Just a tiny, itty bitty, small, miniature request.. 
Variations of Things (VoT)
Off the bat, this is a pure aesthetic suggestion .. it has no tangible functional benefit, but the draw and desire for uniqueness in MMO-type video games is very real. Something like this, whilst being massive in scope .. would be, IMHO, a huge QoL addition that should not be underestimated.
Ships... for example..
In Star Citizen ( I know.. I know....... I know. >:| - just using it as an example )...
In Star Citizen, they have different variations for some of their ships.
For example:
The Aurora CL - trading and exploration variant
The Aurora LN - dedicated combat fighter
Now, this gave me an idea .. what if, the modules we add to our ships modified different portions of our ships.
For example, upgrading your thrusters is like putting a new, better, upgraded exhaust on your car .. usually it doesn't look the same, right?
So, to start .. this is how I envision, say, Thruster upgrades. The larger class thrusters you choose, the different the style of thruster:
Or (ignoring the body kits for now), what if you were upgrade the armour of your Python? Heavier armour, making the ship more bulky, or taking armour off (perhaps to increase FSD range for example), would make it look skinnier?
Apologies for the image fluff, not my fault.
Original here: LINK
Or perhaps, running a cargo ship like the Adder .. changing thrusters, remove bits here, adding bits there.. results in a ship quite different from the original
Shields..
Changing shields produces different type of effect maybe?
Engineering your weapons makes them look visually different (not just the weapon fire itself, the whole weapon).
And so on.
Variations of Things (VoT)
Off the bat, this is a pure aesthetic suggestion .. it has no tangible functional benefit, but the draw and desire for uniqueness in MMO-type video games is very real. Something like this, whilst being massive in scope .. would be, IMHO, a huge QoL addition that should not be underestimated.
Ships... for example..
In Star Citizen ( I know.. I know....... I know. >:| - just using it as an example )...
In Star Citizen, they have different variations for some of their ships.
For example:
The Aurora CL - trading and exploration variant
The Aurora LN - dedicated combat fighter
Now, this gave me an idea .. what if, the modules we add to our ships modified different portions of our ships.
For example, upgrading your thrusters is like putting a new, better, upgraded exhaust on your car .. usually it doesn't look the same, right?
So, to start .. this is how I envision, say, Thruster upgrades. The larger class thrusters you choose, the different the style of thruster:
Or (ignoring the body kits for now), what if you were upgrade the armour of your Python? Heavier armour, making the ship more bulky, or taking armour off (perhaps to increase FSD range for example), would make it look skinnier?
Apologies for the image fluff, not my fault.
Original here: LINK
Or perhaps, running a cargo ship like the Adder .. changing thrusters, remove bits here, adding bits there.. results in a ship quite different from the original
Shields..
Changing shields produces different type of effect maybe?
Engineering your weapons makes them look visually different (not just the weapon fire itself, the whole weapon).
And so on.
