So I’ve been around EVE for a healthy wee stint now. I’ve been tinkering with an idea for a long time, but I think I need EVE to rip it to pieces before I’m going to hold myself up as a wise or learned player. A reasonably recent development called “mutaplasmids” has arrived. It set the hamster wheel in my mind turning. Into low gear admittedly, but it’s moving again, which I like =) I did some dusting and here’s what I caught it doing. I haven’t scolded it yet, but I might. 
We’re alllll familiar with the fitting window. 
We’re familiar with the Power Grid and CPU bars. 
I have an audacious and indeed controversial proposal for you… 
I was wondering - what do you think about having a separate PG/CPU grid for the three different slot power ratings and using ISK and mutaplasmids to augment the Hulls base stats?
One for highs.
One for mids.
One for lows.
Limiting this idea to the T1 hulls (including Navy ships, but excluding the pirate vessels); suppose you could modify a packaged, T1 hull with mutaplasmids, and calibrate each or only one of the various slot power grids to adjust for more PG, CPU or both - up to say 15% of it’s base stats before your skills are applied. It’s a starting figure, not set in stone, but we need a bench mark to work with. If it’s that’s not to your liking perhaps X number of Calibration points to simply modify anything on the “attributes” tab on the “ship info” window. Maybe I’d like 15% more explosive resistance to my base armor stats on my Incursus? Perhaps a Merlin with a shield that had a little less of a EM hole in it’s shield? You get my point.
ISK + Mutaplasmids + fitting simulation tool + thinking = flexibility to do what farm boys have been doing to cars since the car has been invented - pimpin’ their ride ^_~
I think after this much of EVE online, maybe it’s time to let the market speak with it’s own design voice.
I think of this as an excellent way for stimulating the market, forcing the paper rock scissors dynamic out, and to some extent breathing new life into the game. EVE has been an incredibly fun game, but it’s lost a lot of it’s excitement because of the predominate nature of dogmatic thinking. I get the sensation that we’ve lost some of the creative thinking that brings excitement! Hulls get designed to fill an envisioned role, which pilots oddly enough routinely ignore. So lets try a compromise - CCP dictates slot layout, and ship role, hull bonuses and the base PG/CPU/ stats reapportioned to the individual power racks, high, mid, and low. Rigs work the same, but now you can opt to increase how many calibration points you can buy. Your wallet and creativity sprinkle on the finishing touches.
Just an idea - and I’m certain it needs a lot of refining but I believe in view of what the mutaplasmids are, and how that works, that maybe applying it to the ships themselves in a selective way is a fairly natural step to take, which I think would shake up EVE a lot. As a content monger this pleases me. I live for content i tell you. LIVE FOR IT!
So… EVE. You brilliant people you - do cross examine! 
I’m delighted to hear your voice, accept criticism, and revise my theory into a legitimately compelling paradigm. I’m also willing to stand my ground =) just mind the dead hamster… I had to replace mine, haven’t set a date for the wake. Start dusting off your festival launchers… 