[Suicide Junkie]

I tested the shields and they work well albeit a little bit different than described earlier. In general, a large salvo against a ship will often damage the hull but leave some of the shields intact. Currently, weapon and shields strengths need to have their costs and strengths adjusted.

The shield meter shown by SE4 with blue boxes only indicates how much more damage the shields can absorb without leaking.

Once the meter reaches zero (or very small numbers), your shields are beginning to collapse.
They will continue to deflect up to 50% of the damage, depending on the piercing ability of the weapon, and the number/tech level of shield generators you have remaining.

Only once your generators have all been destroyed, are your shields truly down.