New energy weapon suggestion

[ComfyDema]

Just an idea for a new long range energy weapon to bring into the game! But I'm sure many of us love the look of the long tailed energy projectile as seen in Star blazers 2199 and 2202, which also happens to be the source for the idea of this weapon and it's characteristics

-Possible names

  -Pulse Cannon (possible rework of existing weapon to make it more relevant)

  -Positron Cannon

  -Positron Laser

  -Beam Cannon

-Energy weapon (Obviously) with medium energy consumption and a 2 - 3 consecutive shot overheat

-Long to medium range (somewhere around the same range as, or slightly shorter than cannons)

-Comes in Single, Double, and Triple barrels firing the appropriate amount of shots

-Semi-tracking (enough to ensure hits on large targets, but not small fast targets, easy to "shake off")

  -Tracking akin to torpedoes where in the shots are easy to avoid with high speed, forcing the shots to overshoot. However unlike torpedoes once a

    projectile has overshot (possibly after passing within a certain range of target) the lock is broken and tracking ceases.

  -Side note for further discussion: If the community STILL believes tracking to be too strong of a trait, it could of course also be removed from the traits

    list.

-Reload slightly faster than equivalent cannons

-Damage slightly lower than equivalent cannons to offset faster reload

-Acquirable around Ogonite or Xanion level or above

-Both Manual and Independent targeting

-Weapons with multiple barrels may fire in bursts or volleys of no more than the allotted barrels

-Possible new mechanic of "fire mode setting" allowing for high energy single fire, and low energy burst fire

-Can come with following traits

  -Seeker

  -Independent Targeting

  -Burst Firing

  -+/- X% damage to hull and/or shields

  -+X%Damage, Fire Rate, Range

  -+X%Faster Cooling

-Default traits

  -Overheating

  -Uses Energy

-Optional balancing default traits

  -Weapon deals bonus damage to armor blocks, but less damage to shields, or vice versa

-Weapons projectiles would ideally resemble the following

 

Of course open to the input of others! I just REALLY would love to see this type of weapon in game as it's so aesthetically pleasing

[TESL4]

+1 would love these.  I've suggested a weapon similar to this in a different thread.  I had my inspiration from the same source XD. 

[WSY]

While I feel this game is about players playing whatever sci-fi trope / style suits their fancy, so I can not be wholly against this; I do feel like this should be locked behind either researching combo of weapons to get this weapon or some special setting to set whether or not enemies can or cannot get this weapon.

 

Reason being,:while I do enjoy the anime and such that use some of these tracking energy weapons or bending beams, I find they don't fit to my tastes as they they just don't sit right with me. They are akin to "space magic" from my point of view or energy torpedoes. Now this isn't to start a flame war to say whether or not they are good, bad or suck, as I have no opinion other than I would prefer them to not be in my games, and I know many who share my view, and I know some who like them, otherwise you guys wouldn't post  asking for them :)

 

Because of that, if they ever did get implemented I would want the option to keep the enemy from having them.

[ComfyDema]

While I feel this game is about players playing whatever sci-fi trope / style suits their fancy, so I can not be wholly against this; I do feel like this should be locked behind either researching combo of weapons to get this weapon or some special setting to set whether or not enemies can or cannot get this weapon.

 

Reason being,:while I do enjoy the anime and such that use some of these tracking energy weapons or bending beams, I find they don't fit to my tastes as they they just don't sit right with me. They are akin to "space magic" from my point of view or energy torpedoes. Now this isn't to start a flame war to say whether or not they are good, bad or suck, as I have no opinion other than I would prefer them to not be in my games, and I know many who share my view, and I know some who like them, otherwise you guys wouldn't post  asking for them :)

 

Because of that, if they ever did get implemented I would want the option to keep the enemy from having them.

 

I mean, energy shields, jump drives, inertia dampeners (as seen in the game) and integrity blocks are all space magic as well, all of these things are plausible at best with our current technology and understanding of physics, what's to say that a form of electromagnetic guidance for energy based projectiles isn't plausible as well. And as far as game mechanics go, they wouldn't differ much from the already in game missile weapons, with the exception obviously of the power source etc. of the weapon. I will say tho that for balancing the seeker trait could also be an optional trait instead of a base trait.

