Added Capabilities
Unit Upgrades
Upgrades are modifications made to a unit in order to improve its performance. Extra sets of missiles, oversized engines and exceptionally powerful radar are examples of such. Note that since all units are built to be functional 'out of the box', in most cases upgrades increase the effectiveness in a given field - ships do not need to be given radar upgrades simply to track targets and tanks do not need to be given armor upgrades just to resist shells. A functional level in most abilities is assumed to exist.
Each upgrade adds 50% of the unit's base cost and provides a significant bonus. Each unit may have up to its tech level (normally 3) in upgrades at no further penalty.
Added Capabilities
(Not exhaustive)
+X Weapons
This covers a wide variety of lethally-tasked systems, ranging from slug-firing infantry rifles to ship-mounted laser cannons and everything in between. Represents the quintessential ‘gun’.
+X AA Weapons
These are weapons specifically designed to engage small, fast-moving targets. They commonly represent a combination of high-agility missiles, lasers and rapid-fire railguns.
+X Melee Weapons
Melee weapons includes such things are shotguns, claymore mines, dumb bombs, offensively-tasked CIWS gatling guns and, yes, giant robot swords.
+X Long Range:
Some units have superior beam focusing, better engines on their missiles, or longer barrels. Regardless, this gives superior performance at range compared to to the average version.
+2 Sniper System
This upgrade is most commonly seen on mecha for giant sniper rifles, though some designers have placed it on specialized bombers or even light warships. It allows use of the Sniper order which increases range can be used to pick off individual units or inflict critical damage on large targets such as warships or installations.
+X Shields/Active Defenses
Representing various defensive measures such as defensive jammers/dazzlers, chaff, point-defense guns and other similar equipment, Active Defenses are the primary protection on most warships.
+X Armor
Armor is passive protection against attacks, making it both more and less effective than Active Defenses. On most warships it represents damage-mitigation features more than actual belts of hyper-steel. In contrast on ground vehicles it is one of the main modes of defense.
+X Sensors
This normally represents powerful, long-range radar and lidar systems. These are often necessary to detect or acquire targets at long range. Additionally, they are of great help in detecting heavily stealthed vehicles.
+X ECM
While many modern units are equipped with a variety of defensive electronics, some take this a step further and mount powerful wide-area electronic jamming systems. Such equipment can disrupt sensors and decrease effective weapon range. However it is not subtle.
+X Command
While all military formations have integrated C3 facilities, sometimes it is desired to have particularly large, well-outfitted command systems for large operations.
+X Stealth
Concealment from detection is a concept as old as warfare itself. However in an age of cheap, high-tech detection gear fieldcraft alone is often not enough to escape detection. To that end sophisticated materiels and clever design is often mated to hide from prying sensors.
+X Mobility:
For ground units only, this means faster performance across the land.
+X Boosters:
Increased speed for aerospace units such as fighters and mecha. Fixed-wing aircraft require +1 boosters to enter orbit. Mecha require +2 boosters to enter orbit. Condensate boosters also provide a boost to evasion.
+X Agile:
Slight increases to speed, such as better aerodynamics gravity drive systems. These improvements usually allow a craft to avoid incoming fire, and thus increase evasion.
+1 Aerospace Capable
This upgrade is specific to ships of all sizes. It enables the so-fitted ship to enter atmosphere at high speed and perform there – without it, even gravity drive ships are rather sluggish and clumsy. In space, it has the additional effect of significantly increasing tactical mobility. However, the increased fuel demands of high-performance engines results in a 50% increase to He3 or Monopole consumption.
+1 Militarized
An upgrade given to civilian cargo vessels, militarized freighters are much more heavily armed and protected than the average civilian ship, designed for military use in potentially hostile environments. However the additional training and maintenance needs and higher overheads mean that if used for civilian cargo, upkeep must be paid normally.
+X Environmental Adaptation:
Some units are designed to operate in a truly unusual environment. This could include arctic cold, desert heat, toxic atmosphere, etc. Transhuman nations can often survive their situations naturally, or technological devices such as insulated gear or filter masks are used.
+1 Submersible:
Specialized capabilities can allow units to land in water and even go below the waves, often via advanced gravity drives and reinforced hulls. Submerged units are more difficult to target.
