C-Ship Modules

Command & Controle Modules

Five new command and control modules have been added, the cost of the bridge has been doubled and the role of the flag bridge has been changed. Each module adds one to the Control Rating of the ship.

• 1) Bridge is 1 HS and costs 20 BP. The required rank for the ship commander is the racial minimum.
• 2) Auxiliary control is 1 HS and 15 BP. Allows the assignment of an Executive Officer to the ship who will apply his full Crew Training Bonus. The required rank for the ship commander is one above the racial minimum.
• 3) Science Department is 2 HS and 50 BP. Allows the assignment of a Science Officer to the ship who will apply his full Survey Bonus. The required rank for the ship commander is one above the racial minimum.
• 4) Main Engineering is 3 HS and 75 BP. Allows the assignment of a Chief Engineer to the ship who will apply his Engineering Bonus to affect maintenance and damage control. The required rank for the ship commander is two above the racial minimum.
• 5) Combat Information Centre (CIC) is 3 HS and 75 BP. Allows the assignment of a Tactical Officer to the ship who will apply his Tactical Bonus to various combat-related function (TBD). The required rank for the ship commander is two above racial minimum.
• 6) Primary Flight Control is 4 HS and 100 BP. Allows the assignment of a Commander Air Group to the ship who will apply his full Fighter Operations Bonus. The required rank for the ship commander is one above the racial minimum.
• 7) Flag Bridge is 5 HS and 125 BP. A fleet that includes a ship with a flag bridge can assign a 'fleet commander' senior to the commander of the ship. If a fleet has multiple flag bridges, the most senior officer assigned to any of them will be the fleet commander. The fleet commander will improve the fleet's overall reaction rating by his Reaction Bonus. If there are no flag bridges in a fleet, the senior ship commander will be the de facto fleet commander, but his reaction bonus will not affect other ships. The required rank for the ship commander of the ship with the flag bridge is two above the racial minimum. There are no longer any task forces or staff officers. Any commander assigned to a flag bridge who is not the most senior in the fleet will be referred to as a 'Flag Officer'.

In cases where different control stations have different required ranks for the ship commander, the highest rank takes precedence.

An officer can be killed if his station is damaged. I may also add 'temporary promotions' if the commander is killed, with the most senior surviving officer taking over as commander until relieved or promoted.

Except for the ship commander and the executive officer, the bonus from each specialist will only apply if their associated module is undamaged. Bonuses from the commander and XO will only apply if the ship has a control rating greater than zero (they can command the ship from any of the surviving control spaces). Ships smaller than 1000 tons automatically have a control rating of 1, even without a bridge. This is to simulate that small ships do not require a dedicated centralised command function.

I don't plan to scale the modules to ship size or add extra crew. That would add extra complexity and make designing ships more difficult. For small ships, most command and control modules won't be used, and once you get past a certain size of ship, they will probably all be used. I am not trying to create a decision as to whether a battleship should have a CIC or Main Engineering, but rather to create meaningful choices for mid-range ships. Date 07.12.2018

Engines

Ship Engines and Fuel

Engine HTK

Due to their size, Engines in VB6 Aurora create a damage shield because their HTK is very high compared to the amount of damage they are likely to receive. This would only become worse in C# Aurora with much larger engines now possible.

Therefore, the Engine HTK will change from 50% of Size to SQRT(Size). 21.05.2017

Engine Size and Fuel Consumption

In C# Aurora, missile and ship engines follow a single fuel consumption rule. The modifier is equal to SQRT (10 / Engine Size in HS). Thanks to alex_brunius for the formula.

The new rule creates a smooth transition for both engine types, which is more realistic and consistent, provides a bonus to larger ships, makes the fuel portion of missile design more interesting (as fuel is not a major concern at the moment) and allows larger engines to be designed beyond the current 50 HS limit.

This will complement the new sensor changes as they will reduce missile ranges anyway (described in the changes discussion thread but not published here yet)

http://www.pentarch.org/steve/Screenshots/FuelModelV2.PNG

As a result of these changes, a new Maximum Engine Size tech progression has been added. The starting max engine size is 25 HS. The research progression is 40 HS, 60 HS, 100 HS, 160 HS, 250 HS and 400 HS, with the costs ranging from 2,000 RP to 60,000 RP. Date 14.05.2017

Fuel

Shields no longer require fuel. Date 27.05.2017

Jump Engines

In C# Aurora, commercial-engined and military-engined ships are treated separately. So if you have a fleet with mixed engine types that also includes ships with commercial and military jump drives, it will still carry out a standard transit if the respective jump drives are large enough for the ships with the matching respective engine types. However, if any ship with either engine type can't jump, the whole fleet will fail to transit. Squadron jumps are handled differently so I will cover that in a separate post. Date 06.10.2016