[WSY]

I am certainly happy with seeking being the optional aspect.

 

Your weapons could very easily be a re-skin of in game missile but with different attributes, and thus I think could very easily be added into the game.

 

And while your certainly not wrong with shields, integrity fields and ftl being akin to space magic, I feel those are more grounded.

 

Now my feelings on these weapons are outside game mechanics and discussion. My pov on the weapons being guided  below is purely  outside the game and thus superfluous, but hopefully a fun discussion:

 

I think my issue stems from the tracking/ turning: the fact you have something that traditionally cannot change trajectory, changing trajectory without adequate handwavium.

 

If you have the ability to remotely manipulate energy weapons,  then you should be also manipulating the enemies energy weapons so they cannot hit you, which then comes down to a black and white winner take all victory of who has more ability to manipulate the others weapons and overwhelm their opponent. 

 

Which means if you fire and none of your shots hit,  you wait and fire when the enemy fires (to see of their manipulation systems are at capacity while they fire). If none of your shots still hit, and one of theirs does, then you know you would lose absolutely and simply withdraw.  Who ever has more weapons/energy manipulators wins with zero loss. This is slightly simplified and could be more complex with strategies or surprise tactics, but I feel for the most part, holds true.

 

We could go into ECM discussions,  such as maybe your weapons have some sort of frequency that is required  to manipulate it that the enemy doesn't have, but then, couldn't they analyze it, find the frequency and still do it? If you have technology to remotely manipulate energy, wouldn't you have the technology to analyze it?  We could easily get into Star trek levels of piled on handwavium, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, could be a fun intereaction such as missiles and active defense vs shields, but if done wrong can get overly tedious and feel like nothing more than trying to hold on to something for the sake of "cool". Which works in the shows since they never try to explain it and it's one of their primary weapons.

 

The other part of tracking energy weapons I struggle with is if you can remotely manipulate energy, that same ability could be used directly against the enemy. Re-directing engine exhaust back into the ship, manipulating or crushing shields or even hull, maybe even screwing with biological or technological functiona on board the ship.

 

Even backfiring weapons before they even leave the barrel, I could go on. You could say it's simply blocked by shields, but that doesn't easily dismiss everything.

 

There is also the possibility that the energy projectile itself can be programmed to seek a target, or like old school torpedoes, change direction after a set amount of time. However if your programming energy to then also change it's trajectory, your dealing with technology (programming energy) that I feel is way beyond torpedoes and cannons, and very easily into the forerunner and even pre-cursur levels of space magic and near invulnerability.

 

As I have written this, a couple cool handwavium reasons came to mind for why you could get the weapon to act the way it does, and goes around or negates a lot of my points.  So I am probably a bit more ok with them now...lol

 

[DivineEvil]

I would consider it a plausible addition, if the base of the weapon is one without the tracking. I've suggested about three months ago for the Pulse Cannons to be changed to resemble something similar, i.e. same penetration, but greater DPS and much lesser rate of fire to make each penetrating shot more significant.

 

Other than that, I have hard time thinking of a way to make it less efficient against smaller targets. If we're talking about fighters and missiles, well, almost all weapons are inefficient against them anyway, even tho some of them are instant-hit. If we're talking about smaller ships, then I can't imagine a kind of ship and its behavior, that would make me miss him with this weapon. Without addressing that, this weapons would just end up as a more overpowered version of a Cannon that is obtained even before you get to Cannons first.

 

If we would get missile launchers, that would work just like that, instead of their current sorry mechanics, I would be much more glad they'd get fixed that way.

[ComfyDema]

After taking in input from both WSY and DivineEvile, changes have been made to the suggestion and are underlined for easy viewing. Mostly what I'm going for here is a cannon equivalent for energy weapons, as I am part of the camp that does not see railguns ad energy weapons.