[nunix]

What are they? Other than hitting the Engines to make a ship stop, I've never been able to 100% verify any other subsystem-destroy effect. I hear that if you blast the Weapons then it'll have a harder time locking on.. but I also hear that about Sensors. And killing a Fighter Bay certainly doesn't stop reinforcements coming in!

[StratComm]

They are of limited effect when you're talking about non-player ships.  Destroying comms prevents that ship from sending messages (including orders, except for calling for support), destroying sensors makes sensors go out (radar and the like) and destroying weapons disables primary and secondary weapons.  The effects on turrets (and AI/capital ships in general) aren't so clear cut, but in theory destroying weapons should reduce the frequency of fire from any given turret system.

[Kosh]

Disabling the engine subsystem is pretty clear cut.

[StratComm]

Actually it's not.  The AI can still warp while disabled.

[WMCoolmon]

It depends on how the warp order is given.

Weapons subsystem damage also affects accuracy, and I think the sensors subsystem may also have something to do with beams.

[karajorma]

It depends on how the warp order is given.

Yep. Exits via departure cues will still happen but exits via AI goals won't.

[Col. Fishguts]

Weapons subsystem damage also affects accuracy, and I think the sensors subsystem may also have something to do with beams.

I'm pretty sure that destroying the weapons subsystem stops a capship from targeting incoming bombs, and the firing frequency of all turrets is slightly lower.

[IPAndrews]

Can a coder verify this. Is it true or just myth? Also, what happens if you have multiple subsystems named "weapons01","weapons02" etc...?

[Jopi]

It depends on how the warp order is given.

Yep. Exits via departure cues will still happen but exits via AI goals won't.

What if you destroy Navigation? Does that have any effect on AI ships?

[ZmaN]

Weapons subsystem damage also affects accuracy, and I think the sensors subsystem may also have something to do with beams.

Destroying either one of those systems will bring down power and accuracy.  Its the equivilant of fireing a set of tornado missiles without a target lock

[Nuclear1]

It depends on how the warp order is given.

Yep. Exits via departure cues will still happen but exits via AI goals won't.

What if you destroy Navigation? Does that have any effect on AI ships?

There's an option in FSO now to set that when an AI's nav is disabled, it can't jump out.

[karajorma]

Where?

[Wanderer]

See FSwiki, Ai_profiles.tbl

[CP5670]

hmm, interesting. That's exactly what I have been using the navigation subsystem for in my missions for the last several years, but I don't think I ever told anyone about it.

[karajorma]

Ah. If it's not in FRED I tend to miss it and simply code it in myself

I suppose I should look into this one though

[NGTM-1R]

Destroying a capital craft's weapons subsystems doesn't just reduce its fire wait, but also its accuracy. (Beams still don't miss, but it's noticible when you bore straight in on a Deimos and the blobs all miss.) It's a reasonably close approximation of firing in local control as opposed to through the director, which I thought was a nice touch.

[Polpolion]

Another weird thing about subsystems- why do they always seem to be near the OUTSIDE of the hull, right where all the fighters can get to it?

[Prophet]

Another weird thing about subsystems- why do they always seem to be near the OUTSIDE of the hull, right where all the fighters can get to it?

Lets face it, only realistic scifi ship design is a Borg cube. All others are full of wings, spikes, towers and such. That not only are complete waste of materials and structurally weak, but also make the ship look bigger than they really are. They usually look nice though...
Anyway. When examinig FS ships, the actual useable space inside the ship is quite narrow (rest being those spikes and wings). There is also the thick hull, or "armour", that protects the ship from harm. And it also protects the crew from all the radiation that space has, so the crew shouldn't be anywhere near the outside of the hull where they will die. So there simply isn't space to place those vital systems in to the interiors of the ship.
It is also possible that the actual systems are tucked inside a closet somewhere in the core of the ship, but something vital is in a voulnerable place (the sensors need something to "sense" trought).

[Charismatic]

Another weird thing about subsystems- why do they always seem to be near the OUTSIDE of the hull, right where all the fighters can get to it?

Lets face it, only realistic scifi ship design is a Borg cube. All others are full of wings, spikes, towers and such. That not only are complete waste of materials and structurally weak, but also make the ship look bigger than they really are. They usually look nice though...
Anyway. When examinig FS ships, the actual useable space inside the ship is quite narrow (rest being those spikes and wings). There is also the thick hull, or "armour", that protects the ship from harm. And it also protects the crew from all the radiation that space has, so the crew shouldn't be anywhere near the outside of the hull where they will die. So there simply isn't space to place those vital systems in to the interiors of the ship.
It is also possible that the actual systems are tucked inside a closet somewhere in the core of the ship, but something vital is in a voulnerable place (the sensors need something to "sense" trought).

Your explination is nice but; let me mention something. I recall a cutseen of Bosch next to a window wich was 5 feet from space. The one where he watches the new star being created. Bosch was not affected nor near death being near the outer hull (aka space). Anything to say?

[StratComm]

Do we have any clue what type of barrier was seperating Bosch from space?  No.  Maybe it's like the Star Wars Transpareisteel or whatever that's stronger than hull materials and completely transparent to visible light.

In reality, spacecraft of today have windows that do not overly expose their crew to the hazards of space.  They just aren't pure silicon glass.