1. Why don't any of the SSDs have shields/engines hard points? It's very annoying how the AI just retreats any time I'm near to killing one yet I can't stop it because there is no engine hard points.
2. I don't like how the ship isn't weakened by hard point destruction, it makes the hardpoints only for show aside the engine and shields. May I suggest at very least making it that when you destroy a weapon hard point, it takes a large firing rate penalty. It would after all be more realistic than either the vanilla or present systems.
1. That's what interdictors are for.
2. Agreed with Corey. The destroyed hardpoint doesn't fire. That does weaken the ship. It's logical and the most realistic depiction that the engine would allow in game. As Corey points out, having a turbolaser battery destroyed wouldn't slow a separate battery down. If anything, in ships that are power limited, having 1 less battery to fire would actually INCREASE the fire rate of the remaining since they could get more power to charge faster. What you posted would actually be exactly opposite of more realistic for HARDPOINT damage, although more realistic for all over damage (such as said Executors will do to a Golan if they're setting beside it, just pounding it doing damge to all hardpoints simultaneously, so that it's at 100% power until it explodes).