a 1x1x1 thruster with 5 thruster ports on it

yes we really do :D

Hmm, what you're suggesting might not be possible- you're talking about a single block that has the functionality of 5 blocks in terms of thrust directions ( and inertia damper function ). Not really vanilla-friendly as it requires a micro-sized block model which in turn would have even less thrust than small grid thrusters do already- fine for ultra small craft, but no real use otherwise- just try to visualise how it would look while maintaining the connection-port size and still having 5 thruster cones...

What we really need are better looking thrusters- something a bit more sci-fi like the Modular thrusters, and cleaner looking like the armoured thrusters, those will greatly improve how ships look & give the appearance of RCS thrusters inset into the hull, rather than sticking out the sides or taking up interior space in order to inset them...

Yes, for ultra-small aircraft indeed, like drones.

Thing is you can make a nice 3x3x2 RCS-like with hydrogen thrusts, problem is the tanks for that are insanely huge and you also need a connector which it also is insanely huge just for gas.

There's also no 1x1x1 advanced rotor to act as a small connector.

And the piston is not re-attachable so that can't be used as a connector either.

Connector size is pretty much fixed since it needs to be compatible with the large grid version- bit of a bummer but understandable. A small hydrogen tank would certainly be welcome, on both large and small grid- not having a small grid Advanced Rotor also seems like a big oversight.

It's only simple things that are missing, not crazy OP items or weapons- Keen just don't seem to think these things through and don't build a lot of vehicles themselves in order to realise quite what is genuinely missing...

Their initial connector design had a smallship port on it, I dunno why that was scrapped.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qcVbvsQ6jNE/maxresdefault.jpg

Oh gawd, you just reminded of that- so long ago now. I'd guess the reason for ditching that design would be conflicts with people trying to dock/undock two ships at once via the same connector, and other issues relating to having a dual-purpose block essentially. No reason why they couldn't have simply made a large grid small connector block, and matching small grid small connector that it was designed to work with- Keen are an enigma sometimes...

In an ideal world when you're in range with a smallship connector, the large port could open and extend a small port pipe :P

Yes, please! I don't care what happens graphically within that block, just make it capable of producing thrust in (almost) any direction at once!

Neil, Consider that our character is about the size of a large block. And it has a thruster pack that is multi directional. It should not be hard to add such thrusters to the game. Though, I like the thought of having thrusters inlay into armor blocks. If only for aesthetic reasons.