Guide to Modular Shields
What's a Modular Shield
Modular Shields are customizable, expandable systems that create big blue walls with various and sundry properties, such as meteor shielding and door-making.
This guide assumes you to be familiar with Machine Construction, and as such will not cover how to construct the individual components.
Basic Functions
A modular shield system is fundamentally composed of three parts:
- Console: Remotely controls projectors.
- Projector: Projects a shield.
- Modules: Modifies the properties of the shield projected by a connected Projector.
A Modular Shield has three main statistics you need to keep track of:
Integrity:
The shield's current stability and structural integrity. Keeps bad things out and good things in. Reduced by attacks, both melee and projectile, and some other stuff. If this reduced to below 5 points, the shield will Collapse. A shield's integrity cannot ever go higher than the pre-stated maximum.
Regeneration:
The default rate at which the shield will naturally regain integrity, up to it's Maximum. This is listed in units of integrity points per second. The actual regeneration speed is almost never equal to the stated regeneration rate, for reasons which will be discussed later.
Maximum Radius:
The maximum range of the shield. How this manifests depends on the projector type.
The Projector:
The Projector produces the hard-light barrier that forms a modular shielding system. There are two types of Projector.
Modular Shield Generator
This projects Shield tiles in a hollow circle, placing a them on all spaces in that circle not containing a solid wall. This circle has a radius equal to the radius set in the Generator's GUI, up to the Maximum Radius. Can take damage while active. By default, only projects on space tiles.
- Can be set to Internal/External mode in its GUI to allow it to project on non-space tiles.
- Suffers a 50% reduction in Maximum Radius and 50% reduction in Regeneration, when set to Internal/External.
- Can be controlled and configured by clicking it, by a Console, or via the singular wire in its wire panel, pulsing which toggles the shield on and off.
Modular Shield Gate
Projects Shield Tiles in a single straight line, including the tile on which the Gate is located, until it contacts a solid surface or another Shield tile. Otherwise, extends a number of tiles equal to its Maximum Radius. Cannot take damage while active.
- Has no penalty for indoors projection.
- Cannot be controlled by clicking it, and must instead be linked to a Console or controlled via wire pulsing.
Default Stats:
Both types of projectors take the same Stock Parts: One Laser, One Capacitor, and One Servo. The default stats of a Projector are based on the Stock Parts used in their construction, as listed below:
Maximum Radius: Base of 3, with an extra .25 per tier of laser.
Regeneration: Base of 3, with 2 an extra 2 per tier of servo.
Maximum Integrity: Base of 40, with an extra 20 per tier of capacitor.
Modules
Modules allow for a Projector's characteristics to be enhanced. Modules must be connected to a Projector to have an effect. Multiple Modules can be connected to one Projector, but any one Module can only ever connect to one Projector at a time. Some Modules act as connection points for other Modules and others provide statistical improvements. All Modules can be directly connected to a Projector, but most Modules cannot connect to each other, with two vital exceptions. To connect a Module to another Module or to a Projector, rotate the output port of the Module towards the input port or ports of the component you wish to connect it to.
Modular Shield Node:
The Node has 3 inputs and 1 output, allowing it to be chained. The Node is able to connect to all other Modules, and to Projectors.
Modular Shield Cable:
The Cable has 3 inputs and 1 output, allowing it to be chained. The Cable is only capable of connecting to Projectors, Nodes, and Cables. The Cable, unlike other Modules, can be walked, thrown, and shot over.
Modular Shield Charger:
The Charger has 1 output. The Charger accepts 3 Servos at construction and adds 2 * TIER Regeneration per installed Servo.
Modular Shield Well:
The Well has 1 output. The Well accepts 3 Capacitors at construction and adds 20 * TIER Maximum Integrity per installed Capacitor.
Modular Shield Relay:
The Relay has 1 output. The Relay accepts 3 Lasers at construction and adds 0.25 * TIER Maximum Radius per installed Laser.
