Ship Design questions: Top Secret components & other q's

[tballgame]

Filter to see more?

Here I am, in a 23E/10S/8M port, without filtering the large component list, only 34 of 48 components are shown.

In every other part of the game, "filter" narrows the available list. In ship design, it can be used that way (e.g. type match), but it is necessary to see the whole scope of options as well? This is counterintuitive and I'd suggest the default view to be everything currently in production.

At present, if I select 'ignore mins', 38/48 are shown (4 big guns require 9 military). Selecting the first flag (all factions? It's unclear) bumps the list up to 45/48. So what are the remaining 3 components? Are they relevant to my upgrade plans? I don't know.

Are there some top secret components that are only available during Starport Booms or through certain contacts? If so, why tease them with the 48 number?

What's in a ship: vile marketing

Is there any way to add a list of the components installed in the default build of a ship in the game itself? I picked up a Titan, eager to try the small craft tactics, unlike my Zatar Fang, it promised the ability to have 5 small craft! Aaaanndddd... Almost everything was a level 1 component, with no launch capacity at all. If I'm paying 1.1M creds for a ship, I expect it to have at least something other than level 1 torpedos and weapon lockers!

*kidding, who pays retail for a ship. That's just silly. But basic everything except for: Adv Mass Damp 4, Cargo Hold 2, Barracks 6? Doesn't feel very Titan(ic) to me.

Anyway, I'm slowly rebuilding the ship to add some launch capacity, but it's frustrating to not have a clue what's in the boat before I shell out the creds

Upgrading Pains: I don't even know what I have?!?!

Please, please, please list the level of the component when I'm selecting components to upgrade! 8 of the 12 medium slots in a Titan are filled with "Structure." It's got an Adv. Mass Dampener 4 AND an Adv. Mass Dampener 1. Just knowing the levels of each component could do wonders for easing the process of upgrading, assuming one is doing it piecemeal.

Upgrading Pains II: What will this do???

If I replace a Barracks or a Cargo Hold, I am told that it will increase/decrease what I can haul or how many people I can support. But how does the reinforced barracks 3 affect my total armor? Because I don't know how many of my "structural" components are reinforced structures, I have absolutely no idea what the impact will be of adding to or removing certain items.

Suggestion: add note to component selection screen showing changes to ship pools, armor, etc, just like there is a note about decreasing total cargo/beds

Barracks Woes

There are no shielded/armored barracks for smaller crew counts. not having a shielded/armored 12 crew option seems... odd. This is almost entirely cosmetic, but the only design for a capital ship using medium slots requires you to have either extra berths (2x reinforced barracks 3), or forego some armor/shield opportunities (reinforced barracks 4 + barracks 1)

[nerezzar]

You can go reinforced barracks 3 + barracks 2. That's cheaper and provides more armor than reinforced 4+1.

[resistor]

You can check the wiki to see what components ships have by default startraders.gamepedia.com/Ships

For ships with high crew counts, I recommend using one large barracks instead of two medium barracks. Back in Alpha I remember Cory posting about how if the barracks is damaged in ship combat it causes more damage to crew, and so having two barracks would make your crew twice as likely to be hit by the bonus damage, and as far as I know that has not been changed.

[tballgame]

May 24, 2019 2:04:11 GMT -5 resistor said:

You can check the wiki to see what components ships have by default startraders.gamepedia.com/Ships

For ships with high crew counts, I recommend using one large barracks instead of two medium barracks. Back in Alpha I remember Cory posting about how if the barracks is damaged in ship combat it causes more damage to crew, and so having two barracks would make your crew twice as likely to be hit by the bonus damage, and as far as I know that has not been changed.

Interesting point re: barracks - I hadn't considered that. I was trying to avoid specialized ships this run and to get both cargo ~and~ a launch bay, but I suppose that is hubris. ;-)

I know about the wiki - but I mostly play offline & think that it would be helpful from just a design perspective to have the actual components listed in game. Related - outside of the shipyards and purchasing a ship, I can't find the base armor/shield ratings anywhere. I see the total number of points and the percentage, but for the titan, 25 points of armor = 60% and 24 shield = 41%. It's confusing for someone who doesn't have the wiki at hand.

[tballgame]

May 24, 2019 0:53:17 GMT -5 nerezzar said:

You can go reinforced barracks 3 + barracks 2. That's cheaper and provides more armor than reinforced 4+1.

? At least in game, both reinforced 3 & 4 have 15% armor, 8% shield, and neither 1 nor 2 have any armor. Does 2 have secret armor rating, just like the secret large components? ;-)

[nerezzar]

May 24, 2019 12:42:03 GMT -5 tballgame said:

May 24, 2019 0:53:17 GMT -5 nerezzar said:

You can go reinforced barracks 3 + barracks 2. That's cheaper and provides more armor than reinforced 4+1.

? At least in game, both reinforced 3 & 4 have 15% armor, 8% shield, and neither 1 nor 2 have any armor. Does 2 have secret armor rating, just like the secret large components? ;-)

I probably misremembered.
5 has less armor than 3/4?
But 3+2 is cheaper than 4+1 ^^