+X Hangars:
Fighters and mecha require a docking bay to refuel and rearm. Each +1 in capability increases the DP of a hangar by the amount of DP listed. Note that these are distinct from Hangarize! super-hangars.
+1 Rapid Launch:
For hangar-equipped units only, this represents superior hangars and catapults for getting all of your birds in the air.
+X Cargo:
This represents an increase in storage capacity, or the addition of a cargo bay. Each +1 cargo increases the cargo capacity by 50% or adds the listed cargo capacity per capability to a vessel without cargo capacity.
+X Docking Collars
While transporting HLVs between the stars is efficiently done with Conveyors, they are generally treated as military liabilities. Slow and fragile, they make attractive targets. As a consequence, some militaries have opted to transport HLVs on specially-outfitted warships. On warships, every +1 Docking Collar upgrade allows 1 HLV docking point per 40 IP of ship cost. On Conveyors/Heavy Conveyors, every +1 Docking Collar upgrade increases HLV docking points by 50% of base.
+1 Training:
This represents specialist units, such as airborne infantry, Zero-G boarding units, or security units. The capability gives increased skills only in that area.
+X Compact:
Either the units are small, or fewer units are need to do the same job. Each +1 compact halves the cargo sizes and DP of a unit, and adds a bonus to evasion, as smaller units are harder to hit. The downside of this is that the unit can take less damage and has half the cargo capacity for every +1 compact.
+1 Hyperwave Survey Sensors:
Large arrays containing delta dust, these devices were used to plot the paths between stars. They are designed for ships of cruiser size or larger. Requires delta dust.
+1 Hyperwave:
TBA They are designed for ships of cruiser size or larger. Requires delta dust.
Reduced Capabilities
Most reduced capabilities follow directly from the added capabilities, with an inverse effect: Reducing armor will render a unit more vulnerable instead of less vulnerable. Reduced capabilities decrease the cost of a unit by one half of the base cost. The following list is certainly not exhaustive.
-X Weapons:
This indicates less weaponry in general or much less of a certain type of weapon (such as AA weapons). A -2 Weapons cap means a unit completely lacks weapons. This can only be given to units that would normally have weapons.
-X High Profile:
This could mean having a heavy IR signature, giving a good RADAR return, or simply being very big. Stealth capability is reduced, and enemies have an easier time with targeting.
-X Mobility:
For ground units only - the unit is slower than average. -2 Mobility is an immobile unit, such as a gun emplacement.
-1 Aquatic Only:
The vessel is designed exclusively to operate on water or similar fluids, acting like an old wet-navy ship.
-X Fuel Hog:
Some units just burn more He3 than others, whether due to larger reactors or just simply bad design. This doubles the unit's He3 upkeep.
-X High Upkeep:
Some units go through supplies at an alarming rate, either due expensive components that need replacing or putting to lot of strain on the systems. This reduced capability doubles the unit's supply upkeep.
Slotfree Added Capabilities
Certain added capabilities do not use upgrade slots. This is currently a list of known slot-free added capabilities. +0 capabilities do not cost IP to add.
Electronics
+1 Heavily Automated (requires Compuphile)
+1 Computronium AI (requires Compuphile and Computronium)
+1 ACE (requires Hyperglions, for special operations and aerospace)
Power Technologies
All reactor caps can only be added to a unit with helium-3 upkeep. See Power Technologies for more details.
+1 Deuterium Reactor(requires no traits)
+1 Monopole Reactor (requires monopoles to fuel)
+1 Stable Monopole Reactor (requires Stable Monopoles)
Engines
Engines are only slotfree for warships.
+0 Gravity Drive (no requirements) Better evasion, lower acceleration .
+0 Rocket Drive (no requirements) Better acceleration , lower evasion
+0 Condensate Drive (requires Condensates) Superior acceleration and evasion
+0 Delta Dust FTL Drive (requires Delta Dust)
Augmentations
Augmentations are all infantry-only.
+1 Cybernetics (requires Cyberize!, only the first cap is slotfree)
+0 Xenomorphs (requires Xenomorphs)
Training
Special Training is primarily for infantry, but specialist aircraft may have adverse weather trained-crews and the equipment to make use of them.
+1 Environmental Training (only first is slotfree)
+0 Environmental Adaptation (free for Extreme Transhumans)
Other
+0 Superhangars (requires Hangarize!)