE, but this could only go up to 75%, for example, so as to leave sufficient funds for a couple of REBUYS and a couple of cargo loads. This way you can also set the financial level as to WHEN you can trigger a ship template build. As the templates (and you could have multiple templates that you can name) can only be created using regular parts it should not be possible to produce a 'cheat ship'.