THE SHIP DESIGN SCREEN

As you develop technology you will want to design new ships to take advantage of the advanced weapons, force fields, computers, and engines that you have developed. Only six designs can be in commission at one time, and you may have to scrap other ships to make room for the new designs.

Technology is not the only consideration in ship design. Ship size also limits how many devices can be mounted on the ship and cost determines how fast the ships can be produced.

In order to change a ship’s equipment, press the mouse on either the title or name of the item to alter. If the item cannot be increased in size or power due to space constraints or lack of technology, it will appear darkened. Once selected, a list of all available technology will be shown on the screen, with their cost, space, and power requirements. The total space column shows the total space requirements for the item including extra engines needed to power the item. Any item too big to fit on the ship as currently configured will be darkened.

Ship Name: Each time that you design a new ship it will have a default name that suits the current ship size and your race. If you wish to change the name, press the mouse on the name field and enter the new name.

Ship Size: The size of a starship determines how many devices can be placed on a ship, how much damage the ship can take before being destroyed, and how maneuverable the ship is in combat. Smaller ships are more maneuverable and so are harder to hit in combat while the larger ships are much easier to hit.

Battle Computers: Battle computers direct all ship’s fire. The more advanced the battle computer the better the chance a ship has of hitting an enemy target. In addition, in combat better battle computers provide faster response time and improve a ship’s initiative (the order in which ships move and fire).

Shields: Force fields are essential to the survival of a starship. Shields absorb damage from all incoming attacks an amount equal to their class. For example, Class V shields absorb 5 points of damage from all attacks. Obviously, a superior shield can make a ship nearly immune to enemy attacks.