Ok. Look at the combat statistically, not per shot. In an abstract manner, leaky shields are the only way to roughly simulate hitting different shield facings. With normal shields, it is all or nothing. All facings have to be knocked down before any damage can be done to the ship. With leaky shields, you do not quite get a shield facing system, but on the average, it works out to have similar affects on combat. SE4 ships do not have a facing, so the shields added from damage can represent one shot hitting a facing without shield points, then the next shot hitting the ship from a different angle, where there is energy in the shield layer. Certainly, shots from the same ship would probably hit the same facing each time in a round. Taken abstractly, it can represent shots from different ships hitting the same target from different angles, thus different facings. It is not perfect, but it is the closest you can get in SE4, and it does make combat far more interesting...