Hangars

please refer to C-Fighter and Carrier

Labor Modules

Maintenance Modules

please refer to C-Ship-Maintenance

Power Plant

Power Plant Changes

Power plants will no longer have linear power vs size. Additional power will be produced by larger reactors, using a similar formula to the increase in fuel efficiency for larger engines. This change will provide a reason to create larger power plants and will result in a small improvement in energy weapon capabilities. The table below shows power per HS and total power for a given size of reactor. This value is multiplied by the base technology of the power plant (Pressurised Water, Pebble Bed, etc).

http://www.pentarch.org/steve/Screenshots/PowerPlant01.PNG

The additional boost provided by the "Power Plant Boost" technology line provides double the previous bonus, with lower research costs and slightly higher explosion chances. This is intended for smaller ships that are short on space. The updated tech line provides between 10% and 100% additional boost with research costs between 500 RP and 30,000 RP. Date 20.05.2017

Beam Weapon Recharge

In VB6, if a power plant is damaged, it slows down the recharge rate of all weapons by a proportionate amount.

In C# Aurora, power is allocated weapon by weapon until the available power is exhausted. This means that some weapons may not be recharged, but the others will be recharged at the maximum rate. Weapons are charged in order of ascending power requirement. Once a weapon is recharged, it will require no more power and other weapons can begin the recharge process.

This should allocate power in the most effective way to keep a ship in the fight. Date 19.07.2017

Sensors

New Active Sensor Model

A new active sensor model has been implemented for C# Aurora. In VB6 Aurora, there is an issue that active sensor ranges become so huge with large size-50 sensors, that the standard tactic is to create a ship with such a sensor so that it can watch the entire inner system, taking away some of the fog of war. In addition, such extreme-range sensors allow ultra-long range missile combat, giving the race that possesses such sensors a major advantage. The following change is intended to create a situation where:

• a) Multiple scouts or pickets become a serious alternative to one huge sensor.
• b) Missile combat ranges are reduced
• c) Fog of war is increased, leading to more interesting exploration and combat.

The VB6 sensor model is based on the following formula, which increases range in direct relation to sensor strength:

Sensor Range = Racial Sensor Strength * HS * Racial EM Sensitivity * SQRT(Resolution) * 10,000 km

The C# model uses similar basics and leaves all the existing technology in place. However, the sensor strength now has to cover an area rather than a direct range, creating diminishing returns for larger sensors. In addition, the modifier for resolution has been adjusted from square root to the power of (1 / 1.5). Because of this formula, smaller, lower resolution sensors are now more effective than the VB6 equivalents (much more in some cases), making earlier detection of missiles and fighters possible for non-specialised ships. The new formula is:

Sensor Range = SQRT((Racial Sensor Strength * HS * Racial EM Sensitivity * (Resolution ^ (1/1.5)) / PI) * 1,000,000 km

The following screenshots are based on the Commonwealth in my current campaign, which has active sensor strength 21 and EM sensitivity 11.

http://www.pentarch.org/steve/Screenshots/NewSensorModel200.PNG

http://www.pentarch.org/steve/Screenshots/NewSensorModel100.PNG

http://www.pentarch.org/steve/Screenshots/NewSensorModel20.PNG

http://www.pentarch.org/steve/Screenshots/NewSensorModel5.PNG

http://www.pentarch.org/steve/Screenshots/NewSensorModel1.PNG

Date 20.05.2017

New Passive Sensor Model

A new passive sensor model has been implemented for C# Aurora, using similar principles to the new active sensor model. In VB6 Aurora, small ship-based passive sensors are not particularly effective compared to active sensors in terms of detection, although their passive nature does allow a ship some sensor capability without giving away its position. Planet-based passive sensors (deep space tracking stations) are very effective as they can be stacked to cover the whole star system,

The C# Aurora passive sensor model substantially improves small passive sensors, particularly against small signatures, while dramatically reducing the benefits of creating large numbers of deep space tracking stations.

The VB6 sensor model is based on the following formula, which increases range in direct relation to sensor strength: Detection Range = Passive Sensor Strength * Target Signature * 1000 km. For example, a strength-10 thermal sensor would detect a signature-500 target at 5m km (10 * 500 * 1000).

The C# model uses all the existing technology and tech values. However, the sensor strength now has to cover an area rather than a direct range, creating diminishing returns for larger sensors. Detection Range = SQRT(Passive Sensor Strength * Target Signature ) * 250,000 km. The same example as above would result in the strength-10 thermal sensor detecting the signature-500 target at 17.7m km.

Because of the great improvement in the performance of small passive sensors, there will no longer be an inherent size-1 passive sensor on all ships. In addition, the smallest functional passive sensor on a missile will be 0.25 MSP.

