[Suicide Junkie]

For example, Klingons are not scientists - should they still get research modifiers? On the other hand they would probably get a couple of combat bonuses instead to balance it out.

That sounds like cultural choice.

If you want to strictly enforce it, by making a part of the "Klingon" racial tech area, then you'll have to make all research centers require the racial techs as well as the normal tech...
Then, a klingon analysing a fed research center would gain generic research tech. This would allow the klingons to go from "Klingon Research Center I" to "KRC II", say. (If research centers could be analysed; just replace research with energy weapons, or whatever tech)

If we give the bonus move points to the reactor than it will make it vulnerable to engine-destroying weapons too right?

It should. You could also try giving it a "standard movement" ability of zero if it dosen't count as an engine just by having bonus movement ability.
Be sure to increase the engine limit by 1 for the ship hulls!

Also, I don't want the reactor to generate supplies - so that means you'll have to refuel every so often (aka replacing your dilithium crystal etc). Ramscoops will replace solar panels and generate only a small amount of supplies - so that the ship still has a net loss of supplies per turn.

No, no. Those were two different cases.

You can have supplies = power generated. That means the main reactor, the impulse drive's fusion reactors, and any auxiliary reactors you wish to add will all generate as much supplies as they store. Fuel capacity would be ignored, and we could say that the maintenance costs include too-small-to-see civilian ships coming to refuel & restock the ship.

OR you can have supplies = fuel, as unmodded SE4 does.
None of the reactors produce any supplies, or store supplies, rather they just provide abilities. In this case, the antimatter pods would provide all of the supply storage for the entire ship.

You can't mix those two options.

I've had a little trouble understanding how the exploding panels work - perhaps you can provide me with a sample component so I can see it in action?

code:

---

Name                  := Midrange Armor Class 1A

Description           := An all-purpose protective plating.  Less overall strength that Light armor, 

but not as easily pierced by weapons fire.  (Absorbs a higher % of hits)

Pic Num               := 30

Tonnage Space Taken   := 3

Tonnage Structure     := 25

Cost Minerals         := 100

Cost Organics         := 0

Cost Radioactives     := 0

Vehicle Type          := All

Supply Amount Used    := 0

Restrictions          := None

General Group         := Armor

Family                := 5201

Roman Numeral         := 1

Custom Group          := 0

Number of Abilities   := 0

Weapon Type           := None

---

Since the "armor" has 25 hitpoints, and most of the internals are less than 25, this component will be hit more often than the internals.
That makes it act like armor.

However, it is "more often" is not "all the time", and some shots will hit internals before the armor.

The only thing that you need to change about the internal components in order for this to work properly is to make sure they all have fewer hitpoints thatn the armor.

This applies mostly to large or heavy mount weapons, but this is a trek mod, and we want the weapons to be disabled easily once the shields are down, so their hitpoints should be low anyways.

How much armor would you put on a ship in kT? I usually have 20-80kT depending on the ship. Maybe make most armor 4-5kT in size? That means about 5-20 components per ship which is more than enough to get that wounded feeling.

I like to devote about 40% of my ship to defenses. That's 200 KT for a cruiser.

If it were to be 50:50 shields to armor mass, 2KT ablative armors would be OK, for 50 components.

That would mean a ship that just barely survived the combat would take 6 months to repair at a Repair Bay III.

1 KT ablative armor would be better, but you seem intent on having those massive armor plates.

And another armor point - ablative armor is not five times stronger than shields...it's tought but not that tough.

I don't know where you got that idea. When me or Fyron say "strength comparable to shields" we mean hitpoints per KT size is comparable.

If a shield element is 10 KT, and 500 hitpoints, a 1KT ablative armor would be 60 hitpoints, say.
An armor-only ship would spend a year in spacedock for every month that a shield-only ship spent. And that's only if the ships were thrashed to within a few components of destruction.
A shielded ship can lose half its hitpoints every battle and never weaken, while the armor-ship would be dead after two battles.

In any event, the armor and shields are complimentary.
Having more shields will allow you to deflect a greater percentage of the incoming damage, and the armor allows your shields to maintain that deflection rate longer.

All armor = no damage reduction = ship is screwed.
All shields = minimal damage reduction = ship is screwed.
(generators are destroyed by the first partially penetrating volleys, and so the crystalline effect has almost no time to operate)

Edit: post was breaking the boundaries of the screen

[ May 31, 2002, 21:12: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie. ]