Overview
This guide aims to make your ship design strategic so that the frame of your ship assists in movement, combat, and other aspects of the game. This guide also introduces new ideas that I found helpful throughout my gameplay.
1. Designs for Offense
1. Placement of ranged weapons, melee weapons, reactors, and thrusters all contributes to the success of a ship in combat.
Key points:
-Do not place short-ranged weapons close to the center of your ship, particulary if your ship is big. Placing short-ranged weapons in the center will lower their already poor range and in some cases make them do nothing but drain your power and clog up space in key areas on your ship
-Short ranged weapons should be on the outside of your ship, but inside of a thin layer of hull. That way they will not be easily destroyed by floating debri and asteroids, but they will be able to make full use of their poor range.
-If any weapons are placed towards the center in should be long-ranged, that will allow these weapons to continue to reach the enemies with a slight hinderence on their range, but in exchange they will be one of the last things that goes down on your ship
-Reactors, for the sake of your shields and weapons, should be near the center but not next to it. Reactors explode if damaged, but are neccesary for power to the shields and weapons. If they are next to the core and are hit, it is likely your core will be destroyed.
-Isolating the reactors from weapons and shields will protect your weapons and shields from possible damage if the reactors are hit. In my own opinion its best to put hull blocks with high health around a large group of reactors near the core, but not next to it.
-Shields near the reactors can be okay if they are there to protect the reactors.
-Melee weapons should be on the outside of your ship, but under shields. That way enemy fire will not destroy the melee weapons before contact between ships. Sometimes layering melee weapons can help them survive to impact.
-Melee blocks/weapons are not a substitute for your hull, you still need a strong hull with high health underneath them.
-Thruster placement is completely dependent on what type of ship you have, somtimes placing them inside the ship can help protect them, other times they end up outside the ship. Keep in the mind, if you start losing thrusters, various weapons will be unable to aim, you will not be able to effectively manuevre or escape, and lastly you will not be able to pursue your opponent either.
All in all its up the you where you place these things, just keep in mind the pros and cons of placement for each item.
