Internal Damage

This article contains information relevant to both the C# and VB6 versions of Aurora. Where differences exist, they are noted in the appropriate sections.

Internal Damage occurs when incoming damage is not blocked by a ship's shields or armor. This can occur if the shields and armor are penetrated, or more directly via shock damage or mesons (or high-powered microwaves, but see below for the special rules that apply to these weapons). When internal damage is inflicted, it is distributed according to the ship's Damage Allocation Chart (DAC).

Damage Allocation

File:DAC.png

VB6 DAC: Component total size, name (number / HTK )

A ship's Damage Allocation Chart is visible in the Class Design window for that ship under the Components tab (C#) or the DAC/Rank/Info tab (VB6). It lists off all your components that can be hit, and either their percentage chance of being hit (C#), or the number range that will hit them when a random number is rolled (VB6). When a hit is inflicted to a specific component, damage is applied to that component.

When a component receives damage, that damage is weighed against its HTK value. The chance of destroying a component is calculated by:

Incoming Damage / Component HTK

If the component survives the roll, the damage is expended uselessly and the component remains intact. If the component fails the roll, however, the component will be destroyed. If the damage inflicted on the component meets or exceeds the HTK of that component, destruction is guaranteed. Damage in excess of the HTK is carried forward (less the destroyed component's HTK) to other components. If damage to a given type of component is attempted and no intact components of that type are found, the damage is reallocated to another type of component.

Note that components with 0 HTK will be destroyed without absorbing any damage. As such, if you have bad luck, a number of 0 HTK components can all be destroyed, and the damage will continue through until it hits a module with nonzero HTK.

Damage that attempts to reallocate 20 times without finding intact components to hit will destroy the ship. Any components which are still intact upon ship destruction may be found via salvaging the resulting wreck.

Secondary Explosions

Components which are destroyed (in particular, Engines, Power Plants, and Magazines) may explode for further secondary damage. Damage of this type can be highly destructive for an already-damaged ship, especially if it causes further explosions from other destroyed systems. Researching technology for magazine ejection and avoiding reactor power boosts can reduce the risk of this happening.

High-Powered Microwaves

A special Electronic Damage Allocation Chart (E-DAC) exists for High-Powered Microwaves, containing only those electronic systems the microwave can damage, including sensors, fire control systems, ECM jammers, and ECCM (VB6 only). The behavior of this chart is similar to the standard chart described above, although there is no chance of ship destruction due to microwave assault.