Thanks Tetra for the guide. I will actually print this and review it later. I am old (48) and my eyes are not as good as they used to be. I was going to leave good (programming-Coding) to young folks like Paul (Mormegiel) and Modders like you and MarvinKosh. 

I am worried that if I start tinkering Ill ruin the base game. 

This is just another option to help with weapon dmg and to increase the value of resources early on. I still really think base defenses really need doubling. In GC II the values did not degrade like they do in combat. They fixed values were absolute, if I had 10 shields and  you had 9 beam weapons, you would never touch me. Now the actual defenses degrade in combat which is fine but makes the defenses much less useful. In practice all you are really doing is adding more hit points to the hull. Seems like we can do better. 

+2 coppers. 

worst case you can just reinstall or make steam verify file integrity .

really though,

• most of the modders are  laying low during beta while things are in flux or doing simple little hack fixes for stuff they are annoyed by/curious about.

•  modders

will often ask for feedback about specific things they are mulling over , but   random idea kernels    rent the most useful. They are often impossible, or lack any structure that could be useful.

getting replies is often frustrating and part of why many modders stop. ..  he same goes double for feedback on their finished work.

• if you don't feel comfortable modding something, ask questions! Even moddeds do it! https://forums.galciv3.com/461241

•if the guides dont help enough, ask google and ask on the forum .

• try starting with small things to get a hang of things, adding modules or tweaking  weapon /armors/hulls to get a feel for what's possible (lots!!!!), damnned near anything that is done   by -something- in an  mlx can be done by something in some -other- XML, dont hesitate  to explore

• once you get a feel for things, try your. Hand with more involved stuff.

I was hoping to negate both augments and have the fight resolve back to basic load-outs on both ships. I don't know if this is possible. 

Tetra, yes I am fully aware how hard the GC II modders work and its a thankless job. I had many different mods installed from several of our community. In all actuality its best to wait for 'gold' and see how the devs want to do things. We are still in Beta and if we yell loud enough for change it can happen. 

Or when an irresistible force meets an immovable object.