erestimated. Their high rate of fire can quickly disable a ship if it stays in their range for long and they are very effective against unarmored targets, like torpedo boats. Additionally, the detonation hazard of small guns is much less.
Research of advanced hull types will lead to a uniform main gun battery that aims faster, because salvoes create water splashes all of the same size that are more easily observed. Therefore, an “all big gun” ship with many guns of the same caliber can acquire a target faster than a ship of mixed gun caliber.
Torpedo Launchers may be either "underwater" or "above water". Submerged torpedo launchers placed underwater are typically found in earlier capital ships. Deck torpedo launchers are placed above water and can have multiple tubes and rotate, allowing for larger spreads and more flexible firing angles. Deck torpedo launchers are usually not placed in capital ships due both to the height of the hull that makes their launching hazardous and the danger of explosion if they are hit by an enemy shell.
The ship’s ammunition can be customized depending on the chosen armament with the following configuration:
Ammo Rounds: Ammunition carried can be set to “Decreased”, “Standard” or “Increased” for both guns and torpedoes. This setting is especially useful to fine tune weight distribution for your ship and also control the detonation hazards.
Shell Weight: Gun Shells can be “Light”, “Standard”, “Heavy” or "Super Heavy" This setting not only contributes to total weight, but also greatly affects the combat effectiveness of your ship. Lighter shells have higher muzzle velocity, slightly higher reload rate, much lower detonation risk and require significantly smaller storage space. However, their side-effects are lower penetration, lower range, less damage, and a steeper trajectory at long range.
Explosives/Propellant: Choosing the explosive material of your shells is of great importance as it not only affects the overall firepower but also the safety of your ship. For example, it is tempting to use the super explosive “Lyddite” to devastate your enemy with powerful HE shells, but its very unstable nature can cause uncontrollable fires or even a detonation, if your own ships do not sufficiently protect the magazines.
Torpedo Diameter: Researching torpedo technology, will allow you to choose heavier torpedoes which cause increased damage. The trade-off is not only the bigger increased weight and cost of torpedo launchers but also greater detonation risk.
Torpedo Propulsion: As technology improves the general torpedo characteristics, three choices can further customize torpedo propulsion: “Standard” (The default choice), “Fast” and “Electric”. “Fast” increases torpedo speed but reduces torpedo range, stealth and accuracy, while “Electric” increases stealthiness and accuracy, but reduces range and speed.
The armor is the most essential protection for capital ships, not only because they are large and extremely valuable targets but because they carry huge amount of explosive ammunition that may detonate. As gun technology evolves, armor protection must follow or else your ships will become very vulnerable to shell fire. The first thing that must be decided is the chosen armor quality.
Early technology provides access to simple Iron Plate Armor which covers less ship surface in thicker layers or the first type of Compound Armor, which is much more durable and more expensive. As technology progresses, Nickel-Steel, Harvey and Krupp armor qualities become available, which progressively enhance the armor strength per weight, but at greatly increased expense.
You can choose how this armor is distributed on your ship in various areas including: Belt, Belt Extended, Deck, Deck Extended, Conning Tower, Turrets, Turret Tops, Secondaries etc.
Armor will significantly increase your ship’s weight and cost, so the slightest increase in these areas will have noticeable effects on the tonnage available for other purposes, including armament and propulsion.
One of the designer’s top priorities is to sufficiently prote