One way this mod could really outdo frontier could be the pirate ai. In frontier they would attack you regardless of what cargo you are carrying, what type of ship you are flying or what gear you are equiped with. Here are some things I would love to see in the future-
1. Attacking based on risk vs reward. (more desperate pirates would take greater risks)
2. Fight vs flight (pirates flee or warp away on realisation that they are outmatched)
3. Better range of equipment (some prefer heavy weapons, some favour increased defence)
4. Cargo still onboard from recent raids that you can claim once they are destroyed.
Please add to the list! What else would make your perfect pirate?
pretty good list so far
Wolf packs: several weaker pirates group together to attack you.
Nice idea. It wouldn't need to be anything fancier than a lookup table.
Type of pirate vessel based on star system, tech level etc.
From this could be determined the possible cargo it had obtained, with some small randomisation to include ships just passing through. More dangerous ships would have a better chance of having better loot than smaller ships.
id like to see pirate ships drop modules to
If the universe will be dynamic, i.e. changing locally or globally as you play, revolutions happening here and there, political coups etc. - it would be nice if pirate activity would follow these events. For instance, skyrocket when a system is plunged temporarily in anarchy, then plummet as order is restored. It would make life much less boring for bounty hunters too.