Shields

Shields protect the ship's hull and external equipment (such as guns and turrets) from certain types of impact damage. Shields do not protect internal components, nor do they protect components from radiation damage. Shields do not modify the damage that is passed to the hull, they either absorb all damage or they dont absorb any damage.

More specifically, a shield generator is mounted to the ship's hull and draws power from the ship's engine to create a charged bubble around the hull. If the shield is operating then the shield bubble will absorb all of the impact damage that would normally pass to the hull. But if the shield bubble takes more damage than the generator can repair, the shield bubble will collapse, and all damage will be passed to the ship's hull.

If a shield bubble collapses, the generator will attempt to reactivate it. The amount of time required to reactivate a shield bubble varies by the type of shield, but is usually 12 seconds. Once the shield is reactivated, the normal repair routines are used to restore the shield bubble back to full health. The amount of time required to fully repair a shield will be determined by the size of the shield and the amount of damage that is repaired per second. Generally speaking, larger shields use more power per second than smaller shields, although there is some variance here.

The shield generator consumes low amount of power to maintain the bubble, and consumes large amounts of power when attempting to repair the shield bubble from damage. The power that is used by the generator is taken from the ship's main power plant. When the generator is trying to repair a shield bubble, the amount of power that is available to other devices (such as guns and turrets) will be reduced. In some cases, using a large shield with a small power plant can result in being unable to fire the ship's weapons.

Note that the shield generator will be exposed to any hull damage, and therefore can be destroyed just like any other piece of equipment. The generator can be destroyed by gunfire or explosion damage (once the bubble collapses), and it can also be destroyed with radiation damage.

Shield Technologies
There are three different shield generation technologies currently in use by humans, and a fourth type that is used by Nomads. These types determine how much damage the shield bubble takes from certain types of weapon damage. A shield with low resistance to a specific type will amplify the damage from that type, and will therefore cause the bubble to collapse quicker. There is no change to the damage that is applied to the ship's hull.

Positron
Positron shields emit a field of anti-electrons, which quickly atomise an incoming bolt before it manages to damage the hull. Because of this working principle, positron shields are less effective against bolts of photons or lasers.
 * More effective against: tachyon, neutron weapons
 * Less effective against: laser, photon, pulse weapons

Graviton
Graviton shields generate a strong, vibrating gravitational field which deflects incoming fire before it manages to impact on the hull. Graviton shields create a magnetic field as a side effect, thus augmenting the power of certain weapons against them, e.g. plasma weapons.
 * More effective against: photon, laser, pulse weapons
 * Less effective against: plasma, particle weapons

Molecular
Molecular shields attempt to repulse projectiles by manipulating magnetic forces. This type of shields manages to easily dissipate electrically charged projectiles, but suffers additional damage from weapons that are little effected by magnetism.
 * More effective against: plasma, particle weapons
 * Less effective against: tachyon, neutron weapons

Nomad Veil
The Nomads utilize organisms that function much like human shields do. These "veils" are made up of a lattice of semi-sentient micro-organisms that bend around the ship and intercept incoming fire.
 * Nomad Veils show no variance in how they interact with different types of weapons.

Shield Types
Shield generators are designed to build and maintain a shield bubble of a certain size, and are therefore designed to be used on ships that are the appropriate size and can provide the appropriate power. Shields cannot typically be mounted on any other ship classes, although there are a few exceptions.

Shields also come in a variety of classes and grades for the different ship types. Generally speaking, stronger shields can absorb more damage than weaker shields, but will consume more power when the shield generator needs to repair or rebuild a damaged shield bubble. All shield generators require the same amount of time to repair and rebuild a shield, so the difference between them is the amount of energy that is consumed per second. In addition, different technologies and generators can have different baseline requirements (XX), which can exaggerate the difference.

Light Fighter Shields
Light Fighter Shields are for use with Light Fighters only. These shields are available in 10 different classes.

Heavy Fighter Shields
Heavy Fighter Shields provide the catch-all sheilds for the larger snubs. They can be used with Heavy Fighters, Very Heavy Fighters, Super Heavy Fighters, and Bombers. These shields are available in 10 different classes.

Freighter Shields
Freighter Shields are specifically designed for use with Freighters, but can also be used with some Super Heavy Fighters and Bombers that require the additional protection and are able to provide sufficient power. These shields are available in four different classes, and the Class 6 shields are available in three different grades. If you try to use the largest shield on a ship with a small power supply, you may not have sufficient energy to fire the weapons.

Transport Shields
Transport Shields are used with Transports only. There is only one class of Transport Shields, but it is available in three different grades. If you try to use the largest shield on a ship with a small power supply, you may not have sufficient energy to fire the weapons.

Gunboat Shields
Gunboat Shields are used for all of the ships in the Gunboat class. There is only grade of Gunboat Shields.

Cruiser Shields
Cruiser Shields are used for all of the ships in the Cruiser class. There is only grade of Cruiser Shields.

Battleship Shields
Battleship Shields are used for all of the ships in the Battleship class. There is only grade of Battleship Shields.