Electronic warfare: Difference between revisions

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== Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) ==

[[File:Icon ecm gravimetric.png|left]]ECM causes the targeted ship to lose all of its current target locks (often called 'jamming' the targeted ship). The jammed ship ~~cannot~~ target ~~anyone or~~ anything for the duration of the ECM module's cycle (20 seconds), and can only re-acquire its targets after the ECM module fails to jam its target or stops cycling. ECM is often considered the most powerful of the four types of EWAR, because it renders an opponent virtually helpless, disabling their interactions with other ships and with their environment.

[[File:Icon ecm gravimetric.png|left]]ECM causes the targeted ship to lose all of its current target locks, with the exception of the jammer (often called 'jamming' the targeted ship). The jammed ship loses the ability to target anything that is not currently jamming it, for the duration of the ECM module's cycle (20 seconds), and can only re-acquire its targets after the ECM module fails to jam its target or stops cycling. ECM is often considered the most powerful of the four types of EWAR, because it renders an opponent virtually helpless, disabling their interactions with other ships and with their environment.

However, there is an important, unique downside to ECM: the success of each ECM module cycle is a matter of chance, with a probability that depends on the jam strength of the ECM module and the sensor strength of the target (with larger targets generally harder to jam than smaller ones). That probability is also affected by the distance to the target; the jamming strength of ECM modules is not reducecd in their optimal range, but the strength decreases through falloff with same formula as [[turret mechanics|turret falloff]], such that ECM is only half as likely to work at (optimal + falloff). Taken together, all this means that sometimes you will jam the opposing ship, and sometimes you won't, and each cycle of your ECM modules is like a roll of the dice.

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 == Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) ==
 {{main|Electronic Countermeasures}}
-[[File:Icon ecm gravimetric.png|left]]ECM causes the targeted ship to lose all of its current target locks (often called 'jamming' the targeted ship). The jammed ship cannot target anyone or anything for the duration of the ECM module's cycle (20 seconds), and can only re-acquire its targets after the ECM module fails to jam its target or stops cycling. ECM is often considered the most powerful of the four types of EWAR, because it renders an opponent virtually helpless, disabling their interactions with other ships and with their environment.
+[[File:Icon ecm gravimetric.png|left]]ECM causes the targeted ship to lose all of its current target locks, with the exception of the jammer (often called 'jamming' the targeted ship). The jammed ship loses the ability to target anything that is not currently jamming it, for the duration of the ECM module's cycle (20 seconds), and can only re-acquire its targets after the ECM module fails to jam its target or stops cycling. ECM is often considered the most powerful of the four types of EWAR, because it renders an opponent virtually helpless, disabling their interactions with other ships and with their environment.
 However, there is an important, unique downside to ECM: the success of each ECM module cycle is a matter of chance, with a probability that depends on the jam strength of the ECM module and the sensor strength of the target (with larger targets generally harder to jam than smaller ones). That probability is also affected by the distance to the target; the jamming strength of ECM modules is not reducecd in their optimal range, but the strength decreases through falloff with same formula as [[turret mechanics|turret falloff]], such that ECM is only half as likely to work at (optimal + falloff). Taken together, all this means that sometimes you will jam the opposing ship, and sometimes you won't, and each cycle of your ECM modules is like a roll of the dice.