Starting in 1.8 Beta 5 we've implemented a new mechanic for defining armor limits and the effect of armor mass on ships.

Armor Classes

Armor types are now categorized into one of several armor classes based on their mass. For example, in Human Space, armor of 1 ton or less is classified as ultra-light armor, while armor heavier than 3.5 tons and up to 6 tons is classified as heavy armor.

These classes are defined in StdArmor.xml as follows:

<Type unid="&unidArmorMass;">
   <ArmorMassDesc>
      <ArmorMass id="ultraLight"   label="ultra-light"  mass="1000"/>
      <ArmorMass id="light"        label="light"        mass="2500"/>
      <ArmorMass id="medium"       label="medium"       mass="3500"/>
      <ArmorMass id="heavy"        label="heavy"        mass="6000"/>
      <ArmorMass id="superHeavy"   label="super-heavy"  mass="9000"/>
      <ArmorMass id="massive"      label="massive"      mass="12000"/>
      <ArmorMass id="dreadnought"  label="dreadnought"  mass="100000"/>
   </ArmorMassDesc>
</Type>

Armor Limits

Armor's effect on a ship class is defined in the ship class. The easiest method is to define the maximum armor and the standard armor for a ship class:

<ShipClass unid="...">
   <Hull
      ...
      stdArmor="medium"
      maxArmor="heavy"
      />
   ...
</ShipClass>

The standard armor for a ship class is the armor class at which the ship has no penalty or bonus to maximum speed. The maximum armor is the heaviest armor class that can be installed on the given ship class.

By default, if you specify these two parameters, the ship class will gain a penalty or bonus when installing armor heavier or lighter than the standard armor. The penalty depends on the total extra mass relative to the mass of the ship class. For very heavy ship classes, the extra mass does not affect speed very much. For lighter ships, extra armor mass can reduce maximum speed by a few percent of light-speed.

If you wish, you may control the exact penalty or bonus for each armor class as follows:

<ShipClass unid="...">
   <Hull
      ...
      />
      <ArmorLimits massClass="ultraLight"   speedAdj="+2"/>
      <ArmorLimits massClass="light"        speedAdj="+1"/>
      <ArmorLimits massClass="medium"       speedAdj="0"/>
      <ArmorLimits massClass="heavy"        speedAdj="-1"/>
      <ArmorLimits massClass="superHeavy"   speedAdj="-2"/>
   </Hull>
   ...
</ShipClass>

Player Ships

For the 6 ships in The Stars of the Pilgrim, the armor limits have been defined as follows:

                            SPEED ADJ
              ULTRA                           SUPER
SHIP CLASS    LIGHT   LIGHT   MEDIUM  HEAVY   HEAVY   MASSIVE
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Constellation  +1      +1       -      -1      -2      N/A
EI500          +1      +1       -      -1      -2      -2
Freyr          +2      +1       -      -2      -3      N/A
Manticore      +2      +2      +1       -      -2      -2
Sapphire       +2      -1       -      -2      N/A     N/A
Wolfen          -       -       -      -2      -3      N/A

Resolve