Phase shields, need a number.

N

Newcommanderondablock

Rear Admiral
I have a question thats been plaguing my mind for a long time. I need to know how thick Phase shields are. I know fighter weapons cannot penetrate them, but i need a number on how thick they are. Ships with Phase shields are a pain in the ass to simulate in the Fleet Action MOD.
Please, i need as much help as possible. Sofar, ive just been using 10,000 cm for phase shields (100cm in wc1 terms, 1000cm in wc2 terms, 10,000 in wc3 terms) and it seems to be rather unbalanced in-game against wc1 and 3 ships (seeing that im using ships from wc1 - 3).
Any help would be greaty appreciated. Thank you.
 
It's not a matter of how "thick" they are. Energy guns from the WC3/WC4 era would be able to penetrated the phase shields of a WC2 ship.They didn't stop using phase shields, energy gun technology just got better. It's not like a WC2 kilrathi destroyer had so better shielding than a WC3 kilrathi dreadnoiught.
 
The thickness varies from game to game, as does their penetrability - the shields in WC1 are phase shields, just as the shields in WC2 and 3 are phase shields. As far as thickness is concerned, the numbers increase approximately x10 in every game. So, the Tiger's Claw in WC1 had 21cm phase shields (gun penetrable). Then, in WC2, the average capship had 100cm shields (anything beyond 100 was unpenetrable with guns), though the Concordia herself had 500cm. And in WC3, the average capship had around 3000cm (and still could be damaged with guns), though freighters had as little as 1000cm, and the Kilrathi dreadnought had 8000cm.

Note however that carriers can definitely be upgraded. For example, the Ranger class in WC3 has 3000cm shields, but common sense indicates that the original design had no more than 20cm... probably less than 10cm, in fact. So, you need to choose a time period and upgrade all ships to shields and armour used in that period.
 
You should choose one system and apply it to all capships (excluding corvettes).

There's a nice explanation of this on the alt.games.wing-commander FAQ

Code: 
Q: Why can't some weapons damage enemy capital ships?
A: Because shield and weapon technology keep improving. Here is a list for the fighter-based weapons and if they are effective against capital ships:

WC1: ..... Guns: All ....... Missiles: All
WC2: ..... Guns: On Capships Missiles: Torpedoes, Mace
WC3: ..... Guns: All ....... Missiles: All
WC4: ..... Guns: All ....... Missiles: All
WCP/SO: .. Guns: Plasma .... Missiles: Torpedoes

Note: On WCP/SO, guns and some missiles are effective against some external targets of capital ships like gun turrets, but can't damage the key targets like bridge or engines.

I think I wrote this one. It had, btw, spelling errors, that are now corrected (at least here).
 
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Originally posted by TCSTigersClaw
I agree with these, but in Wc1 they didnt use Phase Shields......
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yeah, the tech specs in the KS manual say that the phase shields were the latest in defensive tech
 
Originally posted by Delance
You should choose one system and apply it to all capships (excluding corvettes).

There's a nice explanation of this on the alt.games.wing-commander FAQ
Click to expand...

Well,I get various links from the CIC all this years....I ve never seen that Delance posted.Where are these ????Where did you find them ????

P.S. Delance Ive seen you work in the Articles,Great man ;)
 
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Originally posted by TCSTigersClaw
Well,I get various links from the CIC all this years....I ve never seen that Delance posted.Where are these ????Where did you find them ????
Click to expand...

The FAQ, generously hosted by the CIC, is actually from the agwc newsgroup


P.S. Delance Ive seen you work in the Articles,Great man ;)
Click to expand...

What articles? :)
 
Originally posted by Newcommanderondablock
Ok then, never mind guns/shields improving, what thickness are the shields on all wing commander 2 ships, i need to know! Thank you.
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If it's not on the CIC's database, it's probably nowhere. Of course, if the shields are gun-invulnerable, their thickness are irrelevant.

So, what you could do is the use the numbers from the closest WC3 equivalent,
 
Originally posted by Newcommanderondablock
Ok then, never mind guns/shields improving, what thickness are the shields on all wing commander 2 ships, i need to know! Thank you.
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I just told you a few posts ago... in WC2, the average capship had 100cm shields (anything beyond 100 was not penetrable with guns), though the Concordia herself had 500cm (the highest for any WC2 capship).
 
Originally posted by TC
Not really... there are lots of problems with the ship database.
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Whatever, I don't think that there are values for the WC2 phase shields, for a good reason. All they do is make the ship 100% invulnerable to certain weapons. I think that due to the nature of it, Torps and capship big guns just pass trough.
 
Well, if the estimate of the Concordia's shields are 500, then can someone please GUESS the others? Im getting stressed right now (it has nothing to do with you guys, i appreciate this help ALOT)
 
It's not an estimate, it's straight from the game :p. Anyway, here are the shield stats for all WC2 capships, including the ones that can be shot with guns, and starbases:

Gilgamesh: 110cm
Waterloo: 100cm
Confederation: 500cm
Clydesdale: 30cm (gun-penetrable)
Free Trader: 9.5 cm (gun-penetrable)
Starbase: 100cm
Ayer's Rock (from SO2): 100cm
Supply Depot (from SO1): 30cm (gun-penetrable)

Ralatha: 100cm
Fralthra: 100cm
Kamekh: 9.8cm (gun-penetrable)
Dorkathi: 9.5cm (gun-penetrable)
K'tithrak Mang: 100cm
Supply Depot: 100cm
 
Originally posted by Quarto
It's not an estimate, it's straight from the game :p. Anyway, here are the shield stats for all WC2 capships, including the ones that can be shot with guns, and starbases:

Gilgamesh: 110cm
Waterloo: 100cm
Confederation: 500cm
Clydesdale: 30cm (gun-penetrable)
Free Trader: 9.5 cm (gun-penetrable)
Starbase: 100cm
Ayer's Rock (from SO2): 100cm
Supply Depot (from SO1): 30cm (gun-penetrable)

Ralatha: 100cm
Fralthra: 100cm
Kamekh: 9.8cm (gun-penetrable)
Dorkathi: 9.5cm (gun-penetrable)
K'tithrak Mang: 100cm
Supply Depot: 100cm
Click to expand...


Mate, you are a lifesaver! I O U BIGTIME *Textbook salute*
 
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