pendragonman
Absent Friends Margrave
I'd certainly favor a Fire Fusion and Steel approach over the makers. The makers are neat but they often produce nonsensical results and aren't integrated all that well.
An FF&S approach to the makers could create a more readily use-able flow chart effect to the makers. Thus causing the makers to be more easily understood and more widely used/experimented with.
FF&S v3 should, IMHO, unify the design sequences for ships and the makers, giving us a clear view of how the maker approach to ship building works.
More than a decade since the last time I opened FF&S (TNE-not sure which version it is) and I can still recall that laser turrets are swappable cans with clear views as to power needs.