A few Q's from a newbie

nesrall · #1 October 8th, 2003, 03:23 PM

I have a few questions,maybe someone can help me out. Stellar- when you create a warp point opening into an anothers(ally or enemy) system..can they see the new warp point?...system wide nebulas-Is there planets to be found hidden in the systems that contain system wide nebulas? Crystaline torps- I had assumed because it was a "torp"...that PDG's couldn't target them...can they or can't they?..Crystal armour...does crystal armour regenerate X amount of points to the shields when the ship is hit...or when the armour is hit? & Lastly...Medium storms that say opaque to most scanners...any idea what level scans they prevent...or if you have a ship in there is it as visible as if it was cruising right thru the system? Thank You for any feedback on the above Q's.

Fyron · #2 October 8th, 2003, 03:29 PM

"Stellar- when you create a warp point opening into an anothers(ally or enemy) system..can they see the new warp point?"

Yes. It creates a warp point on both ends, and anyone can use it. The new WP functions identically to any standard WP.

"system wide nebulas-Is there planets to be found hidden in the systems that contain system wide nebulas?"

Not in stock SE4. You could mod such things in if you want to though.

"Crystaline torps- I had assumed because it was a "torp"...that PDG's couldn't target them...can they or can't they?"

They are a seeking weapon, so PDC can target them. Do not go off of names, but rather the Weapon Type. PDC can target any "Seeker", but not "Direct Fire". "Seekers" create an object that must travel to its target. "Direct Fire" just fire a "beam" that hits instantly (or misses instantly).

"..Crystal armour...does crystal armour regenerate X amount of points to the shields when the ship is hit...or when the armour is hit?"

It does it when the armor is hit. The shields must be down before CA can generate any shield points from damage.

" & Lastly...Medium storms that say opaque to most scanners...any idea what level scans they prevent...or if you have a ship in there is it as visible as if it was cruising right thru the system?"

Generally, storms (sector-sized) provide level 2 cloaking. Color does not matter for sector-storms. You can find the abilities possible on them in StellarAbilityTypes.txt. System-wide storms (nebulae) also provide level 2 cloaking, save the red one, which provides level 4 (undetectable) cloaking. Their abilities can be found in SystemTypes.txt.

nesrall · #3 October 8th, 2003, 03:50 PM

Wow...thanks very much for the quick reply...but now 2 more Q's have been raised. the crystal armour, say you have 5 units on your ship, now when damage hits them,are they damaged 1 unit at a time?....or a little bit off of each unit so eventually they're destroyed all at once? the system wide nebulas,thank you, I looked in the file you said & the info there is great....but how in the heck did you figure out what color storm blocked what scan?

dogscoff · #4 October 8th, 2003, 04:11 PM

Quote:

but how in the heck did you figure out what color storm blocked what scan?

A list of the nebula colours was posted here a few years ago. I seem to remember that the yellow and brown nebulae cloak at level 1 and 2 (not sure which is which though). Green cloaks at level 3, then red and purple provide the highest level of cloaking at 4 & 5 respectively. I could be wrong though, and of course those pesky new "multicoloured" nebulae were introduced with Gold.

Oh, and on enemy-created warp points, Fyron forgot to point out that you don't need a presence in an affected system to spot a new warp point- as long as that system is not unexplored (ie is explored) for you, you will see the new warp point whenever you click that system on the map, whether you have a ship there or not. You may or may not get a message in your turn log about it new warp points as well, i can't remember.

Arkcon · #5 October 8th, 2003, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nesrall:
the crystal armour, say you have 5 units on your ship, now when damage hits them,are they damaged 1 unit at a time?....or a little bit off of each unit so eventually they're destroyed all at once?

Maybe. If an attack destroys one armor component and damages another, you'll get double recharge. Damage in SE4 is done to one component after another in sequence, not spread across the ship, so usually you just get one armor recharge.

Quote:

the system wide nebulas,thank you, I looked in the file you said & the info there is great....but how in the heck did you figure out what color storm blocked what scan?

Play ancient galaxy so you get lots of nebulas. Research the various levels of one sensor (they're all the same). Then test it out. And post your results here Wiki {link} for everyone to enjoy.

Fyron · #6 October 8th, 2003, 09:08 PM

All of the shields from damage will be totaled from the CA on your ship. If you have 5 and they are rated at 15 shields from damage each, then you will get up tp 75 shield points from damage (keeping in mind that you can not get more shield points than total damage done to the armors). Also, the CA ability will function if ANY armor component is hit, not just a CA.

Look in Pictures\Systems for the Storm#.bmp files. Compare these file names to those used by the system Storms in SystemTypes.txt file to see what color has what level. For sector storms, any color storm can have any sector storm ability that is in StellarAbilityTypes.txt, so you can not tell what a sector storm does just from its color.

Suicide Junkie · #7 October 8th, 2003, 09:31 PM

As a special case:
If your shields are up, but your ship takes damage through them, the CA ability will still boost shield strength.

EG: Phased Polaron Beams. If your shields are non-phased, and at 100/200 hitpoints, then if you get hit by a PPB for 50 damage, the CA on your ship can boost your shields up to 150/200 (Maximum boost is still the sum of the "shields from damage" amount, and shields never get boosted above 100%)

If you ram another ship, then your shields are not used in the collision. Assuming you survive the impact(!), and still have shield generators, your CA will again boost your shields.

oleg · #8 October 9th, 2003, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Arkcon:

quote:
Originally posted by nesrall:
the crystal armour, say you have 5 units on your ship, now when damage hits them,are they damaged 1 unit at a time?....or a little bit off of each unit so eventually they're destroyed all at once?

Maybe. If an attack destroys one armor component and damages another, you'll get double recharge. Damage in SE4 is done to one component after another in sequence, not spread across the ship, so usually you just get one armor recharge.

]

Not entirely correct. ALL CA components are used for recharge even though only one is hit.
Example: you have 3 CA III and get hit for 50 damage. Only one CA register damage but your shields get boosted by 45 (3x15) points.

[ October 09, 2003, 15:22: Message edited by: oleg ]

Arkcon · #9 October 9th, 2003, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by oleg:
Not entirely correct. ALL CA components are used for recharge even though only one is hit.
Example: you have 3 CA III and get hit for 50 damage. Only one CA register damage but your shields get boosted by 45 (3x15) points.

Hmmm. I never knew that. I must revisit the crystalurgy trait.

Fyron · #10 October 9th, 2003, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by oleg:

quote:
Originally posted by Arkcon:
Maybe. If an attack destroys one armor component and damages another, you'll get double recharge. Damage in SE4 is done to one component after another in sequence, not spread across the ship, so usually you just get one armor recharge.

]

Not entirely correct. ALL CA components are used for recharge even though only one is hit.
Example: you have 3 CA III and get hit for 50 damage. Only one CA register damage but your shields get boosted by 45 (3x15) points.

That's what I said.