Shuttles were pretty damn cool for their day, no doubt. CPU and maximum thrust might sound pretty sexy, but in the end it’s all about the armaments, baby. Arms and armor, that’s where it’s at.
Shuttle only has 1 ‘arm’, and it punches like a girl! It’s more a “stand still so I can sloooowly poke you in the eye!” kinda thing, not an MMA grappler.
Sure, EVE ships are put together on the cheap and made with minimal resources, that’s because they’re meant to be disposable. Heck, the Minmatar make theirs out of recycled pop cans. Today’s Quafe is tomorrow’s Thrasher!
It’s unlikely I’ll ever be able to buy my own space shuttle, but you can give frigates away like candy. (Just ask @Mike_Azariah’s Magic School Bus!)
Plus, EVE ships are made to take a licking and keep on ticking. You can bring a ship back shot so full of holes it can be used to drain pasta, and have it ready to fly again in no time. Modular parts and flexible upgrades. With the Shuttle, one bad tile or part and it’s all over but the crashing.
Shuttle’s pretty fair for an old girl, but EVE ships win where it counts - affordability, survivability and punch!