How does armor distribution work?

[GeneralVikus]

Hey guys,

Here's a simple question. How does armor distribution work? Does the game automatically extend the B and D armor to cover from the foremost to the rearmost turrets, with the extensions covering the rest, or are B and D applied to fixed sections of the ship - presumably certain compartments? Likewise, is the machinery always in the same fixed compartment, or does it take up more or less space depending on the ship's horsepower? If armor and machinery are indeed within fixed zones, is there some UI functionality for viewing it, or failing that, a diagram?   

[Littorio]

I wish I knew and am interested to hear from anyone with more knowledge myself.

[chssmius]

I agree.  I think some visualization of where the armor and internals are, at least conceptually, would be helpful.  I broadly understand that forward armor is forward but where does the main belt begin?  Does it blend in?  (I think the answer is 'no' based on looking at the armor model ingame of various designs.)  How does deck armor work?  Logically, if I take the definition of "deck" literally, deck armor should only help against plunging fire or contribute slightly to belt stiffness and resistance to HE.  Experimentation suggest these assumptions are wrong.

None of this is explained or inferred.  I think it should be at least inferred.

 

 

[GeneralVikus]

13 hours ago, chssmius said:

I agree.  I think some visualization of where the armor and internals are, at least conceptually, would be helpful.  I broadly understand that forward armor is forward but where does the main belt begin?  Does it blend in?  (I think the answer is 'no' based on looking at the armor model ingame of various designs.)  How does deck armor work?  Logically, if I take the definition of "deck" literally, deck armor should only help against plunging fire or contribute slightly to belt stiffness and resistance to HE.  Experimentation suggest these assumptions are wrong.

None of this is explained or inferred.  I think it should be at least inferred.

I don't know about the game, but it does make sense that the deck armour would contribute more than slightly to the horizontal protection in many cases, as in many armour schemes the deck was positioned behind the belt in a sloped configuration. In those configurations, a plate of deck armour of a given thickness would provide more protection against incoming horizontal fire than a plate of belt armour of the same thickness. If that were true in the game, though, it stands to reason that only the lower sections of the ship would be protected by the deck armour; whether this is borne out by empirical observations, I don't know. Obviously, some visual representation seems necessary in order for the player to make informed choices about ship design, which is the core game mechanic. 

[akd]

In UA: Dreadnoughts, it appears to work like this:

 

If ship happens to be listing, it works like this, I think, i.e. the entire side of the ship is "belt" that can neither have its top submerged or bottom exposed and the entire top of the hull is  deck armor that is always horizontal:

 

Designer menu selections (citadel design, double hull, torpedo protection, etc.) are just percent modifiers applied to hits.

 

Edited December 10, 2021 by akd

[GeneralVikus]

1 hour ago, akd said:

In UA: Dreadnoughts, it appears to work like this:

 

If ship happens to be listing, it works like this, I think, i.e. the entire side of the ship is "belt" that can neither have its top submerged or bottom exposed and the entire top of the hull is  deck armor that is always horizontal:

 

Designer menu selections (citadel design, double hull, torpedo protection, etc.) are just percent modifiers applied to hits.

 

That's a very helpful visualization, thank you!