Modules include all modification equipment that can
be loaded onto module hardpoints -- system upgrades, mine or decoy launchers,
and the most recently legalized viral and nuclear weapons.
SYSTEM UPGRADES
Afterburner Enhancers
These increase both afterburner acceleration and
top speed.
Auto Repair Units
These droids repair your ship in mid-flight, saving
you time and money in on-planet ship repair costs. They repair everything
but armor, which can be fixed fairly cheaply anyway. Two grades are commercially
available.
Coolant Units
Coolant Units increase the speed at which your guns cool down, making them less likely to overheat. This means you can fire longer, without having to break off and wait for your guns to cool down.
If you have anything more than a couple of stream
lasers, you probably need a coolant. Getting a good Coolant Unit becomes
particularly important as you begin to load multiple guns - the speed at
which they heat up increases immensely. Also, if you like long-range combat,
you should definitely look into getting a Coolant Unit. It's harder to
be accurate at longer distances, and long-range gunners generally end up
firing at their targets for more extended periods of time.
Shield Generator Enhancers
All ships regenerate shields at the same rate, regardless of how heavy or light these shields are. A shield regenerator speeds up this rate, so that once your shields are down, they'll come back on line faster.
When considering a shield generator enhancer, however,
you may want to compare the price of the enhancer to the price of upgrading
to a ship with better shields. If the shields are better, they can take
more damage, so they won't go down as quickly in the first place. Also,
with a ship upgrade you will probably get additional gun, missile and module
mounts.
Warp Shields
These make your ship unable to take damage, but only
for about 20 seconds. You can only use your Warp Shields once every five
minutes, so make those 20 seconds count. Warp Shields also fully regenerate
when you land.
VIRAL AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS
BSE
Short for "Binary Sickness Emitter," these devices transmit a virus encoded in a signal ID that can completely shut down an enemy's flight control systems for about ten seconds. It can also shut down a capital ship's turrets. The newer model has a greater chance of successfully disabling its target.
A BSE unit can be used four times and requires at
least a minute to recharge. (it is a bit difficult to gauge whether the
BSE has recharged because there aren't any visual cues.) It can be used
at ranges of 200 to 300 klicks.
Signal Filter
This is the "antidote" to the type of viral warfare
listed above. It detects and blocks viruses that are transmitted by BSE
(or equivalent) systems, viral mines and viral missiles. BSE units are
fairly rare among pirate loadouts -- usually only the heaviest fighter
from each clan carries them.
Nuke 'em Bomb
These bombs have a blast radius extending out to about the first ring from the center of your radar in long-range Celestial mode (about 500 klicks). When you drop a Nuke 'em, all ships within the ring will be affected - except your own - and most (if not all) will be wiped out. The closer a ship is to the center of the blast, the more likely it is to be completely destroyed.
Once released, the bomb takes 5 seconds to prime
before it detonates.
MINE AND DECOY LAUNCHERS
All mine launchers contain 10 mines, and decoy launchers contain 15 decoys; launchers and mines/decoys are sold together.
Mines and decoys are released from the back of your ship. To use a mine effectively, drop it just as you are flying over (or in front of) your target. There is no real strategy for using decoys, except to drop one whenever a missile locks onto you - the decoys do not intercept missiles, but merely cause them to lose their lock. All mines and decoys remain active for about 20 seconds.
Mines deliver maximum damage at ground zero. This
damage decreases out to the mine's maximum range. For example, a ship at
half range takes half damage. If you are within the mine's maximum range,
your ship takes damage.
Hi-Explosive Mines
When a Hi-Explosive mine hits a ship, it does 900
points of damage to its victims shields and/or armor. You are also damaged
if you're within the blast radius.
Proximity Mines
These mines do only 700 points of damage, but they
are more sensitive and detonate whenever something comes near them.
Viral Mines
This is basically a weak Disrupter missile without a guidance or propulsion system (in fact, these two weapons are made by the same company.) These mines wipe out the flight control systems of any ship they come into contact with, leaving the ship immobile for several seconds. Viral mines can affect capital ships and other vessels, but in general are far weaker than Disrupter missiles.
Decoys
Decoys are capable of deflecting all known types of space-warfare missile (Snipe, Brute, Python, Viral, Banshee and Disrupter). Each with a different chance of success at causing the missile to lose its lock. (Each decoy launched will have this success rate, regardless of how many you've launched previously. Your overall odds of deflecting a missile increase as you launch multiple decoys.)
Field tests put the success rate nearer 90% for both of these models but also revealed that a missile does not lock on to the decoy once it's lost its lock on your ship. The decoy causes the missile to veer away from you, but it may regain a lock if you continue to maneuver.