Since 3.0/Split Vendetta has been delayed, here are some things that must be improved

[Pares]

I have been patient so far, I understand that bugs needed to be fixed first. And there were a lot of bugfixes. But since 3.0 is potentially 3-4 months away now, I think it's high time for some of the following features and mechanisms to be considered for improvement in the next update.

• Ship balance is quite a mess right now. Frigates work better as bombers since they have more than 2x the missile capacity. The Minotaur is obsolete compared to the Peregrine. The Nemesis and Pulsar have no competition. These are just a few examples. There is a huge lack of variety and purpose that needs to be improved across all ships, classes and races. There are a lot less ships than in X3 for obvious reasons, but that is why they also need to be more unique and interesting. It would also be great if the corvette class would be expanded with an Argon and Teladi corvette, and the Paranid should get a bomber equivalent too. As ships are one of the main gameplay features, getting this right should be the top priority now. The DLC will add new ships, so this is the perfect opportunity to improve this aspect of the game.
• Ship modules feel too vulnerable. Either introduce a primary shield that must be destroyed before the modules can be damaged, or increase the durability of module shield and hull. Also please consider reintroducing ship reactors. This would also add another layer to both combat and ship variety.
• There are lot of suggestions on the forum on how to improve weapons, turrets, and capital ship combat. I am not going into detail, since there is a pretty good discussion about it in this topic: viewtopic.php?f=146&t=419034, but I think the general consensus is that OOS combat must be improved, low weapon/turret ranges adversely affect ship combat and positioning, and generally weapon and turret balance desperately needs to be looked at.
• Fleet management, wings, escorting and formations must be improved.
• Crew recruitment centers. Or something similar. It is ridiculous that we cannot hire quality captains, pilots and managers directly, only through buying ships or hiring completely incompetent people we meet on stations.
• Research needs improving. Ware requirements must be introduced. Possibly even add research unlockable by (X3 like plot) missions, or by blueprints discovered in lockboxes, data vaults, or by destroying Xenon or Khaak.
• Ship equipment mods. The annoying RNG must be removed from crafting. Possible improvements discussed here: viewtopic.php?f=192&t=419221 and here: viewtopic.php?t=41078
• The encyclopedia needs some love too. There are so many missing descriptions, and incomplete or incorrect data, that it feels almost useless.

[Max Bain]

I have been patient so far, I understand that bugs needed to be fixed first. And there were a lot of bugfixes. But since 3.0 is potentially 3-4 months away now, I think it's high time for some of the following features and mechanisms to be considered for improvement in the next update.

• Crew recruitment centers. Or something similar. It is ridiculous that we cannot hire quality captains, pilots and managers directly, only through buying ships or hiring completely incompetent people we meet on stations.

I had a similar idea for a new station module. Crew recruitement center where you can set what type of people you want to recruit and over time the recruitement center will offer you a set of people to hire. So lets say you can set the minimum skill level and the jobs (pilot, captain, manager and so on) you want to hire. And over time you get more and more recruits you can pick from. The better the personel in your recruitement center, the faster you get more recruits.
I think this would be the perfect solution.
Maybe this is moddable?

[Pares]

I have been patient so far, I understand that bugs needed to be fixed first. And there were a lot of bugfixes. But since 3.0 is potentially 3-4 months away now, I think it's high time for some of the following features and mechanisms to be considered for improvement in the next update.

• Crew recruitment centers. Or something similar. It is ridiculous that we cannot hire quality captains, pilots and managers directly, only through buying ships or hiring completely incompetent people we meet on stations.

I had a similar idea for a new station module. Crew recruitement center where you can set what type of people you want to recruit and over time the recruitement center will offer you a set of people to hire. So lets say you can set the minimum skill level and the jobs (pilot, captain, manager and so on) you want to hire. And over time you get more and more recruits you can pick from. The better the personel in your recruitement center, the faster you get more recruits.
I think this would be the perfect solution.
Maybe this is moddable?

Actually I would be perfectly fine with stations having another dedicated room, just like the manager's office, where you could check out a list of unemployed captains, pilots or managers to hire. Or possibly it could work the other way too, you would place job adverts for certain positions, and receive notifications about potential employees that applied for the job. This implementation would require the least amount of resources, since only a simple interior room would need to be created.

[HellR1der]

Either introduce a primary shield that must be destroyed before the modules can be damaged, AND increase the durability of module shield and hull for L and XL ships

this!
exactly the thing for i came here to write

and unhook boost from shield energy, its absurd. i'd add something like boost capacitor and switch that alters reactor energy flow between booster and shields