Research has types of effect which apply only to warships' components, but which are very important in warship design (covered later) and which are mentioned briefly in the description of the relevant technologies. Explaining these concepts here will make it much easier for you to understand the tech descriptions.
Since some sub-classes of these effects relate to how damage is done in combat, this will be summarized first.
How damage is done in combat
A well-equipped warship has up to 4 parts:
- Shields block some damage completely (it never happened, it did not even weaken the shields), and absorb further damage until they fail. A ship's shields have 4 sides, and only the side that is hit takes damage (except in the case of "enveloping" weapons; see below).
- Armor absorbs damage once the shields have been penetrated, until it is destroyed.
- After the shields and armor have been taken down, damage is usually done to the target's structure and the target is destroyed when its structural strength is reduced to zero.
- But sometimes enemy fire hits a ship's or Starbase's internal systems, which seriously reduces its fighting capability. Hits on a ship's engines can immobilize it or even cause the engines to explode, which destroys the ship and does severe damage to any other object in close range.
The strength of a ship's shields depends on their tech level and on the ship's size class:
- Frigate ("small")
- Destroyer ("medium")
- Cruiser ("large")
- Battleship ("huge")
- Titan
- Doomstar
Miniaturization
After you research a particular warship component, researching each of the next 5 levels in the same subject reduce the component's cost (PP) and size, so that you can include more combat-related equipment in each size of warship. The effects are dramatic, for example the 5th level of miniaturization usually reduces a component's size and cost to about 25% of their initial values.
But there are a few types of component that are not miniaturized, for example Heavy Armor.
Note that miniaturization works even if the next few techs you research in the same subject are not combat-related, so it's available to non-Creative and Uncreative empires as well as to Creatives. But generally you only miniaturization by research, not via techs thet you gain by trading or conquest. The exception is that if trading or conquest gives you the last tech at a level, you get all the miniaturization associated with that level. If you get by trade or conquest a higher-level tech than you've researched in that subject, it stays at its initial space and cost values until you research beyond the level that contains that tech.
After you have researched all the techs in a subject, you can research "Hyper Advanced" levels of that subject. These do not provide any new techs, but enable you to miniaturize the game's most advanced warship components. Most competitive games never reach this level, but in single-player games against AI opponents it can be fun to produce the Warship From Hell, stuffed with a huge number of very advanced weapons plus a collection of special systems that increase their effectiveness.
The detailed ratios of miniaturization are:
| Level | Space (shields & weapons, except torpedoes and special weapons) | Space (other components, including torpedoes and special weapons) | Production cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .80 | .80 | .75 |
| 2 | .66 | .70 | .55 |
| 3 | .50 | .60 | .40 |
| 4 | .36 | .50 | .30 |
| 5 or more | .25 | .40 | .25 |
Weapon modifications
Every weapons has a range of possible modifications, of which some are available initially and others become available after 1 or 2 levels of miniaturization. These modifications are often referred to a "mods", but this guide will not use the abbreviation as it is also widely used to describe adaptations of the rules of many games, including MOO II.
All weapons allow some modifications, but hardly any allow all types of modification.
"Beam" weapons
This includes the "machine-gun" weapons Mass Driver and Gaus Cannon. All hit their targets instantly (if they hit).
Level 0 modifications
These are available immediately:
- Heavy mount (HV)
All beams have HV versions which have 50% greater range and power, and 100% greater accuracy, but cost twice as much and use twice as much space. Although this appears poor value, HV weapons have 2 important uses: increasing your range; penetrating through shields (see below). Increased range is particularly important in the early game when warships are very slow in combat; without increased range ships with "beam" weapons would often be destroyed by missiles before they could fire a shot (missiles have unlimited range) and Note: HV weapons cannot target small objects such as missiles and fighters.
- Point defense (PD)
PD weapons have half the cost, size, range and firepower of normal weapons. But they are very accurate and therefore the most effective against small objects such as missiles and fighters. But some weapons do not have PD versions.
