Shield

Shield Block - Codex

**Shields** are a system block capable of generating a Bubble Shield around an entity.

## Overview

Shields are the primary defensive measure in Starship EVO. Shields are purely for combat means, and no other gameplay exists that would require the use of shields. Designed to complement an entity's natural armor defenses by projecting an additional layer of protection, all shields need is a steady power supply to function.

Shields act as the first line of defense against ranged weapons in combat. Upon creation, all entities will start off having their hull as their only means of protection. A thick enough hull may be possible for a ship to get by, but this is not ideal as in combat hull blocks; by extension, hull points do not naturally regenerate. If an entity takes too much hull damage, it risks destruction. When installed, shields absorb the hits first, allowing players more time to plan their next move.

### Setup

Installing shields is as easy as placing the shield block on an entity. Once set, it will immediately project a proportional bubble around the entity and its child entities via a visual effect. The bubble size will depend on the dimensions of the entity in question. Larger entities will have a larger bubble compared to smaller ones. The time it takes for the shield to charge fully will depend on the shield system's overall regeneration speed vs. capacity. Once charged, the bubble will turn invisible and only appear again once the shields have begun taking damage.

Each shield block instance simultaneously adds increased capacity and increased regeneration. Shields are one of few blocks capable of using the Capacitor. Capacitors are special augmenting blocks that can be attached to other blocks to increase that system's capacity. When laterally stretching a shield system, each top surface block will add a capacitor slot to that instance. More capacitors mean increased maximum shield capacity in exchange for increased heat accumulation.

### Monitors

Shields can be linked to Monitors via a link tool in order to view a ship's shield stats.

#### Capacitor

*When connected to a capacitor of x units long, the shield capacity will be increased by*

x
⋅
5
(
1500
⋅

4

log

2

⁡
(
s
c
a
l
e
)

)

{\displaystyle x\cdot 5(1500\cdot 4^{\log \_{2}(scale)})}

.

### Combat

Shields aren't affected by hull damage statistics and can only be damaged by the heat component of a weapon. Beams are thus highly effective against shields.

In combat, shields will absorb all incoming damage. Once hit, an entity's shields will enter a standby period where it will wait to see if additional damage is absorbed. The shield system will begin regenerating lost capacity if no damage is taken within the next few seconds. The regeneration process will cause power usage to spike and generate additional heat for the entity. Future shots will deal hull damage when the entity's shield capacity is depleted.

While effective at a distance, shields have an inherent weakness. The bubble projected represents the minimum protection distance for an entity's shields. All damage received that emanates from beyond the bubble will be absorbed. However, **if damage comes from within the bubble, it will ignore the shields and damage the entity's hull blocks.**

This inherent property opens up unique strategies. Offensively smaller ships can fly in and deal damage at the risk of taking hits themselves. Larger vessels can guard smaller friendly ships that pass underneath the field. In defense, larger entities will be more vulnerable as their shield bubble will naturally be more prominent.

## Logic

Shield capacity is immediately emptied if the system is turned off.
   Button(Pulse) | System remains active as long as the button is pressed.

## Tips

* Can be used on Handhelds.
* Shield block instances placed on child entities will contribute to the parent entity's shield system.
* An entity's shield color is determined by the color of the last placed shield block. By default it is light blue.

## Trivia

* Due to a rounding point error, the shield block stores **0.25 p less** and generates **0.4357 p/s more** at 1/4 scale and **.25 p/s less** than expected at 1/2 scale.
* Each scale up produces 1/2 the shield points but 1/4 of the heat, making larger scales far more heat efficient.