Movement system.

[DaloLorn]

See #1 for an explanation of map layers.

Definition: Action Points (AP)

Action Points are a measure of what can be done in a certain amount of time. All units have a certain amount of AP (the specific amount is a global constant), and consume it by moving in layers 1 and 2, or performing non-instantaneous actions not covered by the 'Wait' action described below.

AP can also be spent by the 'Wait' action to do things such as resupplying, repairing the ship, recharging Power, Shields and FTL Energy, using channeled abilities like mining or Graviton Condensers, or bleeding off Flux Stress.

(Note that as long as other prerequisites are met - for example, staying in range of a resupply facility - any other way of spending AP, including ending a turn or moving the ship, will achieve the same effect as 'Wait'. The more AP is consumed, the more the various abovementioned actions will progress. There will also be a 'Wait Until' action which will spend as much AP as is necessary to complete a certain action without waiting for the end-of-turn AP drain.)

AP is also spent for each minute of tactical combat - conversely, AP-consuming effects will only spend AP in tactical combat if they required additional AP on top of that consumed by the 'Wait' action.

Definition: Fuel

Fuel (may or may not be merged into Supply, but for now I'll treat it as if it were a standalone resource) is a ship resource used to power the ship's reactors and sublight engines.

A ship without Fuel (technically it's just that it's down to emergency reserves) will have extreme AP costs for most non-Wait actions - also, minimal Power generation which may adversely affect combat capability - as it goes into power-saving mode to maintain life support, and should return to the nearest friendly outpost or planet to resupply or shut down. Failing to do so before emergency reserves are depleted will cause the ship's crew to die, turning it into a derelict.

Passive effects such as Power generation will always spend Fuel when AP is spent. Others, like movement, will only spend Fuel when moving. Fuel, like AP, is not spent in layer-3 movement unless it results in a corresponding layer-2 movement at the end of a battle.

Definition: FTL Energy, FTL Crystals

FTL Crystals are an imperial resource whose purpose is to maintain FTL orbitals (Fling, Gate, FTL Jammer), build Flux-capable ships, or otherwise perform FTL-related functions on a non-ship object (a good example from SR2 is researching FTL Studies or whatever the tech was called). FTL Crystals are also used as a sort of fuel resource for FTL-capable ships, being converted into FTL Energy at a fixed rate. In order to replenish a ship's stockpile of FTL Crystals, the empire must have FTL Crystals available and the ship must be at a location capable of refilling FTL Crystals.

FTL Energy is a ship resource created from FTL Crystals by certain subsystems. It is used to power FTL subsystems such as Hyperdrives or Jumpdrives. Spending AP regenerates FTL Energy - depending on the design of the ship, it may take several turns to fully recharge its FTL Energy.

Definition: Resupply

Resupply is the act of refilling ship supplies such as Fuel, Supply, Ordnance (again, not sure if it'll be rolled into generic 'Supply') or FTL Crystals. Whether these resources are filled by separate buildings or an all-in-one facility is currently unknown, but it takes a certain amount of AP (in extreme cases like an overly large supply pool or a very small resupply facility, it may even be several turns' worth) to fully complete.

Layer 1

• Crossing each sector consumes a moderate to high amount of AP unless specified otherwise:

• Hyperdrive:

  • Consume X AP per sector, X being determined by the drive's FTL speed. Is not affected by Fuel shortages.
  • Also consume 1-2 AP and a small amount of FTL energy each time you enter FTL.
  • Consumes a certain amount of FTL energy per sector dependent on the ship's mass.

• Slipstream:

  • Open a wormhole of infinite capacity (see Gate below) to another sector for 1-2 AP.
  • Spend another 1-2 AP passing through the wormhole.
  • Consume a high amount of FTL energy dependent on distance to target.
  • Wormhole lifetime depends on generator size and is measured in AP. (How much AP is spent going through it, or how much AP's worth in turns has elapsed - whichever comes first.)

• Gate:

  • Spend 1-2 AP passing through the wormhole.
  • Requires a constant maintenance cost in FTL crystals per turn, depending on the gate's size.
  • Bigger objects require bigger gates to pass through. Gates must be slightly larger than the objects that pass through them. Both entrance and exit gates must be large enough to support the object.

• Fling Beacon:

  • Spend 1-2 AP each time you enter FTL.
  • Consumes a certain amount of FTL crystals for each jump.
  • Ships must be in the same sector (or maybe the same layer-2 hex?) as the Beacon to use FTL.

• Jumpdrive:

  • Spend 2-4 AP each time you enter FTL.
  • Consumes a certain amount of FTL energy each time you enter FTL.
  • Longer jumps require more FTL than an equivalent series of smaller leaps and are more dangerous.

• Flux:

  • Consume no AP when entering FTL.
  • Moves to a different sector, but does not alter its layer-2 coordinates. This may cause accidental or deliberate combat actions. (This is subject to change.)
  • Ships have an additional 'Flux Stress' variable which is increased depending on the distance traveled - when FS exceeds a certain value, you may no longer make Flux jumps until it has receded to normal levels. Flux Stress is drained by spending AP. (This may take several turns' worth after a long jump.)
  • Ships cannot use Flux outside of their owner's Flux network.
  • Flux network is expanded by building some kind of repeater station/building - races which start with Flux as their initial FTL method will receive a free repeater station in each system they colonize. (Races which research Flux will instead have to research a second tech in order to get free network expansion. Yes, Flux will no longer be incompatible with other FTL types.)

• Sublight:

  • Spend a (very?) high amount of AP (possibly related to the amount of AP required to go from one layer-2 edge to another - if deep space is instantiated, just make ships travel on layer 2 and cross from one layer-1 tile to the next by crossing the border?) while crossing between sectors.
  • AP cost is dependent on ship's acceleration value.
  • If subsystem requires any special resources, consume those dependent on AP spent.

Layer 2

• FTL (including Sublight) methods act the same on layer 2 as they do on layer 1. They may, however, have to consume fractional amounts of AP in the case of Hyperdrive... FTL Energy may provide a similar problem.
• Flux does not function on layer 2 because of its layer-1 behavior. (This, like the related layer-1 behavior, is subject to change.)
• Sublight propulsion consumes small, probably integral (in the 'this is an integer' sense) amounts of AP per hex.
• Entering a hex adjacent to a hostile force will begin combat. The movement AI should avoid conflict by default, only entering hostile hexes when explicitly ordered to, or when no other option is available and it's authorized to go into battle. (A third mode may be 'go here as fast as you can, don't bother avoiding hostiles'.)

Layer 3

• Just your run-of-the-mill SR2 movement, only with extra ship stats/resources.
• To exit combat, ships must move past the perimeter of the Region object. This will put them in a layer-2 hex outside the layer-3 hex, dependent on the heading they were going in. (This may also put them in an adjacent layer-1 tile if there are no more layer-2 hexes to go to in that direction.)
• Combat ends when no more hostiles occupy the layer-3 hex (which, I will reiterate, consists of seven layer-2 hexes in a hexagonal formation). How this occurs is beyond the scope of this definition.