Ship-To-Ship Battles

The Spaceship Bridge

Systems

A Hull Stabilizer reinforces the spaceship's frame, strengthening it and generally improving structural integrity. Multiple Stabilizers can work in unison to bolster the hull far beyond its normal limits.	The spaceship hyperdrive. This module combined with a bridge enables the spaceship to hyperjump between solar system areas. Needs a crew member to operate.	This navigation console combined with a hyperdrive enables the spaceship to hyperjump between solar system areas. Needs a crew member to operate.
The operations console is used to hail other spaceships and communicate with their crew. It is also used to control scanner modules. Needs crew member to operate.	The weapons console is used to control the various turrets of the spaceship. One console is capable of controlling all turrets in the spaceship, as long as a crew member is stationed at the console.	The Shields Console is used to operate the ship's shield systems. One console can manage all shield emitters, so long as it is manned by a crew member.

Weapon Systems

This turret fires a pulse of concentrated energy at a target, stripping its shields and damaging its hull. Turrets are operated from the weapons console.

Forms a continually regenerating protective energy shield around the ship. Uses power to recharge. Shield generators are controlled by the shields console.

This scanner module can partially reveal the interior of another ship, and is controlled from the operations console. Scanning only works on ships and stations, which have functional power generation.

All of the bridge consoles and other systems are important in ship-to-ship battles, as each one of them enables important actions and maneuvers.

Controlling and assigning priorities for the consoles/systems

All of these consoles control certain systems respectively, and the systems menu is used to assign priorities (Alert modes). You can use the systems menu to specify how you want crew members to behave. If the situation is critical it's possible to assign a crew member to occupy a post at all times.

However, this needs to be combined with individual crew priorities. Makes sure there's at least one crew member with a priority for a certain system per spaceship in you fleet.

Ship-to-Ship Battle Mechanics

A ship's overall health is divided into hull stability and shield strength, which can be strengthened with hull stabilizers and shield modules respectively. Power will also play a part, as attack and defense systems will be more prone to consume larger amounts of power.

Various turrets will have their own specifications regarding hull stability damage and shield damage, in addition to these special properties can be added. Examples of special properties could be a turret with projectiles causing internal fires, another turret may act much like an EMP turret shutting down power within an area.

Hull Stabilizers

A Hull Stabilizer reinforces the spaceship's frame, strengthening it and generally improving structural integrity. Multiple Stabilizers can work in unison to bolster the hull far beyond its normal limits.

A ship's hull is not generally penetrated until the hull stability is lost, at which point the hull stabilizers will be overloaded and explode, along with other hull integrated elements like turrets, shield modules, hangars and more inevitably causing the whole ship to explode to a good degree. It's still possible to save the crew and the ship after this, but generally a scenario like this is devastating. Roof elements, like turrets shields and scanners, can be targeted and destroyed individually.

Shields

Shields work together to protect the ship from damage. While certain turret types may ignore shields, they protect against the basic projectile types. In these situation hull stability damage can only be inflicted when shield strength has been depleted. Shield amount is strengthened by building more shield generators. Shields are operated via the shields console.

One shields console is enough to control all shields on a ship.

Shields Efficiency

Shields efficiency (How fast they recharge) depends on a few factors:

• Shields use a lot of power in surges when recharging, build a few of the larger power nodes or power capacitors close to the shields, this will ensure enough power is stored to keep the shields recharge.
• Assign a crew member with a high Shielding skill and work speed to the shields console to maximize the recharge rate dependent on the crew member skills.

Turrets

Turrets function as the attack device of your spaceship. Targets can be assigned freely for turrets, meaning you will be able to place a target for them at any tile position. Their accuracy is depicted as an area radius, and projectiles from the turret will fall within this radius. Turrets are operated via the weapons console.

One weapons console is enough to control all turrets on a ship.

Turret Efficiency

Turret efficiency (How fast they fire and recharge) depends on a few factors:

• Turrets use some type of ammunition, like energy cells or explosive ammunition. If you build a small storage close to the turrets and specify to a "bring here" rule for the needed ammunition the crew members will have a short path to reload the turret.
• Turrets use a lot of power in surges when firing, build a few of the larger power nodes or power capacitors close to the turrets, this will ensure enough power is stored to keep the turrets firing.
• Assign a crew member with high a Gunner skill and work speed to the weapons console to maximize the recharge rate dependent on the crew member skills.

Scanning

Feeling curious and want to see what's going on in other faction spaceships currently in the sector? Build a scanner and you're able to peek in. The scanner will come in handy when trying to determine whether this is a crew you want to mess with, or where to direct your more powerful special turrets.

Scanners are operated via the operations console, and each scanner module has its own cool down regarding how often it can scan an area. Note that scanners only work on ships with functional power generation. Derelict ships cannot be scanned due to them not having a functional power grid.

System Points

All so called system modules reserve system points when built, if you want to build a ship with more hull stability you will have to sacrifice on some other front, like fire power or shield strength. Larger ships will have more system points to spend on system modules.