ct the underwater sections of the ship. If they these are penetrated by torpedo or shell the damage may easily spread to engine, rudder or ammo storage, leading to extremely severe consequences. The main design choices for this type of protection are the following:
Bulkheads: These steel walls divide the hull’s interior in multiple rooms. The number of bulkheads directly affects the ship’s survivability. When the hull is subdivided in many sections, flooding or fire damage is more easily controlled, and the ship’s citadel is far more protected against shells that penetrate the hull.
Bulkhead thickness: Bulkheads are reinforced with armor and watertight doors, enhancing their offered protection.
Barbette thickness: Turreted guns of caliber above 5-inch have an internal ammo feeding system supported by a barbette. The barbette needs sufficient protection because if it is penetrated then the stored ammunition may explode.
Torpedo Protection: No Battleship should lack this type of protection, at least at a minimum level, because otherwise a single torpedo hit may cause it to sink. Torpedo protection increases the weight and build time of a ship, in exchange for reduced damages and flooding effects from torpedo or mine hits.
Hull Bottom: Adding a second or third inner hull at the bottom of the ship forms a redundant barrier to seawater in case the outer hull is breached, reducing significantly the damage impact of torpedoes and mines. However, this construction process also costs weight and build time.
Citadel protection: The citadel encloses the machinery and magazine spaces. Engine damage and ammo detonation become less likely when the division of the hull by bulkheads is dense and well armored but additional protection schemes are needed to increase survivability. The early options on this category include simple “Protected Deck” schemes while later you can choose between more advanced and expensive “Turtleback” or “All or Nothing” armor schemes.
Anti-Flooding System: A useful protection scheme, that trades additional hull weight for counter-flooding and pumping systems that aid repairs when flooding occurs on the ship.
With this first presentation we wanted to summarize the most crucial design factors of Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnoughts. We tried to mention as many ship design features as possible, but we couldn’t include everything in a single article.
The game is still under development so more features will be added, based on your feedback and ideas. Thank you for reading and brace yourselves for another comprehensive guide of game features, coming soon!
Note: The images show a visual state of the game that is a work in progress.
Information update: 14/10/2019