General question about shields

[picommander]

Tutorial suggests that shield's protection depend on their energy level. But how is this meant in detail? I'm still unsure how shields work in general, that is when they're partially down. Assuming in both cases the energy state of the shield would be the same, does a shield at 50% provide the same amount of protection than at 100%? Or are there only two states (ON/OFF, again leave alone energy state) and thus providing full protection until they reach 0%?

P.S. I guess energy level just controls how long the shields are able to resist but has no further effect on protection as such, right?

[DaveK]

Hi

In no order (because some I'll have to look up!)

The shields protect you hull. When the shields reach zero you hull begins to take damage. When your hull reaches zero you blow up. You can transfer energy from one shield bank to another (keypad 2 - 4 - 6 - 8 keys) and equalise the shield energy between the four sectors (keypad 5) - useful in combat when being hit mainly from one direction

The energy your shields use to recharge is shared with your weapons so you can change the weighting between shields and weapons according to need.

You can install equipment that boosts shield energy and recharge rate - I need to look up exactly what it is and how it works because most pilots fit it as the first step and then forget it

EDIT:
Shield Boosters are the power storage part of the shield system. They are a series of capacitors that store energy for each
shield array. A single cell provides basic storage capacity for the shield system. It is possible to fit up to five of these
booster cells

Shield Packs provide a significant charge to a ship's shield system. They can be installed on secondary hardpoints and raise all arrays by about 50%. Two packs should raise the shield reserve to 100%

The Shield Array Recharger works as an energy transfer system and provides additional shield energy to arrays that become critical by routing power from the main energy system to the shield system.

You can install different strengths of shield generator in your ships frame (Class 1 - Class 10) in the shipyard

I'll edit this after I've eaten and found out the details or you can download the The Mecenaries' Technical Guide for lots of details!



[Edited on 4-4-2014 by DaveK]

[Marvin]

That's what I've always thought. But Vice is usually a bit more complicated than that. Besides, it seems that it takes quite awhile for your shields to drop below 100% ... but, once they do, it takes much less time for them to deteriorate down to nothing. And, when you redirect energy from one shield to another, you lose a bit of energy in the transfer. Which is why I only pay attention to shields when the HUD indicator turns yellow ... or red. Other than that, I pay more attention to hull damage as the supreme indicator of when it's time to find a place to hide from hostile forces intent of destroying my ship.

[Capt_Caveman]

shield strength seems consistant until they reach 0 %
the time it takes to reach 0% is dependent on energy capacity of your ships frame, energy/weapon bias setting, shield battery class and the weapons being used against them.

BUT as marvin stated,
when you equalize or augment there is a loss in the transfer so you will lose shield strength quicker.

the more you augment the more you lose overall
(dont hold the augment button down, only tap it every few seconds)



[Edited on 4-4-2014 by capt_cronic]

[Marvin]

shield strength seems consistant until they reach 0 %

A fair statement. But it seems that there is a threshold at which full shield strength (100%) is breached ... after which, the drop in strength is constant.

[picommander]

So it's still undecided since Marvin's and capt_cronic's statements seem contradictory to me.

The reason why I asked wasn't in the first place defense in mind rather than certain offensive considerations about my new stick setup (it's about questions like if it's worth to use beam and particle laser separately or not, mainly with energy consumption -> damage relation in mind, also consideration of sheer button consumption ). Therefor I need a bit more details about how the shields actually work.

Marvin, with "strength" I assume you mean hull protection, right?

[Edited on 4-4-2014 by picommander]

[Busch]

Shield cores (in any size: C-1 thru C10) provide a 4-array, cruciform-patterned, (fore [front], aft [back/rear], port [left], starboard [right]) global shield bubble around the parent ship frame. Shield power is drawn from the engine and shield battery banks, (C-1 thru C-5) which are also parent to the ships' frame. {Current build dynamics will not allow less than a C-1 shield as a game paradigm. Unlike that of cargo bays.} Shield strength may be enhanced by the installation of a shield recharger as an equipment item. Although, some pilots may wish to forego the shield recharger in favor of other equipment items, as the shield recharger is viewed by some as more of a defensive rather than as an offensive-use item. As mentioned above, shield energy/strength may be assisted/boosted to any of the 4 arrays by the means of map-able toggles. The efficacy of shield packs also having been discussed here briefly. DaveK's Evochron Mercenaries' Technical Guide may describe the shield science (or the science behind the shields) with a whole lot more technical stuff, and with more eloquence than I can muster. Hope what I've said helps...

