[PsychoLandlord]

Talented damage control is a big unsung factor in the history of big ships fighting each other and I expect we'll continue to do more with it.

You are most assuredly correct there, and it would be awesome to see damage control begin to play a major part in Capital Ship engagements  in the future, though I don't know how one would factor that in in any meaningful way outside of TBI-esque capship missions.

[AtomicClucker]

From a historical perspective, damage control teams played a vital role in keeping a ship going (though it's up to debate, it's one reason American ships in WW2 had a decisive advantage over their Japanese counterparts).

Could serve a possible plot point?

[NGTM-1R]

From a historical perspective, damage control teams played a vital role in keeping a ship going (though it's up to debate, it's one reason American ships in WW2 had a decisive advantage over their Japanese counterparts).

Could serve a possible plot point?

Depends on how you look at it. Superior damage control is not a cure-all. One of the reasons it worked for the US in WW2 was that combat was reasonably slow-paced. There were lulls in the action to let the D/C guys work. A ship actively taking fire cannot conduct even temporary repairs, but give a half-hour to work and you can accomplish much. This doesn't really jibe with FS combat where ships lack the ability to break an engagement on their speed or the conditions to buy themselves a few minutes for repairs.

A lot of the advantage of superior D/C is also tied up in things that are not directly related, like better systems engineering and redundancy. Neither side in BP builds their ships sloppily.

[General Battuta]

We will be allowing (and have already used) some damage control under fire, on the grounds that FSverse ships can repair complex systems near-instantaneously with just a bit of outside assistance like the support ship. Warships are huge and able to pack in this sort of stuff internally. (The aforementioned fluff is an effort to explain how it works).

On a tangent it's also worth noting that - while not strictly under the provenance of damage control - UEF fighters tend to be much more colicky and fuel-hungry than their GTVA equivalents, which are built for sustainability and logistical ease.

[Ypoknons]

Now wouldn't that be fun - you were about to finish off a Deimos, but the Hood jumps in, you start pounding that, but the Deimos has repair itself to 65% hull and some of its subsystem and is now pounding the hell out of the Naras you were supposed to be protect.

[Mars]

I could definitely see that happening, and being quite fun. It was already done, to a certain extent with in Delande Est. "Damage control you have X minutes" I recall reading.

Plus, think of the Imperiuse, its entire garrison of fighters was rebuilt in time for it to wipe the floor in that same mission.

I am definitely holding out for a battle between the Atreus and one of the Solaris class vessels (and perhaps their escorts), involving lots of firepower and lots of terse combat messages; damage control, putting out fires in Section 12004, overheating beam cannons, magazine jams and all the rest.

[Scotty]

Plus, think of the Imperiuse, its entire garrison of fighters was rebuilt in time for it to wipe the floor in that same mission.

Or, you know, they could have just flown more in....

[Mars]

Plus, think of the Imperiuse, its entire garrison of fighters was rebuilt in time for it to wipe the floor in that same mission.

Or, you know, they could have just flown more in....

True enough

[-Norbert-]

Hm... any chance to add damage controll subsystems to the capships, so the player can slow down or completely disable the enemies ability to self repair?

[headdie]

Hm... any chance to add damage controll subsystems to the capships, so the player can slow down or completely disable the enemies ability to self repair?

you could do it now with a subsystem called damage control and using sexps

[NGTM-1R]

Hm... any chance to add damage controll subsystems to the capships, so the player can slow down or completely disable the enemies ability to self repair?

Since redundancy is one of the key features of how to do it right, this sounds good but nobody would actually build it that way.

[Fury]

Hm... any chance to add damage controll subsystems to the capships, so the player can slow down or completely disable the enemies ability to self repair?

Since redundancy is one of the key features of how to do it right, this sounds good but nobody would actually build it that way.

Indeed. I've always felt it to be moronic that large ships spanning hundreds of meters, even kilometers in length have navigation, weapons, communications, etc subsystems easily blown off by few hits from small fighter guns. Giving player other targets than just turrets can be all good and well, but effects should be localized and temporary at best.

