[BUG 7.00 HF1] Adding shields to turret groups reduces shield capacity

[DJ_D]

Game is 7.00 HF1 with all dlc.

Noticed that when adding a shield to a turret group on any ship, regardless of race and type, reduces the average group shield capacity and recharge rate. Only affects shields added to turret groups and engines. Shields added to the chassis directly are unaffected.
When not adding a shield to engines, only the first turret groups shield will increase the avg group shield capacity and recharge rate. Every successive shield added to turrets has no change to capacity or recharge rate. When having a Engine shield installed beforehand however, every additional turret shield will reduce the shield capacity and recharge rate. Removing a turret group shield will increase the capacity again.
Verified the bug on both existing savegames and new saves.
Easy to reproduce when creating a custom creative start and selecting any ship with turret groups, then adding a shield to that group.

Bug happens on both a modified as well as a seperate unmodified clean backup installation that never had mods installed (using current no steam exe)

[CBJ]

Please provide a savegame demonstrating what you are describing.

[Alan Phipps]

Isn't that logical in some circumstances?

Assuming all turret groups are similar, if the performance aspect of the shield you add is below the previous average group performance then the average will go down. If the added shield performance is above the previous average then the average will go up. If the same performance as before then the average stays the same.

Think about a ship with Mk 2 shields from the same faction used in groups so far. If you add another Mk 2 then the average is unchanged, add a Mk 1 and the average drops, add a Mk 3 and the average goes up.

Bring in shields from different factions and all sorts of things may change up or down. Further group average complexity comes when different groups on the ship may have different numbers of shields, and also when some are L shields and some are M. In such complex cases, a group average figure may not be so relevant unless you are exchanging rather than installing shields.

One actual issue might be if the group average calculation ignores groups that do not have any shields as yet but does act on an incomplete set of group shields. That would drop the average on emplacing the first shield until the group is filled.

[DJ_D]

Thats the thing, I have no shields installed in the turret groups. Installing any shield into any turret group that has no shield installed, should increase the average group shield capacity. Instead it decreases it.
Here without any shield in the turret group:
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ ... rbox=false
and here once I added a shield to that turret group:
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ ... rbox=false

This happens with all ships. And can easily be reproduced directly from the main menu by using "create custom start". Take any L or XL ship and add Shields to engines and chassis. Then go into turret groups and add a shield. The average shield capacity gets reduced.

The question I now have, was the average capacity calculation changed between 6.20 and 7.00? Because if I remember correctly, in 6.20 adding a shield to a turret group which had no shield before, increased the average.


Regarding a savegame, I had no save ready to go, so I had to quickly create one with custom start. It shows modified, but there are no extension except the official egosoft dlcs installed and active. I hope that works. Just order the ship to retrofit at any suitable dock and add a shield to the group, it will show the capacity decrease.
The save:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/slmmcjsr ... ml.gz/file

[Alan Phipps]

Yes, that would likely happen in the case you show in the screenshots. You are adding a weaker M shield turret group to a ship that already has a powerful L shield engine group. By adding a new and lesser shielded group, the overall average across both groups would go down. (Average group shielding = sum of all group shielding divided by number of shielded groups - I think.)

As I said above, the average group shielding figure is of more use as comparison when exchanging shields (or adding in-game shield mods), rather than when adding new shields.

[DJ_D]

That does indeed make sense. So it seems it is not a bug per se, rather a change or a fix that was implemented in 7.00 and it was bugged before. Regardless it is confusing if you add shields to a ship and suddenly that bar goes red. Maybe change it to total "turret output" instead to prevent confusion?