let's get away from the illogical layout of the current ship and focus on the logical.
Of course it is possible to make designs with efficiency in mind - however it would be sad if we ended up with a 100% efficient 'design' were everything can be controlled from one seat and noone has to move anymore - because we dont need to play a game if we have made all functions 'automatic'.
The whole fun of operating a spacecraft is to have to make tactical decisions , what to repair when, how to navigate the ship, which turrets to man and bring in target line for shooting and which sections to defend when the ship is getting boarded...
Those unused doors are most likely placed there for future boarding parties to enter the ships and the ship layouts will contribute to some interesting combat possibilities when this day comes however we are still in beta-space so lots needs to be done before we see current ship layouts in full functionality.
A major step towards more space in hangar would be to finally change mothership size to be equal to the mothership size planetside which would mean they were alot larger and would easily have the space to have 10-30 quads rdy in hangar for takeoff.
The reactor repair point is fine as it is as it can be repaired from all levels except the spinning part itself.
If at all there should be more flexibility for repairs like having other spots in the ship to repair straight and the tools being more efficient on repairs the closer they get applied to the actual damage source - that would increase the demand for highly active crew that is ready to detect the source of damage and fix it on the spot which would be much more versatile, challenging and fun then standing in a single spot on autorepairs.
However both options should be avaiable to make sure the basic needs of a spacecraft are covered even when the crew is partially afk as is likely to happen the larger the number of crew gets.
Very astute points John but I would like to point ou something about the way the design is laid out right now (and hopefully MA will increase the crew compliments on the Anara class mother ship from say 50 to well over 200.. at least a crew compliment for both fighter (Quads) Gunners, Repairers and of ocurse Tactical officers..
Now as for layout, the one sticking point in the current design are those stairs that are in the middle of the hangar.. and it's this that is really hampering defense forces..
If those were moved from say the center line to the outer edges (and put said doors near those stairs for ingress/defense, then the logic of haivng a wide open hangar would be plausible..
Also I don't see a logic of putting the fuel tanks under the hangar deck either, and this goes back to the layout of an Aircraft carrier.. Most fuel tanks (except in most of today's nuclear Nimitz class carriers ususlaly don't have their power plats or their nuclear fuel located in the hangar.. that's just fool hardy and stupid at worst. Usually the reactors on most shiops are locatd deep within the bowels of the ship, but the subwarp fuel tanks? They should be near or close to the center of the chip (Probably next to the reactors)
Now as for the propulsion section, this is probably another sticking point.. Cause the Hangar if I remember correctly is above the propuslsion section on any Anara class ship..
The point is, if the fuel doesn't go next to the reactor (which I am going to suggest is a warp reactor (a la Star Trek) then the fuel must logically go next to the propulsion (or subwar reactors..)
Now as for Armament, the ships layout is really not too bad there, but the overall dsign of the gunning areas suggest to me that the Guns are under the ship and there is no top coverage..
but then I've hear there are rear guns and yet I have yet to see them function fight..
The point is, that the Anara should be the Captial carrier of the fleet, and not a destroyer..
and yet the layout is more of a destroyer than a carrier..
This is probably where MA (or us) need to start the redisn.. and to actually tear the ship apoart from stem to stern and make it so that there is logic and progression here..
But the layout should be logical and thought out, currently the design of the Anara class ship is at best haphazard and confusing to some playes at worst..(unles they are very good at memorization..)
but frankly I'd like to see some floor plans drawn out, and laid out so tha the logic is there.. the reason for the doors, the logic for stair placement, the layout for offensive nd defensive strategies..
After all if done correctly the ship could indeed be a wonderful place to work on for many a player..
If not, then this is where we are now..
So I think it's about high time to layout the ship and do it in locical format.. that's all I'm asking of any ship designer..
(Oh and yes, Let's not have star Trek ro star wars or any type of sci fi version taht we already know.. let's ake it unique so that the player can ennjosy the fun of the battle, and not be overly frustrated..
(and who knows.. maybe we need some new upgrades to the quades themselves too, including particle beam weaponry.. (and there's a bit of logic behind that as well, and if I can find the actual video I'll show you why Particle beams are better in some ways than lasters.. or BLP..
Benjamin Ben Coyote
"A.k.a" The Blind Sniper" (and) "His_Dog_Spot"