Cloaking - Details

Many starships can hide using a cloaking device built into their hull. Cloaked starships do not show up on most enemy scanners and are protected from enemy attack.

This page covers some of the technical details of Cloaking. Specifically, it covers the interaction of Cloaking with starships from other races and with Stellar Cartography, according to the Host Order.

• All ships start the turn uncloaked.
• Cargo is transferred between one's own starships and planets. This allows a ship with the Cloak mission to take on fuel before the cloaking device is engaged.
• Tow lock occurs prior to the cloak being engaged. If another starship can "see" the starship in the previous turn, it is possible to get a tow lock even if the cloak function becomes engaged this turn. In a full visibility game, all ships can be "seen" even if they're always cloaked.
• The cloak is engaged. In order for the cloak to function:
  • The starship must be undamaged.
  • The starship must have enough fuel to operate the cloaking device. A starship with Advanced Cloaking doesn't consume fuel to cloak, but must still have at least 1 KT of fuel for cloaking to function.
• Almost immediately after cloaking occurs, the Loki decloaks starships. If the race with the cloaked starship has Loki Immunity, their cloaked starships will remain cloaked.
• Any starship with a mission of Cloak where cloaking is still active consumes the cloaking fuel.
• If the starship is inside an Ion Disturbance, and it doesn't have Advanced Cloaking, it will be decloaked.
• Rob mission occurs. If a starship cloaks, it can't be robbed.
• Foreign starship cargo transfer occurs. If a starship cloaks, it can't receive a transfer, but it can send cargo.
• Command Starship Groups move and impact with mines. Cloaked starships hitting a mine will become uncloaked. Cloaked starships running out of fuel will become uncloaked.
• Mines, including web mines, are layed.
• Ion storms move and merge. They also uncloak cloaked starships (Advanced Cloaking exempt) and damage starships (cloaked Advanced Cloaking exempt), which makes any cloaking impossible until damage is repaired.
• Web Drain may cause cloaked starships to lose their fuel, causing them to uncloak.
• Towing ships move. If a tow lock was able to be acquired on a cloaked starship, it will be moved by the towing starship.
• Most Starships move and impact with mines. Cloaked starships hitting a mine will become uncloaked. Cloaked starships that run out of fuel during this step may become uncloaked. (Note that this will leave them vulnerable to Intercept.)
• Tantrum Liners TANTRUM, which could cause starships to be pushed into minefields. Cloaked starships hitting a mine will become uncloaked.
• Glory devices detonate (post-movement). TRG Glories can detect cloaked enemies and will detonate to reveal them. Any cloaked starship at the location of a Glory device will be damaged and become uncloaked.
• Chunnels are created, moving starships at the entrance. Cloaked starships will remain cloaked, but all foreign cloaked vessels will be drawn through the chunnel.
• The Loki decloaks starships. This could effect cloaked starships that moved to the location of a Loki or are where a Loki has moved to.
• Starbase Primary Orders, particularly Refuel.
• The Loki decloaks starships. This could effect cloaked starships that are at the same location as a Loki that has just been refueled by a starbase.
• Glory devices detonate (post-Chunnel). As above, TRG Glories can detect cloaked enemies and will detonate to reveal them. Note that Lokis at the Chunnel destination will interfere with this.
• Starship vs. starship combat. A cloaked starship with a Primary Enemy set will engage in combat with starships belonging to the specified enemy. A cloaked starship that is damaged in combat will be uncloaked for the rest of the turn. Starships with the Recloak Intercept ability can recloak after combat, but others can't.
• Starship vs. planet/starbase combat. A cloaked starship will not attack a planet.
• Scan for starships. A ship that has become uncloaked will be visible to others.

See also Out of Fuel , Dark Detection , Super Spy Psychic Scanning and Priority Intercept Attack.

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