Mechanics extension: Penetration

This one is probably one to discuss in a larger round, esp. with @IrateRedKite and @Beaglerush. Milo and I had a bit of a talk about putting the armor values that Freelancer already has to use.

Right now, armor essentially just raises your health by a factor. In fact, the UI even displays enemies as having more health. The idea would be for armor to actually provide %-/flat- damage reduction and for weaponry to come with a penetration stat. This would also create use-cases for some weapons, all without requiring the turning of the all-powerful damage knob.

As it currently stands, the PPC is sort of an ugly duckling compared to the AC/X, and this would easily give it its own niche. Similarly, this makes torps and UGBs useful, without needing to up the health of capitals and the damage that those weapons do to ludicrous values.

Thoughts on the balance or implementation difficulty of this sort of thing?

This issue is a balance and implementation discussion, with no files, tests, or code entry points named. Start by discussing the proposed armor damage reduction and weapon penetration model with @IrateRedKite, @Beaglerush, Milo, and the wider group. The work is not ready to claim until the mechanics, affected weapons, and completion criteria are defined.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.