[dmm]

Thanks for clearing that up. I hadn't noticed that emissive armor also has a good amount of regular damage-taking ability. That makes it better than I thought, but still too heavy IMHO. 'Course I stopped in disgust at level II, so maybe it gets more competitive.
Consider: 1x emissiveII gives 20+40=60 protection, while 2x armorIII gives 140 protection. Yet the weight is the same, the cost is MORE for the emissive (1x500 vs. 2x50), and you had to research two more tech levels for it. Emissive is only worth it if your opponents are fitting out their ships with large numbers of wimpy weapons (and well into the game, too).