Regeneration Mechanics
A Modular Shield will regenerate some number of Integrity points each second. This regeneration may not always take place every second on the dot, but the overall rate is constant, as the Projector compensates for lag. This property does mean that you might need more Maximum Integrity than you think you do lest your shield take too much damage in too short a period of time despite being theoretically able to regenerate that damage fast enough. The regeneration speed of an active Projector is partially proportional to the ratio of the Maximum Radius of the projected shield compared to the Radius actually in use.
Active Shields:
The formula is as follows:
Where rmax is the Maximum Radius, rused is the range to which the shield is being projected (this is the GUI set Radius for Generators and the length of the shield for Gates), Rbase is the Regeneration and Ractual is the Integrity regeneration rate per second:
Ractual = (Rbase / (0.5 + (rused * 2) / rmax))
If the Projector is a Generator on Internal/External mode, divide by two.
Inactive Shields:
For an inactive Projector, the math is simpler:
An inactive Projector regenerates at a rate of Regeneration points of Integrity per second, unless it is Collapsed, in which case it regenerates at 1/4th of that. Inactive Generators are not affected by Internal/External penalties.
Shield Tiles
A Modular Shield's main purpose is to absorb various kinds of harm directed at or through the shield's projected Shield Tiles, consuming the Projector's Integrity in the process.
Shield Tiles are dense, airtight, transparent, block both ballistic and energy projectiles (including lasers, despite their transparency), and cannot be otherwise destroyed except via the Generator that projected them. Shield Tiles will prevent players from clicking on objects underneath them, such as items dropped on their tile, but not objects above them. Shield Tiles are non-dense until 2 seconds after the activation of the Projector projecting them. The Shield Tile will appear semi-transparent for those 2 seconds.
Integrity Loss
An active modular shield loses integrity as listed:
- For every point of BRUTE or BURN that a Shield Tile would sustain, such as from projectiles, thrown objects, and melee attacks, the Modular Shield loses one point of Integrity.
- For every Shield Tile affected by an EMP, the Modular Shield loses 15 Integrity if the EMP was of heavy severity, and 7.5 if it was of light. (Note that, since Projectors can be controlled by wires, if the Projector is directly hit by an EMP there is a 33% chance that its sole wire is pulsed, thereby toggling it. Also note that since Modular Shield components rely on APC power, if the EMP hits the APC supplying power to the shield machinery, it will turn off anyways.)
- For every Shield Tile affected by an explosion, the Modular Shield loses 20 integrity if the explosion was Light, 50 if it was Heavy, and 100 if it was Devastating.
- For every Shield Tile exposed to a tile with an atmosphere above 200 Celsius, the Modular Shield loses 0.0025 Integrity per liter of volume of that atmosphere per half-second. For reference, the volume of the atmosphere of a tile is 2.5 Kiloliters.
- For every Shield Tile punched by a hulk, the Modular Shield loses Regeneration + 30 Integrity. This means that hulks are an extremely effective counter to high-regen low-capacity shields, and a single hulk will be able to break through almost any shield given enough time.
Blast Resistance
Like in Minecraft! (honestly, this mechanic isn't entirely unlike Minecraft blast resistance mechanics, so that joke may hold some truth)
Shield Tiles have a blast resistance of 2 points. This means that if an explosion propagates through a Shield Tile, the explosion's devastation range, from that tile onward in the direction away from the explosion's epicenter, is reduced by 2 tiles, its Heavy range is reduced by 3 tiles, and it's Light range is reduced by 5 tiles. If this weakens the explosion enough such that the tiles beyond the shield have an effective distance from the explosion's source longer than any of the explosions ranges, the explosion is entirely deflected by the shield and will not pass through, though it will still reduce the Integrity of the Modular Shield (and, because reasons, may still cause fires to appear if the flame range goes farther than the explosion).
Projector Collapse:
If an active Projector's Integrity is reduced to below 5 points, the Projector Collapses. When a Projector Collapses, it immediately deactivates, and its Integrity is forcibly set to 0. A Collapsed Projector cannot be re-activated until it regenerates to its Maximum Integrity, at which point the Projector will regain full functionality.
The Console
The Modular Shield Console can be linked to Projectors using a multi tool, and will allow for remote control of those Projectors.
Coloring
You may customize the color of your Projector's projected Shield Tiles by coloring the Projector with a spray can.