Deadly Ramming and Debris Fields - Ship Collisions Do More Damage

Etherea's debris fields are plenty dangerous if you're not used to flying in them. - Rayna Marquez, UC Vanguard

This mod increases the damage done to all ships (both player and NPC) by ramming into obstacles, whether those obstacles are asteroids, space debris, enemy ships, or debris resulting from the destruction of enemy ships. There are 3 difficulties to choose from, which are the result of lots of trial and error, and in-game testing. See videos below for demonstrations of the hardest versions. The easy and medium versions will obviously be more forgiving than what is shown.

---- Effects of This Mod on Space Battles

If you are right on an enemy's tail and blow them up from close range, the resulting debris field has the potential to seriously damage or even destroy your ship unless you immediately break away and avoid it. Also, since NPC ships are affected by the increased collision damage, running away from a fight and hoping that your enemies crash into an asteroid or piece of debris is now a somewhat valid tactic.

In vanilla, ramming heavily favors the player. With this mod's hardest ramming version installed, this favoritism is completely removed, and the outcome of ramming depends on each ship's shields, hull strength, mass, and velocity. If you try ramming a tiny class A ship into a big class C, you will take lots of damage while not doing much to the enemy. Conversely, if you have a big class C ship, it is possible to instantly destroy small class A ships if you can land a solid hit. However, you may want to aim for a shallow angle of collision to avoid the resulting debris field.

Ramming damage only applies to ships that are currently hostile to you. Ramming into friendly or neutral ships does no damage, unless you shoot them first to turn them hostile. As far as I can tell, this is hard-coded.

---- Navigating Debris Fields

The Starborn Guardian can be challenging to fly through debris fields, due to its tall vertical profile. If you are being attacked by Starborn, taking cover in a debris field might not be a bad move. Similarly, pilots of large or asymmetric ships will need to keep their ship's profile in mind when navigating debris or asteroid fields.

If you happen to park your ship close to an asymmetric asteroid that is slowly rotating in place, it is possible for the outer-most edges of the asteroid to hit you as it rotates. This would be a minor inconvenience in vanilla, but with this mod installed you have to respect asteroids and make sure you park far enough away to avoid getting hit and taking heavy damage.

---- Three Difficulty Levels For Obstacle Collisions

Across all versions, damage is affected by the size of the obstacle