[Marvin]

Many of the pilots who fly PvP and/or successfully attack and destroy capital ships do select lasers prior to employing the cannon. The technique (so they say) is effective.

[picommander]

THAT'S what I actually needed to know, the details can wait. Thanks Marvin!

[Marvin]

Btw, if you do it that way, you'll probably want a high-powered laser and a high-powered cannon. Whereas, lazy pilots like myself almost always use both guns together ... forcing me to use a low-powered laser to keep from running out of energy during combat. Unfortunately, it also limits my effectiveness against capital ships.

[PaulB]

Shield Packs provide a significant charge to a ship's shield system. They can be installed on secondary hardpoints and raise all arrays by about 50%. Two packs should raise the shield reserve to 100%

Someone will correct me if I am wrong - but I think Shield Packs on a Hardpoint are only good for a one-time use - just like firing a missile - just like Stealth Packs - only good for a one-time use.
And expensive for something you can only use once - however it only takes once to save your life. But not having a missile in that slot might cost you your life too - so flip a coin I guess.

Paul

[Marvin]

Correct. But, assuming you have one of each: a missile and a shield pack ... the pack might give you that extra couple of seconds you need to lock up a target and fire the missile.

[PaulB]

Btw, if you do it that way, you'll probably want a high-powered laser and a high-powered cannon. Whereas, lazy pilots like myself almost always use both guns together ... forcing me to use a low-powered laser to keep from running out of energy during combat. Unfortunately, it also limits my effectiveness against capital ships.

Out of curiosity ( have no intention of tackling a CAP ship at this point). What is your definition of a high-powered Laser and Particle cannon - in terms of yield/speed/range, please, not specific game guns, because I'm using custom Weapon Lab Beam and particle???

Paul

[Marvin]

Lasers are harmonized to your cannon so the most important laser requirement is yield. For cannons, it depends on your combat style ... but yield is still important.

[picommander]

As I understand the more yield the more energy cost (in general), with particle laser there is also distance and rate of fire as part of the deal so you basically can't have maxed out all elements, you need to diminish at least one, or trying to find a balance between all 3, depending on your fighting style.

Edit: With "harmonize" do you mean your beam laser automatically has the same distance than your particle laser (that's what I would assume)?

[Edited on 6-4-2014 by picommander]

[Marvin]

Yes ... and yes. Because of the amount of energy used, that's the primary reason for selecting only lasers to take down shields. If you use a low-powered laser, you can use both the laser and cannon together ... but don't plan on taking down a capital ship by yourself.

[PaulB]

As I understand the more yield the more energy cost (in general), with particle laser there is also distance and rate of fire as part of the deal so you basically can't have maxed out all elements, you need to diminish at least one, or trying to find a balance between all 3, depending on your fighting style.

Edit: With "harmonize" do you mean your beam laser automatically has the same distance than your particle laser (that's what I would assume)?

[Edited on 6-4-2014 by picommander]

That's not necessarily so (regarding your 1st paragraph).
I'm using a custom Fusion Particle and custom Coil Beam.
The Maxim-R is rated at 50Y 780R 22C
My Fusion Particle is 77Y 780R 19C
It fires slightly longer than the Maxim-R with 25+% more yield and faster speed (19C vs 22C)
The Coil is rated at 42Y and I don't remember the C rating.
My custom Coil is 47Y 11C - so a bit more yield.
Any design above Coil (Neodyium, Fusion) beams - EVEN using the same yield - I could not get the energy very close to mine (E/S10). It wanted to jump up to 12-16+.
The Coil in Weapon Lab gives the best yield vs energy efficiency at at around that level of yield.
You have to carefully tweak the slider values in Weapon Lab to get the best final result.
I'd really like to have a more powerful Fusion - but not unless there was a new, improved Cannon Heat Sink or Relay that would offset the higher energy usage or the risk is too great of draining your energy.
But 77Y is not bad competition at all for a Maxim-R and still retaining a range of 780.

Paul

[Edited on 4-6-2014 by PaulB]

[Busch]

Yep, long-time/many builds ago, the max range on the beam cannons got slaved to the max range of the particle cannons, of what ever flavor off-the-shelf or by weapons lab design. Cool feature! Should you be inclined to a 'Pistolero' frame-of-mind, turn off the MDTS and shoot your particle cannon 'from the hip' - the beam cannon auto-tracks/locks-on the principle target.