Are we able to use the redundant systems on the Vanguard interchangeably on-the-fly? A Vanguard could be configured with low emission shields and power plant, with the secondary system configured for high performance and combat. Or possibly having both splash and direct damage shields installed, so one could change configurations mid-mission phase. Thanks!asked by smallcaps
TL;DRYes, the Vanguard's redundant systems can be combined flexibly, such as direct-damage shields facing front and splash shields at the back, though exact mechanics are still being worked out and larger component sizes are the trade-off.
This is an interesting one that you can answer, because CR was the one that did the Vanguard, and Matt was the one who did the shields, so you're in a good position to answer it!
Yeah, in short, absolutely. For the exact mechanics of it that's still being worked out, but on the idea of splash damage and direct damage shields, one of the coolest things to do with it would be putting the full force of the direct damage shield to the front of your ship, and the splash shield to the back, so if you're doing a strafing run in on a capital ship, you've got the protection against their big guns on the front, and missiles from the guys chasing you on the back.
The Vanguard is definitely built to be versatile, the redundancy it has allows you to make decisions and combinations that you couldn't with other similarly sized ships, at the cost of component sizes. That will be able to play in any direction you want, either you have an extra component the same for added protection, or maybe another one that has different characteristics for more layers.