Level 1 modifications
These are available after 1 level of miniaturization and apply in varying combinations to some weapons:
- Armor Piercing (AP)
The weapon's fire passes right through armor and hits the targets structure or systems, once its shields have been penetrated (see below). This effect is blocked by Heavy Armor and by the exotic Xentronium Armor, which you cannot research and can only gain by defeating Orion's Guardian or by capturing and scrapping an Antaran ship (both very difficult) - or by espionage or conquest, if another empire got Xentronium Armor the hard way. AP increases a weapon's size and cost by 50% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).
- Continuous Fire (CO)
This prevents a "beam" weapon from overheating and thus allows it to fire for a longer period, allowing the ship's targeting computer to adjust its aim and therefore the increasing the chance of hitting by 25%. This is particularly useful if you do not have advanced targeting computers, or against opponents with a Ship Defense bonus. CO increases a weapon's size and cost by 50% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).
- No Range Dissipation (NR)
Most "beam" weapons do reduced damage at longer ranges. NR eliminates this, but is availabe for very few weapons. It increases a weapon's size and cost by 25% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).
- Shield Piercing (SP)
The weapon's fire passes right through the target's shields(see below). This effect is blocked by the Hard Shields special system. SP increases a weapon's size and cost by 50% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).
Level 2 modifications
These are available after 2 levels of miniaturization and apply in varying combinations to some weapons:
- Auto-Fire (AF)
Allows a "beam" to fire 3 times per combat turn, but with a 20% reduction in accuracy on the 2nd shot and a 40% reduction on the 3rd. Only useful if you have targeting computers and the enemy has no empire bonus or ship components that increases its Defense rating, but can be deadly against opponents with no defensive enhancement. AF increases a weapon's size and cost by 50% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).
- Enveloping (ENV)
Hits at all 4 sides of the target simultaneously. If the weapon hits and the enemy has no shields or its shields are down, the damage is quadrupled. ENV increases a weapon's size and cost by 100% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).
"Missile" weapons
This section covers both missiles and torpedoes. Although these are very different in some ways, both take a few combat turns to hit their targets but have unlimited range and greater accuracy than "beam" weapons.
All missiles (but not torpedoes) can have a modification which is not dependent on miniaturization but on a specific technology: Emissions Guidance (EMG) makes all missiles that penetrate a ship's anti-missile defenses and shields do all their damage to its engines, either immobilizing it or making it explode. EMG quadruples a missile's size and cost. It provides no advantage against Star Bases and planet-based defenses.
Level 0 modifications
None.
Level 1 modifications
These are available after 1 level of miniaturization and apply in varying combinations to some weapons:
- Heavily Armored (ARM)
Missiles are protected by the empire's best grade of armor and this grealty increases the damage required to destroy the missile. ARM increases a missile rack's size and cost by 25% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).
- Electronic Counter-Counter Measures (ECCM)
This halves the chance that a missile or torpedo will miss because of jamming by the target's ECM (Electronic Counter Measures). ECCM increases a missile rack's size and cost by 25% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).
- Fast (FST)
Increases a missile's or torpedo's speed by 8 squares per combat turn, and makes it harder to hit. FST increases the weapon's size and cost by 25% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).
- Not Reduced by Range (NR)
Applies only to Plasma Torpedoes, whose strength normally decreases for every combat turn between launch and impact. NR eliminates this reduction, but increases the weapon's size and cost by 25% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).
Level 2 modifications
These are available after 2 levels of miniaturization and apply in varying combinations to some weapons:
- Enveloping (ENV)
Like the similar modification for "beams", this torpedo modification makes it hit at all 4 sides of the target simultaneously. If the weapon hits and the enemy has no shields or its shields are down, the damage is quadrupled. ENV increases the weapon's size and cost by 100% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).
- MIRV (MV)
MV missiles carry 4 full-strength warheads, and so quadruples the damage. MV increases the missile rack's size and cost by 100% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).
- Overloaded (OV)
Applies only to torpedoes and increases the weapon's power by 50%. OV increases the weapon's size and cost by 25% of the current standard value (after miniaturization).