Don't understand how subsystem damage works

[Riekopo]

I'm trying to figure out how subsystem targeting and damage works and haven't found any answers in the game, manual, or Wiki. To my understanding, damage on ships is localized. If ship A shoots ship B on the top and front then the hull will be damaged. Also, any modules located at the top and front will be damaged and the amount of damaged is based on the penetration rating of the weapon. The module integrity letter rating might also have something to do with this, but no one knows what that is really. Why the game doesn't show us where our internal modules are located on our ships is beyond me. Is this correct?

This leads me to wondering how the subsystem targeting works. If damage to subsystems is based on where the opponent shoots your ship then what does targeting a subsystem do? Does it make your gimballed and turreted weapons shoot at a specific spot on the enemy ship and have no effect on fixed weapons? Or does it mean when you shoot the enemy ship the game makes a Random Number Generator roll that determines whether or not you hit the subsystem?

 

[Cube]

I'm trying to figure out how subsystem targeting and damage works and haven't found any answers in the game, manual, or Wiki. To my understanding, damage on ships is localized. If ship A shoots ship B on the top and front then the hull will be damaged. Also, any modules located at the top and front will be damaged and the amount of damaged is based on the penetration rating of the weapon. The module integrity letter rating might also have something to do with this, but no one knows what that is really. Why the game doesn't show us where our internal modules are located on our ships is beyond me. Is this correct?

Yes, this is correct.

This leads me to wondering how the subsystem targeting works. If damage to subsystems is based on where the opponent shoots your ship then what does targeting a subsystem do? Does it make your gimballed and turreted weapons shoot at a specific spot on the enemy ship and have no effect on fixed weapons? Or does it mean when you shoot the enemy ship the game makes a Random Number Generator roll that determines whether or not you hit the subsystem?

Yeah it makes turrets and gimbals aim for that spot. It has no or very slight effect on fixed weapons (if it does it's a convergence sideffect) but it does show you where to aim for. There's always a tiny little bit of diceroll going on i think just for a more natural variance in the damage.

 

[Distance]

Fixed weapons have a tiny bit of gimbal to snap towards a targeted subsystem.

 

[Abil Midena]

There's really not much to understand. It's an easy mode button labelled "power plant" so $10M weee ships can kill $180M big ships. Ya know...for game balance.

 

[SirAdelaide]

NPCs don't aim for subsystems

The day after the 1.2 update, I had an NPC Eagle nip from in front of me to behind and disable my thrusters. With no repair module, I needed to self destruct with 90% hull left. I had been a bit careless letting shields go down while KWS ran, as before the update NPCs were never a threat.

 

[Nereus]

There's really not much to understand. It's an easy mode button labelled "power plant" so $10M weee ships can kill $180M big ships. Ya know...for game balance.

I completely agree with you.

As it is now, the subsystem damage mechanic is very nonsensical.

OP, sorry for the slight derail.

Regarding your questions, the fine fellas above pretty much said it all.

 

[Vasious]

The day after the 1.2 update, I had an NPC Eagle nip from in front of me to behind and disable my thrusters. With no repair module, I needed to self destruct with 90% hull left. I had been a bit careless letting shields go down while KWS ran, as before the update NPCs were never a threat.

You can shutdown you ships and repair a system with 0%
under the functions menu, "Reboot/repair" just above self destruct

 

[Vasious]

Subsystems occupy very tiny areas. In my experience, unless you're aiming for one on purpose, and shooting accurately, you'll only cause a small amount of subsystem damage. NPCs don't aim for subsystems, so your own subsystem damage will be random and spread across many systems most of the time, the exception being very large ones like your cockpit and engines.

Shooting a target's reactor to 0% health causes the target to be destroyed regardless of hull damage.

this was three AI Sidewinders in a wing
Seems to be too odd for a random distribution

Spoiler

 

[Eagle Eye]

this was three AI Sidewinders in a wing
Seems to be too odd for a random distribution

Spoiler

http://i522.photobucket.com/albums/w346/Vasious27/Screenshot_0975.png

They confirmed AI is not programmed to target subsystem, this means only one thing... The AI have gone sentient!!! I for one welcome our AI overlords...

 

[smsKONG]

this was three AI Sidewinders in a wing
Seems to be too odd for a random distribution

Spoiler

http://i522.photobucket.com/albums/w346/Vasious27/Screenshot_0975.png

You have to remember that quite often the power plant is pretty much dead centre.
So if you just target the ship it defaults to hitting in the centre with gimbals - so often the power plant takes a good deal of damage without being singled out.
It depends on the ship but certainly the python, cobra, viper, conda and asp all have central power plants that suffer incidental damage.
The clipper has the power plant a bit further forward in the neck of the ship - unfortunately the clipper is made of balsa wood so doesn't really benefit as it can be destroyed by it's own pilot sneezing

 

[hawkenfox]

I often have AI targeting my life support and breaking the cockpit.

 

[DrakeAurum]

You have to remember that quite often the power plant is pretty much dead centre.
So if you just target the ship it defaults to hitting in the centre with gimbals - so often the power plant takes a good deal of damage without being singled out.
It depends on the ship but certainly the python, cobra, viper, conda and asp all have central power plants that suffer incidental damage.
The clipper has the power plant a bit further forward in the neck of the ship - unfortunately the clipper is made of balsa wood so doesn't really benefit as it can be destroyed by it's own pilot sneezing

This matches my experience. I don't deliberately target subsystems on anything smaller than an Asp, but when fighting in warzones, where the ships have a bit more armour, it's not unusual to see a Cobra or Viper explode while it's hull is still in double digits, simply because its power plant happened to take a lot of hits.