[jim]

Yes, and I confirmed it, just to prove it to myself. I did it in the Simulator and then I went to a saved game, built the test ships, then gifted them to the AI and proceeded to beat on them.

This looks like it will make me do a major rethink on how to design ships!

This seems odd, btw, but very interesting.

Every time I think I've got it figured out ...

Wait!

If I had a quantum reactor aboard, would the loss of all engines still bring down shields if I did not have a supply gizmo? That is, the q reactor makes unlimited supply, but I'm not sure it STORES it!

What about if I had a solar panel but lost all engines (and had no supply unit)?

I did not test those.