[headdie]

Hm... any chance to add damage controll subsystems to the capships, so the player can slow down or completely disable the enemies ability to self repair?

Since redundancy is one of the key features of how to do it right, this sounds good but nobody would actually build it that way.

It could represent things like machine shops and stores of larger components/spare equipment, perhaps have 2 or three locations for them on larger ships

[Destiny]

It'll make more sense if they actually stored it inside the ship where it can't be hit by outside fire, unlike how the weapons/comms/sensors and pretty much everything can. Then you'd have to make the black, top layer of armor of the Deimos destroyable and shoot the captain himself

Plus, think of the Imperiuse, its entire garrison of fighters was rebuilt in time for it to wipe the floor in that same mission.

Or, you know, they could have just flown more in....

True enough

Attached to the undersides of a Diomedes, too! I think Steele planned (or the CO of the Imperieuse) for the Imperieuse pretty well, despite the ship's fighters being eaten a lot. Possibly the Imperieuse was restocked by transferring squadrons off from other ships like perhaps, the Hood or even the Atreus, but most likely the other Anemoi left in the system. I can't imagine how long the Imperieuse had to wait in lying so long, alone. Must've been sad and cold days, poor them.

[-Norbert-]

Hm... any chance to add damage controll subsystems to the capships, so the player can slow down or completely disable the enemies ability to self repair?

you could do it now with a subsystem called damage control and using sexps

I know it's possible. I wanted to know what people (and especially the BP team) are thinking about the idea of adding those subsystems.

It could represent things like machine shops and stores of larger components/spare equipment, perhaps have 2 or three locations for them on larger ships

That was exactly what I was thinking of. The armor sealing liquit and the spare parts and all that stuff has to be stored somewhere. Centralizing everything in a single position would reduce the response time and increase vulnerbility, but spreading it around too far would mean any automated system would need way too much room. It would also make restocking a nightmare.
While I'm no expert on internal ship logistics, I think having several, but few storage  rooms is the best compromise between efficiency and security.

[The E]

From a modding pov, adding those subsystems is easy.

But given the way these systems work in BP fluff (as in, they're integrated into the armor at a very basic level), there is no singular subsystem to take out, no single spot you can hit for massive damage.

[PsychoLandlord]

My admittedly sleep-deprived mind is trying to come up with ways to utilize semi-realistic Damage Control outside of scripted events in fighter-pov missions, and while there are some interesting uses for it I keep thinking that having a capital ship bump itself back up a few thousand hitpoints while the player is getting fighters off his ass is going to annoy people.

As a scripted story event in a mission it could have some decent effects on immersion and realism, as well as an excuse for more dialog, but if it was to occur randomly in anything outside a capship mission it sounds troublesome. IMO, anyway.

[General Battuta]

By and large agreed.

[Scotty]

I think Steele planned (or the CO of the Imperieuse) for the Imperieuse pretty well, despite the ship's fighters being eaten a lot. Possibly the Imperieuse was restocked by transferring squadrons off from other ships like perhaps, the Hood or even the Atreus, but most likely the other Anemoi left in the system. I can't imagine how long the Imperieuse had to wait in lying so long, alone. Must've been sad and cold days, poor them.

There's this handy dandy gate to the rest of GTVA space that could leak Tev fighters like a sieve if they had any more logistic capability to support them.  In other words, when the resources required to handle a fighter are freed up when the fighter is destroyed, it makes sense to bring in more.  Given how much stuff a freighter or logistics ship could conceivably carry, it probably took only a few days at most to comlpetely resupply the Imperiouse's fighter complement.  Repairing the ship itself, however, would probably take more time.

[Snail]

I'm not sure the Imperieuse was fully stocked when it reappeared at Saturn. It didn't launch all that many fighters anyway. Just a couple token defense wings.