Damage Calculation

[tbontob]

Could someone help me by giving me an in-depth explanation how damage is determined?

Just to get it started...

1) We add all the attack percentages.

2) We deduct all the defense percentages.

3) We deduct a percentage (IIRC, it is 10%) for each sector away from the target (if it is a beam weapon).

The above may be unclear, fuzzy and possibly incorrect. In all likelihood, I probably missed some things.

So, is there anyone out there who has a a clear understanding of damage calculation. And has the time and the energy to explain it to me?

And possibly to the other readers of this thread.

[Fyron]

Those attack and damage modifiers only affect the chance to hit the target. Once the weapon hits, it always does the same damage (at each range). Unfortunately, there is no variable damage.

[Phoenix-D]

Here's the sequence as far as I can tell. This is all stock SE4, some of this can be modded. This also applies ONLY to direct-fire weapons; seekers are different.

1) We add all the attack percentages.

2) We deduct all the defense percentages.

3) We deduct 10% for each square of range

4) The chance to hit is capped at 99% or 1% (i.e. 130% hit chance is dropped to 99%, 0% hit chance is upped to 1%)

5) Religious talisman, if any, sets the ship's hit chance to 100%

6) Hit check, hit or miss time..

7) if hit: damage. For normal weapons, Shields are hit first, then components with the Armor ability.

From there you're on your own..it's fairly simple up to this point but damage is weird and complicated.

Phoenix-D

[tbontob]

Thanks Phoenix-D for the excellent starting point.

I am wondering if we can make a list of factors which affect the attack and defense bonuses in a standard SE4 game.

ATTACK BONUSES:
Racial characteristic (aggressiveness)
Combat Sensors
Weapon attack bonus (for example 70% for PDC's)

DEFENCE BONUSES:
Racial characteristic (defensiveness)
ECM
[Edit] Weapon defense bonus (ie 50% for drones)

SPECIAL CASE
Religious talisman sets the bonus at 100%

The above are just what comes to mind...there must be more!

[ November 16, 2002, 02:04: Message edited by: tbontob ]

[Phoenix-D]

"SPECIAL CASE
Religious talisman sets the bonus at 100%"

Err..this isn't how it works. What the talisman does is set the *chance to hit* to 100%. Typo?

ATTACK BONUSES:
Racial characteristic (aggressiveness)
Combat Sensors
Weapon attack bonus (for example 70% for PDC's)
Cultral trait: space combat
Ship Experience level
Fleet Experience level
Chassis bonus (ex: fighters get a 50% bonus)

DEFENCE BONUSES:
Racial characteristic (defensiveness)
ECM
Cultral trait: space combat
Ship Experience level
Fleet Experience level
Scattering Armor
Stealth Armor
Chassis bonus (fighters get a 40%? bonus)

Phoenix-D

[ November 16, 2002, 02:18: Message edited by: Phoenix-D ]

[tbontob]

Hmmm, maybe I am missing something here.

I thought the attack and defense bonuses are used to determine the probability of a hit. And that the talisman just sets it at 100%.

In other words, the talisman is totally unaffected by the values of the attack and defense bonus as it is locks the probability of a hit at 100%

Would this be an accurate assessment?

[Suicide Junkie]

Yes. The key here is that the Talisman SETS it to 100% no matter what, rather than simply ADDING 100%.

No matter how much defense bonus you have, the talisman trumps it.

Without the talisman, you also get a max of 99%. Ships have been known to MISS a planet by that 1%

[tbontob]

Thanks Phoenix-D for your list

I am wondering if we can expand on it to include the special cases.

ATTACK BONUSES:
Racial characteristic (aggressiveness)
Combat Sensors
..lvl 1 25%
..lvl 2 45%
..lvl 3 65%
Weapon attack bonus
..PDC's 70%
..Ripper Beam 10%
..Wave-Motion Gun 30%
..High Energy Magifier 30% (crystalline)
..Tachyon Cannon 10% (temporal)
Cultral trait: space combat
Ship Experience level
..lvl 1 10%
..lvl 2 15%
..lvl 3 20%
Fleet Experience level
..lvl 1 10%
..lvl 2 15%
..lvl 3 20%
Chassis bonus (ex:
..fighters 50%

DEFENCE BONUSES:
Racial characteristic (defensiveness)
ECM
..lvl 1 20%
..lvl 2 40%
..lvl 3 60%
Cultral trait: space combat
Ship Experience level
..lvl 1 10%
..lvl 2 15%
..lvl 3 20%
Fleet Experience level
..lvl 1 10%
..lvl 2 15%
..lvl 3 20%
Scattering Armor
..lvl 1 5%
..lvl 2 10%
..lvl 3 15%
Stealth Armor
..lvl 1 5%
..lvl 2 10%
..lvl 3 15%
Chassis bonus
..fighters 40%? bonus

[EDIT]SPECIAL CASE
Religious talisman sets the bonus at 100% (cannot be modified by the attack/defense bonuses)

[ November 16, 2002, 02:46: Message edited by: tbontob ]

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
Yes. The key here is that the Talisman SETS it to 100% no matter what, rather than simply ADDING 100%.

No matter how much defense bonus you have, the talisman trumps it.

Without the talisman, you also get a max of 99%. Ships have been known to MISS a planet by that 1%

Actually that was why I put it in as a special case...it is just automatically 100% chance to hit.

[tbontob]

Probably a better way to put it...

Factors which affect the probability of a hit:

ATTACK BONUSES:
Racial characteristic (aggressiveness)
Combat Sensors
..lvl 1 25%
..lvl 2 45%
..lvl 3 65%
Weapon attack bonus
..PDC's 70%
..Ripper Beam 10%
..Wave-Motion Gun 30%
..High Energy Magifier 30% (crystalline)
..Tachyon Cannon 10% (temporal)
Cultral trait: space combat
Ship Experience level
..lvl 1 10%
..lvl 2 15%
..lvl 3 20%
Fleet Experience level
..lvl 1 10%
..lvl 2 15%
..lvl 3 20%
Chassis bonus (ex:
..fighters 50%

DEFENCE BONUSES:
Racial characteristic (defensiveness)
ECM
..lvl 1 20%
..lvl 2 40%
..lvl 3 60%
Cultral trait: space combat
Ship Experience level
..lvl 1 10%
..lvl 2 15%
..lvl 3 20%
Fleet Experience level
..lvl 1 10%
..lvl 2 15%
..lvl 3 20%
Scattering Armor
..lvl 1 5%
..lvl 2 10%
..lvl 3 15%
Stealth Armor
..lvl 1 5%
..lvl 2 10%
..lvl 3 15%
Chassis bonus
..fighters 40%? bonus

[EDIT]SPECIAL CASE
Religious talisman sets the probability of a hit at 100% (cannot be modified by the attack/defense bonuses or changed by the 1% rule to 99%)