This has probably been suggested before, but its buried somewhere if it is, so here is my idea.

I want to see something to the effect of carriers be introduced to the game. My idea was there could be a "hangar module", similar to a trade module or construction module. This module would be restricted to use on cargo, large, and huge hulls. This module would allow a vessel to carry a certain amount of logistics points of ships (I was thinking 12, 4 tiny ships or 3 small ships). When this carrier vessel is engaged, the fighters would automatically deploy and would fight in conjunction with the carrier as a fleet. You would still be limited by the amount of overall logistics available, you can't fill a ship with more ships than you have logistics points.

The tactical benefits of this module are great.

1. Specialization of ships. Particularly in the early phase of the game, space on the small ships is limited, and maximizing efficiency is of utmost importance. With a carrier, one could build small or tiny ships with nothing but weapon and defense systems, whereas a cargo ship, besides holding the hangar module, would have nothing but life support and engines. This would grant one the ability to deploy stronger fleets far away, and mobilize them with great speed.

2. "Stealth". Fighters being carried inside a ship would be hidden from the enemies sight. While they would still recognize a carrier (and fear its potential), they wouldn't know specifically what sort of weaponry you have inside. This gives the opportunity for devastating attacks. Say you have been using lasers, and they research shields. You could send a carrier to their space, but it deploys missile equipped fighters instead of the expected laser equipped. You could clean them out.

In my experience, small ships become outdated by mediums, which are soon replaced by large, which isn't really unrealistic, but a lot of sci-fi employs the idea of carriers, and I've become rather attached to the idea. For any Homeworld players out there, I can only speak for myself, but nothing was more satisfying that jumping one carrier behind the enemy mother ships and watching 50 ships swarm around them, reducing them to rubble (well, maybe the Siege cannon was cooler).

Thoughts?