Oolite Bulletins

Here's a cute idea. What if you could target specific subsystems on ships? You can damage them by random accident, but what if you could do it intentionally? For example, let's say you want to hit the fuel injectors of a ship that just won't leave you alone. You activate the special targeting system, cycle to the subsystem you want to hit, a tiny box on the ship comes up. If you manage to score a direct hit on that, the subsystem goes out. So in this example, the fuel injectors are damaged and you can get away.

Obviously it is (and should) be hard to do, mostly relying on luck to get that sweet spot. You could also target weapons, hit their ECM system if you want to use a regular missile on them, and so on.

You would only be able to do that when their shields are down, and they are pretty much dead by then anyway. If they had extra equipment* much of it would already be trashed just like yours is just before you die.

*NPCs actually don't have the extra equipment options that players get, except injectors, ECM and one or two other items, but they are generally not open to js for manipulation so could not be 'destroyed' intentionally.

There's Eric's variation on the Griff Krait OXP - various equipment items bound to visible and destroyable subentities on the main hull.

Part of the difficulty with doing damage to NPC equipment is that as Smivs says, there's relatively little equipment that NPCs actually use at the moment. (Another part is that as NPCs don't have shields, deciding when they might take equipment damage is trickier: at the moment the answer is "never")

• Cargo bay extension: player-only, occasionally simulated in NPCs by having two variants in shipdata
• ECM: works the same for player and NPCs
• Heat shielding: NPCs can have a heat shielding value set, but this isn't done by equipment (so can't be destroyed) and can shield them considerably more than the player is shielded.
• Fuel scoops: as of 1.80 works the same for player and NPCs
• Multi-targeting system: player-only, though it's very rare an NPC would need it
• Advanced nav array: player-only, though all NPCs have access to the information it provides
• Advanced space compass: player-only, NPCs in general get the benefits without needing the equipment
• Escape pod: works the same for player and NPCs
• Extra energy unit: player-only, occasionally simulated in NPCs by having two variants in shipdata
• Target system memory expansion: player-only, NPCs as of 1.77 can be considered to have it fitted by default
• Docking computers: player-only, NPCs can be considered to have it fitted by default
• Wormhole scanner: player-only, NPCs might occasionally act as if they had it but virtually never need it
• Galactic hyperdrive: player-only, except for the one famous (and off-screen) exception
• Shield boosters: can be fitted to NPCs, but just gives extra energy banks
• Fuel injectors: works the same for player and NPCs except the NPC version burns fuel much faster
• Scanner Targeting Enhancement: player-only, NPCs have access to the information it provides
• Military shield enhancement: can be fitted to NPCs, where it gives extra energy banks and approximately also acts as an extra energy unit

You can assign all the player-only equipment to an NPC ship (including, because NPC ships don't have shipyard.plist entries, equipment which the player version of that ship wouldn't be able to equip) using Javascript - ship.awardEquipment() and related functions, but it has no effect.

Dertien mentioned a similar idea in another thread, where he modelled all the parts.

As for the shields, there are already 2 OXPs which add shields to NPCs, so a subsystems targeting OXP requiring one of them would be the way to go.

EDIT:

Eric's variation on Griff Krait

- link, pleeaase?

Some oxp ships - like the abovementioned Krait, the Cougar, the Iguana - sport dual laser systems, and if you've really good aim (or are just really lucky) you can shoot their guns off, leaving the ships relatively harmless.
Although the Krait isn't a tough ship anyway despite dual guns. It's slow and fragile, easy pickings for a well aimed beam laser.