More leaky shields on the ship, so more damage can be reduced by it.
Concentration of defenses into fewer ships. Say you have one 800 kT ship versus 2 400 kT ships. They should be about equal, right? Well, have them do half as much damage to each other. One 400 kT ship is destroyed, and so the average firepower of the smaller ships is instantly cut in half. The 800 kT ship is still alive, though battered, so it now has more strength than the other side does. This is of course a simplification, but it illustrates the basic idea.
Here is a preview of the next Version. Adamant sure is leaky, what with leaky armor, shields and now update leaks!
Version 0.11.04:
1. Changed - Talismans now have boarding defense abilities. They are subject to biotoxin weapons and mental shredders. Also, fanatical crew destroy the relics before any boarding parties can capture them.
2. Added - Flag Bridge, which gives combat bonuses to all of the empire's ships in the system.
3. Changed - Colony ships now recieve a 60% reduction in maintenance costs.
4. Changed - Transports now recieve a 20% reduction in maintenance costs.
5. Changed - Master computers now come in 5 levels instead of 3.
6. Added - Aggressive master computers, which provide the ship with a 10% attack bonus and a 10% defense penalty.
7. Changed - Increased cost of Advanced Power Conservation from 500 to 750.
8. Added - Tower of Protection facility for magic races, which adds 15-45 shield points to all ships in the system.
9. Fixed - Psychic Scanner facilities are now Psionic Probe facilities. Psychic training facilities are now Psionic training facilities.
10. Changed - Switched organic and mineral costs of Psionic training facilities and Psionic Probe facilities.
11. Fixed - The description of the Hardy Industrialist racial trait now accurately reflects the fact that it does not apply to Temporal Space Yards.
12. Changed - Increased storage abilities of homeworld facilities from 5000 to 7500.
[ May 22, 2003, 10:34: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]