SHIP DESIGNS (CONT.)

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 hits of damage from all attacks. Obviously, a superior shield can make a ship nearly immune to enemy attacks.

ECM Generators: ECM units (Electronic Counter Measures) reduce the chance of enemy missiles striking the protected ship. A ship’s missile defense is the sum of the ship’s beam defense plus its ECM rating. Without a powerful ECM generator most advanced missiles will almost always hit.

Armor: Armor protects a ship from all attacks by increasing the ship’s total hit points. There are two types of armor for each material: standard and double hull. The standard hull always take the same amount of space, regardless of the material. Double hulls (displayed as II) on the other hand require twice the normal amount of space and increase the hit points of the ship by an additional 50%. Refinements in designs from improved technology reduces the size of armor just like all other devices (50% per ten levels).

Engines: Not only do ship engines move a starship, but they are also responsible for powering all of the ship’s devices. Each engine generates 10 units of power times its warp rating, i.e. a fusion engine produces 40 units of power. On the galaxy map, each level of warp moves the starship one parsec per year, i.e. Fusion engines (warp 4) move a ship 4 parsecs per turn. In combat, a ship’s maneuverability increases a ship’s inherent defense against beam and missile weapons.
So why not always choose the best warp engine available since you move faster on the galaxy map and have a better defense in combat? The answer is space. Since nearly every device on a ship requires power, a miniaturized engine (lower level) will allow you to fit quite a bit more on a ship.

Maneuverability: Unlike galaxy map travel, combat movement require rapid changes in direction and speed. On the galaxy map, ships can take a long time to accelerate into hyperspace. In combat, a ship requires more thrust to overcome inertia and alter course quickly. To do so requires more engines to provide the needed thrust. The actual number of engine units needed to move a ship 1 space per turn depends on the ship’s size. The larger the ship, the more thrust required to move in combat. The engine units shown to the right of the combat speed is the total number of engines that are required to power all ship’s systems and move the starship in combat. Your combat speed increases by one for every two levels of maneuverability.

Weapon Types: Each ship may have at most four different types of
mounted weapons. The following list details and explains weapon attributes.

• Beam Weapons are direct fire weapons that strike the target instantly.
Damage is shown as a range, with the minimum damage being
scored if the attacker rolls the minimum to hit and maximum damage