The screenshot below demonstrates the difference between the two models.

http://www.pentarch.org/steve/Screenshots/PassiveSensorsV2.PNG

http://www.pentarch.org/steve/Screenshots/PassiveSensorsV2.PNG Date 11.06.2017

Shields

Shield Generators

Shield generators have been overhauled for C# Aurora to make them more interesting.

• 1) Shields no longer require fuel.
• 2) Shield generators can be created from 1 HS to 50 HS in size.
• 3) A new tech line has been added for maximum shield generator size. The starting tech is 10 HS and there are seven further steps from 12 to 50 with RP costs between 2000 RP and 120,000 RP.
• 3) The strength of the generator is modified by its size using the formula SQRT(HS/10). This means a 10 HS generator will have standard strength, a 1 HS generator will have 32% of normal strength and 50 HS generator will have 224% of normal strength
• 4) Recharge rates remain as before so a 10 HS shield will recharge at the same rate as an equivalent tech VB6 shield generator. Larger generators will recharge more slowly. For example, a 40 HS generator has 200% strength so will take twice as long to fully recharge.
• 5) HTK is the square root of the size, so it is easier to take out a single 50 HS generator than five 10 HS generators.
• 6) Cost of shields has been doubled
• 7) The only mineral involved in building shields is Corbomite.

In general, this means that shields become stronger than before and larger ships have an advantage when using shield generators. However, they also cost more, require more investment in research and are easier to destroy. Date 27.05.2017

Tanker Flag etc

Tanker Basics

You can flag a tanker as being at one of three refuel statuses; None, Refuel Fleet or Refuel Sub-Fleet. When this flag is set to Refuel Fleet, the tanker will constantly refuel its own fleet as that fleet continues with normal orders (the refuel itself is not an order). Essentially, the tanker will keep the fleet's fuel tanks topped up. The rate of refuel will be based on the refuelling system of the tanker multiplied by the parent race's underway replenishment tech (unless the fleet is stationary). If the flag is set to Refuel Sub-Fleet, the tanker will follow the same rules as above but only for ships within the same sub-fleet (you can use this distinction to control which ships are refuelled within the fleet)

Each tanker class has a minimum fuel setting (in the class window) and will not refuel ships once it falls below that level. Each class & ship has a 'refuel priority', with higher numbers equalling higher priority. The tanker will refuel in descending order of ship priority, then by descending order of class priority. The tanker will automatically move to a second ship (or more) if there is sufficient time and fuel remaining in the sub-pulse.

The current 'Refuel Fleet' order has been replaced with 'Join & Refuel Fleet'. The fleet containing the tanker will become part of the target fleet and switch to a 'Refuel Fleet' status (if not already set).

A new 'Join & Refuel Sub-Fleet' order has been added. The fleet containing the tanker will become part of the target sub-fleet and switch to a 'Refuel Sub-Fleet' status (if not already set). A Join Sub-Fleet order has also been added for more general use. Date 01.07.2018

Refuelling Hub

A Refuelling Hub can be mounted on a ship. It is a commercial system with a research cost of 10,000 RP, build cost of 2400 BP and a size of 100,000 tons. In practical terms, this is likely to form part of a large, deep-space station, due to the size and cost, rather than being deployed on tankers that will accompany fleets Date 20.07.2017

A new 'Refuel from Refuelling Hub' order has been added. This order requires a second fleet containing at least one refuelling hub as the destination. On arrival, the fleet will be refuelled until all its tanks are fuel, or the refuelling hub runs out of fuel. All ships in the fleet will be refuelled, including tankers. Once completed, the fleet will move on to its next order. If the fleet containing the refuelling hub has any movement orders, the refuelling will not take place and the refuelling order will be marked as completed. Multiple hubs in the target fleet will not increase the rate of refuelling (a ship can only refuel from one hub at once) but they can all contribute fuel.

A new 'Transfer Fuel to Refuelling Hub' order has been added. Any class designated as a tanker can transfer fuel to any ship with a Refuelling Hub. The transfer is done at the refuelling rate of the tanker. If multiple tankers are in the fleet, they can transfer fuel simultaneously. Date 01.07.2018

Refuelling System

A Refuelling System is 500 tons and has a cost ranging from 10 BP to 100 BP, depending on the tech level. A ship with a Refuelling System can refuel a single ship at once, so will take some time to refuel a whole fleet, although this will improve with higher technology. At the early tech levels, the Refuelling System can only be used if both ships (tanker and target ship) are both stationary. Another new tech line, Underway Replenishment, allow the refuelling to take place while both ships are in the same fleet and underway. Priorities can be set for the refuelling order when multiple ships are involved. The first Underway Replenishment tech allows refuelling at 20% of the normal rate (2500 RP), rising to 100% with the highest tech (40,000 RP). Date 20.07.2017

Weapons

• for beam weapons please look at C-Beam Weapons
• for missiles please look at C-Missiles
• for missile launcher please look at C-Missiles