Battlestars and Viper Squadrons (Ion Era Beam fighter Fleet/Doctrine).

[misanthropope]

i don't think i've ever once researched shields beyond having a backup defense scientist practicing on it.  im pretty satisfied that armor at TL "N+1" is materially better than having armor and shields both at "N", and the former is considerably cheaper as well.

[SpaceMarine (OP)]

Updated the original post with more info on game start, doctrine will come later.

[liveware]

i don't think i've ever once researched shields beyond having a backup defense scientist practicing on it.  im pretty satisfied that armor at TL "N+1" is materially better than having armor and shields both at "N", and the former is considerably cheaper as well.

I have a few times and I am glad that I did. Here is why. Armor cells can only take a single damage and then they need to be repaired at a shipyard. This means that a ship with a long deployment time (or a parasite attached to a carrier) will accumulate armor damage after multiple engagements, reducing it's ability to keep fighting. A shield can recharge to full strength between engagements, meaning that after several engagements a shield can provide much more than a single armor layer's worth of defense even though the shield itself may only provide a fraction of an armor layer's worth of protection at any one time.

So, long story short, shields are good for ships which make use of hit and run tactics. They do require some reasearch investment however. I think gamma shields are the first 'usefull' shield level and I always get the 2x recharge tech to go along with that.

With the changes to hanger armor repairs, this may make shields less useful, but we shall see how that works out.

[liveware]

Updated the original post with more info on game start, doctrine will come later.

I see now why you've committed to railguns. A small pop with 20% research rate mod is pretty harsh.

[Neophyte]

Personally I'd be more comfortable having some redundant FCs/sensors and reactors in the battlestar, if only to avoid an unlucky shock damage roll from neutering the whole ship's weapons until it's repaired (and in a battle repair times seem like an eternity!).