One of the intriguing features of the targeting system used in space is how damage is applied during combat. Each starship is considered to have a number of weapons batteries, and each battery selects a target and fires on that target independently of other batteries. So individual batteries may hit or miss without influencing other batteries on the same ship. When you design a starship, you may designate a certain number of slots to a given weapon, and the more slots you designate, the more damage that weapon does. It is these slots which determine how weapons batteries are grouped.

BEAMS AND MISSILES
The first battery consists of one weapon slot. Each successive battery consists of one more weapons slot than the previous battery, until all weapons slots are taken up by the last battery.

EXAMPLES
- 4 slots, translates into battery assignment of 1-2-1
- 5 slots, translates into battery assignment of 1-2-2
- 6 slots, tanslates into battery assignment of 1-2-3
- 7 slots, translates into battery assignment of 1-2-3-1

Damage is divided equally between all weapons slots, so a 2-slot battery does twice the damage of a 1-slot battery, and so on.

FIGHTERS
Fighters work exactly the same way, except that each slot of fighters is counted as 2 fighters. So for example, if you have 5 design slots, you are considered to have 10 fighters.

EXAMPLES
- 4 slots, 8 fighters, battery assignment of 1-2-3-2
- 5 slots, 10 fighters, battery assignment of 1-2-3-4
- 6 slots, 12 fighters, batter assignment of 1-2-3-4-2