Okay, so on the heels of my third footshooting in as many weeks, I've got a suggestion for the TW2k developers.

A principle of good UI design is that it should not make catastrophic tasks easy to perform by accident, that the possibility of unintentional damage should be mitigated to the extent possible. In the game, the letter "b" maps to, variously, "Toggle Interdictor Control", "Transport to another sector", or "Self-destruct", depending on what menu you're currently in. Further, all of those menu options have a simple verification code that is the same - "y" for "go ahead and do it" - and the self-destruct menu does not interpret numbers, so the intervening string of numbers for a transport doesn't break you out of the menu. Two of these options are "safe", relatively speaking; the third is catastrophic. You see where I'm going with this.

So, I suggest two options:

(a) Remap the self-destruct key to something else that isn't commonly used. "+", perhaps, or one of the other symbol keys. This at least removes the possibility of an accidental (and costly) self-destruct as a result of momentary inattention to which menu one is at.

(b) [much better] Add a new option to the C->N menu: "Ship Self-Destruct Code". This echoes the Star Trek theme, where a code was required to initiate self-destruct, it wasn't possible for any random jackass to just push a big red button marked "Self-Destruct" in small print, set right between two other big red buttons marked "Fire Photon Torpedoes" and "Engage Warp Drive" (also in small print) and instantly blow up the ship. A timer might also be a useful addition - three, two, one, &c. It also mirrors other security measures, such as ship passwords.

(c) On that topic, maybe require that, at least, the ship's password be entered correctly for a destruct sequence. I mean, honestly - it requires a password to tow or transport onto a ship (for security purposes), but nothing at all to blow it up? Hwuh? SRSLY?

Since there are no situations that come readily to mind where it is of any advantage whatsoever to be able to instantly self-destruct, I don't see where this costs a great deal in terms of gameplay, and the benefits are relatively obvious. I can't imagine that I'm the only one that's goatse'd myself by accidentally blowing up my own ship when I intended to do something else entirely.

--
"it's no surprise to me I am my own worst enemy"
-SD

There is a safety measure. When you hit C, then B, it
asks whether you want to self-destruct or not.

Since there are no situations that come readily to mind where it is of any advantage whatsoever to be able to instantly self-destruct, I don't see where this costs a great deal in terms of gameplay, and the benefits are relatively obvious. I can't imagine that I'm the only one that's goatse'd myself by accidentally blowing up my own ship when I intended to do something else entirely.

--
"it's no surprise to me I am my own worst enemy"
-SD