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Why does armor plating require power?
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Kern Hotha
#1 - 2011-10-18 20:55:51 UTC
The plates don't self-repair and don't add any resistances. They're just plates of metal bolted to a ship. Why do they require more power than almost any other module?

We distinguish the excellent man from the common man by saying that the former is the one who makes great demands upon himself, and the latter who makes no demands on himself.

Jose Ortega y Gasset (1883 - 1955)
Zhilia Mann
Tide Way Out Productions
#2 - 2011-10-18 20:57:23 UTC
Kern Hotha wrote:
The plates don't self-repair and don't add any resistances. They're just plates of metal bolted to a ship. Why do they require more power than almost any other module?


Easy. For game balance.
Thomas Orca
Broski is ded
#3 - 2011-10-18 20:57:48 UTC
1600mm plates on frigs is balanced.
YesI'mWatching
Cool4Cats
#4 - 2011-10-18 20:57:58 UTC
I would have 1600 tungston on rifter
stoicfaux
#5 - 2011-10-18 21:02:03 UTC
Mass. You need extra power from the grid to expand the warp field to include/handle the mass of the plates.

"Because they're magic" would also have been an acceptable answer.

Pon Farr Memorial: once every 7 years, all the carebears in high-sec must PvP or they will be temp-banned.
Zhilia Mann
Tide Way Out Productions
#6 - 2011-10-18 21:04:16 UTC
stoicfaux wrote:
Mass. You need extra power from the grid to expand the warp field to include/handle the mass of the plates.

"Because they're magic" would also have been an acceptable answer.


How about "they're not bolted on, they're held on by giant space magnets"?
Tippia
Sunshine and Lollipops
#7 - 2011-10-18 21:19:49 UTC
Do you have any idea how much it takes to feed the heating elements required to keep 1600mm worth of tungsten from frosting up and ruining the paintwork?!

500MW, that's how much!
Kern Hotha
#8 - 2011-10-18 21:23:48 UTC
Tippia wrote:
Do you have any idea how much it takes to feed the heating elements required to keep 1600mm worth of tungsten from frosting up and ruining the paintwork?!

500MW, that's how much!


I accept this as the correct answer. My curiosity is sated.

As you might guess, I was complaining about the powergrid/CPU method of restricting modules. A fitting system that restricted modules based upon mass (like Mechwarrior) would be more agreeable, in my opinion.

We distinguish the excellent man from the common man by saying that the former is the one who makes great demands upon himself, and the latter who makes no demands on himself.

Jose Ortega y Gasset (1883 - 1955)
Tamiya Sarossa
Resistance is Character Forming
#9 - 2011-10-18 22:03:26 UTC
Mechwarrior fitting was determined by mass and critical slots. Mass and volume, powergrid/CPU - they're all arbitrary ways to have two different attributes contribute to fitting to allow variety.

It's a game, not to be hostile but if you find the semantics of fitting limitations disagreeable there are much much more egregious things to get worked up about, like the whole non-newtonian flight mechanics thing.
FloppieTheBanjoClown
Arcana Imperii Ltd.
#10 - 2011-10-18 22:22:22 UTC
It requires a certain amount of power to move your ship through space. The more mass you apply to it, the more of your powergrid will be consumed by propulsion. The armor doesn't directly consume the power, but that power is not available elsewhere either.

Basically, mass directly affects powergrid, and so the two can be treated as the same thing for the same of simpler game mechanics.

Does that work for you?

Founding member of the Belligerent Undesirables movement.
Headerman
Native Freshfood
Minmatar Republic
#11 - 2011-10-18 22:48:26 UTC
How do you know it's bolted on.

For all you know it's being welded on as you fly around.

Or it's held in place by very powerful electro magnets.

Or you have Magneto from the X-Men on board to hold it in place, and you know how much power HE likes....

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Tanya Powers
Doomheim
#12 - 2011-10-19 16:53:46 UTC
Zhilia Mann wrote:
Kern Hotha wrote:
The plates don't self-repair and don't add any resistances. They're just plates of metal bolted to a ship. Why do they require more power than almost any other module?


Easy. For game balance.



If you really want to balance you start limiting the use by ship type.

Ex:
50 to 200 - no limit

400 to 800 cruiser/battle cruiser and above

1600 battleship only

Balance is about taking decisions, not avoid them.
Aamrr
#13 - 2011-10-19 17:04:28 UTC  |  Edited by: Aamrr
Except that many battlecruiser fittings rely on a 1600mm plate.

Edit: And HACs. And Logistics. And Heavy Interdictors. Hell, most T2 armor-tanked cruisers. Even the T1 blackbird...
Tanya Powers
Doomheim
#14 - 2011-10-19 17:49:36 UTC
Aamrr wrote:
Except that many battlecruiser fittings rely on a 1600mm plate.


Yes, that's why it's not "balanced" some can others don't.
Limiting the module type per ship type is nothing new, do you see battle cruisers with BS sized guns? -no
MukkBarovian
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#15 - 2011-10-19 18:06:59 UTC
How often do you see an armor tanked Battlecruiser? Quite a bit less often than an armor tanked cruiser. Then compare to the number of Vagas, Cynabals, and Drakes running around. Armor ships don't need a nerf. Having more EHP than the shield counterparts is a feature of the design. And people still prefer to fly cruiser/bc shield ships because they handle better.

Stop spewing stupid. 1600mm Rifter stupid. 800mm Harbinger stupid. Stupid Stupid Stupid
Satav
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#16 - 2011-10-19 18:11:15 UTC
Hmm,

lets see,

I'll bring my triple plated cane and lets see who wins. Game balance dude. Game balance.

Games can only go so far with realism before aspects develop unfair advantages over others in the game.

______________________________________________________________________________________

"Your Erebus is docked? How did that happen?" "It took a lot of pushing and grease....."
FloppieTheBanjoClown
Arcana Imperii Ltd.
#17 - 2011-10-19 18:38:47 UTC
Satav wrote:
Hmm,

lets see,

I'll bring my triple plated cane and lets see who wins. Game balance dude. Game balance.

Games can only go so far with realism before aspects develop unfair advantages over others in the game.


I can think of plenty of fits that would wipe the floor with a triple-plated anything

Founding member of the Belligerent Undesirables movement.
Skorpynekomimi
#18 - 2011-10-19 19:39:23 UTC
It's energised plating. And it's used as a gigantic heat sink for waste heat. No conduction or convection in space, y'know.

Economic PVP
MukkBarovian
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#19 - 2011-10-19 19:47:27 UTC
Sure I'll fight a triple plated whatever. Drop by lgk-vp anytime.
Aesiron
Viziam
Amarr Empire
#20 - 2011-10-19 20:03:51 UTC
Kern Hotha wrote:
The plates don't self-repair and don't add any resistances. They're just plates of metal bolted to a ship. Why do they require more power than almost any other module?


There is no scientific explanation.

But the reasoning is for Active Tanking, so that there isn't just Passive Tanking and Reppers.
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