Add unique weapons, fighters/bombers, technologies, etc for Nomad empires to make them more unique.

I would suggest the following:
1. Change the starting Habitat from Mammalian to something less organised and clean, like a large Void-Dwelling for the Marauders or an Ark Ship for the Nomads (Merely stationary - call it "Build Ark-Harbor" or something), these people have been dwelling in the Void for Millenia (I gather), it is not going to look so pristine and beautiful - Or does that conflict with your vision?

2. I would suggest giving the Ark Ships an Aura that buffs owned ships, and at least one point defense slot. The first because it makes sense thematically for the Nomads to defend their Arks to the death and the latter because the Game does not handle non-combat ships merging into fleets well. Multiple Times fleets in the Outliner disappeard because an Ark joined.

3. As a Nomad or Marauder, I can not contact Curators or Traders. I should be able to?

4. Change the Starfortresses to very large Void-Dwellings, the defensive Plattforms to Asteroid Outposts.

These are all meant as friendly, well meaning suggestions. If they are phrased to pushy/entitled - I apologize.

Great Mod.

At the current stance both the nomads and marauders are op. They get too much of income and overhelm any other empire. As well because of their increadible income, they reach their maximum of income ships by year 20-30. After that point they have an economy without any perspecives. But after year 60-70 other empires will get stronger econmies and overhelm both the nomads and marauders.

So I would suggest to increase the mining ship cost and the income. For example 5x the ship cost and 1.5x the income. Or what ever numbers would be balanced. But this way they get pretty muuch equal economy and can improve it up to the endgame.

The habitat design should be based on the ship type you have for your empire.

What about turning Ark Ships into Nomadic Titans? You already want to have maxes on the number of them in an empire. With the support mechanics you are working on I would suggest removing Income Modules from Arks and have them focus on being fleet buffers with a higher chance of trying to fleet (like 75% instead of 50%) so Ark ships can be handy but will run away if directly threatened. To me this makes sense if they hang back with artillery or line computer.

Tested the mod for about ~3 hrs now. The Bug with the unlimited arks still persists, even without the 'instant_build' command. I guess I can play after your rules though, since you told me the intended amount of Arks. I would maybe change it to where, at the start of the game with the starhold Tech, you can only build 1/2 normal Arc/s. The rest getting unlocked by the other 2 Starfortress' tech (if possible ofc). That would hinder the enormous (and somewhat redicolous) amount of recourses a nomad can put out at the start of game. Making them weaker and more vulnerable, as it should be as a Nomad, at least in my mind.

Also, You probably can't change the ship-type of the arks, right? Because if you could, i would make them a military ship, with at least point-defences as a last resort, while still generating resources like the mining/tanker ships. I get that then the build-option of the ships won't probably work, as they are marked as a different kind of ship, but I feel construction ships would suffice.

Also also, I don't know if this is intended or not, but as a nomad, you can essentially build habitats for other empires. Like; go into one of their systems, build a habitat, and then do nothing with it ever again. Because you can not colonize in foreign systems, but you can still build them. This mechanic could easily be exploited in a MP, as nomads just build these things for free. So that should be adjusted I guess.

As for star bases, I feel like the old system of defence-structures would fit a nomad perfectly (the one where you could place like a star fortress -as a defence structure not the star base of a system- everywhere you want in a system). If that is possible ofc, I would probably even attach shipyards for these defensive-structures and they'd be fine. Then limit them to 1 in a system.

(Probably mixed that last one up with Sins of a Solar Empire xd)
((Posting here because the main page doesn't let me post more than 1'000 characters per post))

I had a talk in the setllaris modding den discord about how to get around relying on starbases and planets to raise the naval cap. Posting it here, maybe it will help.

https://i.imgur.com/EyD83dY.png