loading items - a TS, preferably a large one (dolphin SF, around 10k cargo... OTAS OP, around OMFGk cargo
) + Transport device(on your ship). Best way really.. Others like falcon haulers, as they hold around 1,000 XL cargo and can dock with your bigship. I prefer a TS. Generally, tell the TS to buy what you need through regular commands, and then have it follow you, and then use the transporter to magic it over.
panther - IBLs are great, but hard to find. If you cant find IBL, fit it full FAA with CIGs in the main gun (attack my target). CIGs are ok ish when it comes to shooting other bigships, but without IBLs its your only option..
As for finding IBL - Yaki territory sells them if you have the rep, alternatively blow up hostile m7s until they drop some..
For either - Only m5, m4, and m3 can dock.
TL - there is a mod to remove the tubes (make them invisible), turn off complex collision (lowers cpu use), a mod to 'crunch' complexs into a single item (does a combination of both..) and a mod that allows you to put factories inside stations.. erm what kind of mod were you looking for again?
I personally use FDN, it lets me place stations out of sector and never have to visit them - it teleports stuff between the stations and a 'node', (for a cost, of course), up to a few sectors away. This means, as said, my stations can be in a totally different system, that i never have to go in except to place a mine (its special, you cant remotely build mines, scripts cant set mine yield).
Sunlight directly influences e-cells. a 400% sun system (ill let you find it) will produce 4 times as many e-cells. standard seems to be 150% though.. one or two 200% and 300% systems