Warhead Damage vs Armor

[Thanatos (OP)]

I always thought that Warhead Strength would have direct effect against armor, number by number. IE: A 10 strength warhead could pierce 3 armor layers and cause 7 internal damage.

But it seems I am wrong, especially after seeing a Strength 20 Warhead slam into what appeared to be a Alien ship with only strength 2 armor (At least)

I wish I could see their armor after that to learn what happens with it, but since I can't (I don't want to go in SM mode while doing a campaign, or I'll fall into the temptation just to add one little thing (And than another, and another, etc.)

So, Steve, or anyone else that knows exactly what happens with the Warhead Strength when it hits an enemy, please let me know so I can design my missiles better!

PS: Thanks Steve for being so active and helping people practically on a daily basis. I must admit, you are /the/ awesomest game developer ever.

[Shadow]

Missiles crater armour. Their damage template is something like this (O means intact armour, . represents destroyed plating), assuming a WH 4 missile:

Code: [Select]

OOO...OOO
OOOO.OOOO
OOOOOOOOOTherefore, I presume a WH 9 missile would deal damage like this:

Code: [Select]

OO.....OO
OOO...OOO
OOOO.OOOOI'm not completely certain, though. The template might not be so diamond-like.

[Chainfire]

Well, from what I understand, warheads hit in a crater pattern of damage spreading the warheads damage over several columns of armor.  As for advice on how to use missiles better in the future, large volleys and hope the damage patterns overlap a lot.

[Steve Walmsley]

Missiles crater armour. Their damage template is something like this (O means intact armour, . represents destroyed plating), assuming a WH 4 missile:

Code: [Select]

OOO...OOO
OOOO.OOOO
OOOOOOOOOTherefore, I presume a WH 9 missile would deal damage like this:

Code: [Select]

OO.....OO
OOO...OOO
OOOO.OOOOI'm not completely certain, though. The template might not be so diamond-like.

Yes, that is what it looks like. That template is used by missiles, plasma carronades and ramming

Lasers have a much deeper template. a 6 point laser hit would be

Code: [Select]

OOO...OOO
OOOO.OOOO
OOOO.OOOO
OOOO.OOOOA 9 point hit would be

Code: [Select]

OOO...OOO
OOO...OOO
OOOO.OOOO
OOOO.OOOO
OOOO.OOOOAnd a 14 point laser hit would be:

Code: [Select]

OO.....OO
OOO...OOO
OOO...OOO
OOOO.OOOO
OOOO.OOOO
OOOO.OOOOTorpedoes and railguns are in-between missiles and lasers. For example, an 10 point torpedo hit would be:

Code: [Select]

OO.....OO
OOO...OOO
OOOO.OOOO
OOOO.OOOO
OOOOOOOOOSteve

[sloanjh]

I've moved this thread into The Academy, as it doesn't match the FAQ guidelines in the "where should I post" FAQ.  Now that Steve's answered it, I'll fit it into FAQ somewhere (either in a new "Weapons Questions" thread or in a thread about "Armor and Damage").

John

[UnLimiTeD]

Yay, damage templates! Thats true insight!

[sloanjh]

Steve,

What does it look like when 9 pt two missiles hit two columns apart?

Code: [Select]

First Hit

00.....0000
000...00000
0000.000000
-----------


Code: [Select]

Second hit - if any of the template hits armor, stop on first row

00.......00
000.....000
0000.0.0000
-----------

or

Code: [Select]

Second hit - RL stype - Begin damage template where the center hits first armor

00.....0000
000......00
0000....000
------x----

Or, is it something else?

Something else.  Think of the damage as little stacks of 1pt damage blocks in each column that are not connected to adjacent columns.  In other words, if a 2-pt missile (adjacent damage blocks) hits a pit in the armor (say from a laser strike) that is 1 column wide and 3 deep, the point over the pit will do damage to layer 4, while the point that's hitting "fresh" armore will do damage to layer one.  To put it another way, armor can never be damaged in such a way that there's an "overhang" (as in your last example).

So the answer to your question is:

Code: [Select]

00.......00
000.....000
0000...0000
----xxx-----


Think of it another way:  Missile 1 does damage of 1232100 to the columns affected.  Missile 2 does damage of 0012321.  Add these together and get 1244421.  For armor 3, that means 3 points penetrate.

John

[ShadoCat]

Thank you John,

I like that damage method better.

I guess that I've just played too many FASA games.  

[Steve Walmsley]

Thank you John,

I like that damage method better.

I guess that I've just played too many FASA games.  

I simplified it to one block instead of six as Aurora has no facing rules and changed it from the orphan blocks rules in Interceptor to make it simplier to implement on the PC. I wanted to retain the feel of the Renegade Legion system while reducing the detail to something suitable for a fleet-based game.

Steve