PSHIP questions from newbie

[Jeffesmi]

Hello,

I've just started playing, and I have a question or three about PSHIPS, that is PSHIPS with no Hitpoints.  If your ships don't have any hitpoints and they are a defensive tool, why put weapons on them? Don't they get blown up in the first salvo by the attacker without a chance to fire back?  Please me know how this works. Obviously, the design of my PSHIPS will be drastically different if the weapon is useless than if it gets to attack before it's blown up.

Second, when you swarm PSIPS, do they get some hitpoints from the swarm effect?

Third, what is the maximum fleet size?

Thanks,

Jeff

[Chronos]

The sole purpose for powerships is to get blown up, letting you escape into a nebula. The more power your powerships have, the faster you can get into a nebula. Their weapons won't actually kill anything, but they still do provide fleet power... a lot of it.

Putting hitpoints on them would just be counterproductive.

[Jan`go Vhett]

No they don't get hitpoints from swarm bonus.

Maximum fleet size I believe is 9,223,372,036,854,775,808

Also I want to correct your assumption that the p-ships would not be able to shoot back.
Both fleets deal full damage to each other so technically even if they are killed then they still can do damage.

[Saturn 7]

Also the more weapons and therefore power each ship has, the less ships you will need to buy to reach enough fleet power to protect your lead.

[Nephadral]

The point of P-Ships is to get somewhere around .72 FP (Fleet Power) per credit.

Even though they will get a swarm bonus, and will attack, these are not why you would buy these ships.  You use them to help raise your power significantly, very cheaply.  As was posted above, this can be used defensively to assist in getting into nebula protection at a small financial cost to yourself.

[KenquinnTheInsaneOne]

Just to be clear you need to post at least 20% of you total power in pships before you will fain a neb from their deaths

If yo use one stack of them put your current power / 3.8 in them

If you use 2 stacks of pships each stack should have your current power / 2.8

Now the figures I give will give you a bit over 20% of your power per stack. I do that because when you do encounters and gain some power you wont go above the point where you dont get a neb after 1 attack.

Also Jeffesmi in case you did not noticed Nephadral comment about combat the way that it works is both the attacking ships and the defending ships get to fire even if one fleet can wipe the other out entirely. Their are cases when fleets don't get to fire but thats anohter story.