Got one more question:
How will the new system account for the difference between weight and volume?
Considering a 20k ton Ship often costs less than 6k Minerals, even assuming theres an equal amount of abstracted away standard materials (sadly^^) and air and whatever, they are likely to be a third lighter.
I assume an empty freighter will will weight less than 10k tons with that system, and then load another 25 for travel?
Volume, which is used for armour and shield size and for targeting, is based on the full load mass of the ship. Current ship mass, which is used for acceleration rate, is based on the standard mass plus anything being carried by the ship, such as fuel, ordnance, cargo, colonists, etc.. Your guess on the empty freighter is almost spot on, based on the design in my test game. The base design is less than 10k but the full load mass is another 26k because the ship is also carrying 1000 tons of fuel.
Atlas class Freighter 9,393 tons standard 35,393 tons full load 28 Crew 431.1 BP
Length 220m Armour 1-176 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 8 Max Repair 37.5 MSP
Active Signature 707.86 Thermal Signature 375 EM Signature 0/0
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
Commercial Ion Drive (5) Total Power 37.5 MN Fuel Use 1299 litres per hour Exp 2%
Full Load Acceleration 1.06 mp/s (0.11G) Hourly Acceleration 3.81 km/s Daily Acceleration 91.54 km/s
Standard Acceleration 3.99 mp/s (0.41G) Hourly Acceleration 14.37 km/s Daily Acceleration 344.93 km/s
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Delta-V Budget (Full Load) 2,979 km/s Full Burn Duration 32.1 days
Steve