Armor in StarCluster 4

Some more work done on armor. This ties into the post I made on possibly dropping damage bonus by weapon. On that point, on discussing things thoroughly with my son Klaxon, my co-designer, I have decided to include a damage bonus by weapon after all , from +0 to +5. Civilian weapons and armor will be severely restricted as to penetration and damage, so I am not too worried. Civilian weapon penetration will never top 3.

In any case, armor available to civilians also is drastically different from that available to militaries. Again, civilian suits will be limited to a penetration value of 3 at most. Particular suits can also have damage reduction as well as penetration.

Suits also have a lot of other variable - equipped sensors, number of available Comm channels, in-built programs, seal rating, interface used, mobility enhancements, skinability (cammo skins), Power and power taps available, and whether the armor improves or degrades particular attributes when worn.

Here's an armor sheet filled out. This suit is a civilian armor intended for the head of a small group - good comms, good protection, some programs, decent mobility.

This one is color coded - gray is determined by the armor material. Blue is based on the manufacturer's model design. Green are decisions based on the individual the suit is made for. In practice, the color coding is not needed.

Some options are not open to change once the suit is manufactured - this is indicated by the box being filled in. For example, the material cannot be changed without fundamentally changing the suit, thus the penetration value is fixed. Some programs are illegal for non-military personnel, so these are blocked by the manufacturer. Thus anything not blocked can be upgraded after purchase.