When constructing your Fighter, you should try imagine what you want ship to look like.

Important things to note:
Your command module must be well protected. This means that your command module will usually be protected if its near the centre of mass.
Your jmost heavy items should be positioned close the centre of mass. This means that you will have a lower moment of inertia (Easier to turn). Having the same total mass but having most of it positioned on the outside will lead to a higher moment of inertia (More difficult to turn).
Most of your weapons should be able to fire at anything in front of you.
You mass should be positioned along the centre of thrust.
Think about armour and what would be damaged first in a fight.

When designing your Imperial Fighter, you may be tempted to just slap on copious amounts of turrets and shields and worry about movement later. This commonly leads to a ship that can barely turn.

While thinking about where to place your weapons, remember to keep in mind where to attach your engines. As unwittingly putting lots of guns on your ship, ends up making the front of your ship barren of thrusters.

Another misconception is that ships don’t need as many thrusters on the front as on the back. Wrong! Being able to move backwards during a skirmish is important if you want to recharge your shields, get a better position, run-away etc. It also helps when traveling so you know to start slowing down at the halfway mark in orbital mode.

So make sure to leave room for your engines!

Believe it or not, engine placement must be symmetrical on two axes not just one, to have perfect manoeuvring. Sure, having the back engines wider than that front work for moving in strait lines, but will impair turning by offsetting your ship. So, it is key for everything to be symmetrical.

You could choose to design a ship with no shields included. This depends on your personal play-style and preference.



Armour should be put in the desired direction of engagement:


Depending on what you want and what you have, there are the following options:

If you are concerned about the price for your armour, then the best ratio would be the Frame 2x1 Adapter or one of the corridor modules (excluding the 4 Junction).

If you are concerned about the weight added for your armour, then the best ratio would be the Structure Beam.

Either of these options are good choices. If you have a stationary station, and don't care about price, then the best option is surprisingly the Engineering Module Mk2 (besides shields of course).


You can see the original spreadsheet here[1drv.ms].




Shields for small sized ships are better placed near the command module and centre of mass.
It is recommended for long distance solo fighters to have at least one large solar panel to recharge.
Using lasers with your shield generators is very efficient. The lasers use very little power and won't need any extra weight or storage space.

Finding the right mix of batteries for you shield gens might be tiresome, so I included this table.
From testing, the MINIMAL:

From looking at the above table, I hope you get an idea

Have 2 or 3 shields cover the same spot if you want your fighter to attack big opponents.
Like the pirate you may encounter: '2017-04-08 Pirate 11 Damocles'.

Toughness in this guide refers to how badly damaged your ship can be, while still being able to shoot and fly.
The most important aspect to focus on is mobility. If They disable your movement or cripple it, they can just pick you off and leave you unable to face your opponent.

It is best having a ship that has 2 full sets of engines.
What I mean is that on the back of your ship, you should have engines facing front, back, left and right, and the same on the front. So, if the ship is torn in half, it still works. (This was applied to my latest fighter and worked brilliantly)

Example of a powerful ship with a major design floor:
Destroying any of the red circles would absolutely disable the ship and leave it useless unable to even get to a station for repairs. Even destroying one of those side thrusters would poorly cripple it.









An Example of a Good Toughness design would be my later Fighter Mk IV Maverick:
After been torn in half when it's shields failed, it was still agile and able to fight on. This was because of engine placement and weapon power source placement.

This is what two halves look like:

Order your ship saves by adding Mark version will help to keep track of ship versions.
E.g.: “Ultimate Destroyer M3”

Another idea is to add a Prototype version, until your ship is stable and then you can remove it.
E.g.: “Ultimate Destroyer M4 P1”->“Ultimate Destroyer M4 P2”->“Ultimate Destroyer M4”

After every build or modification, you should preform field tests to ensure that your design works.
If it doesn’t then modify it again, if it does remove the prototype version and use it.


This guide has come to an end, I hope this was of help! Remember to like!