I like and hate the system from the beginning.
Like, because it allows more flexibility and is more static than the Antimatter-Cannons we had and checkerboard patterns with abusable range/rof/dps/velocity sliders.
But the whole idea behind the weapons system is totally strange to our understanding of physics.
The bigger something is, the more dedicated it should be to a certain task, but that's difficult to setup with so much varying server-rules about ship-mass and the builders ideas of how a ship should look like with many equal turrets, etc.
I would like many distinct weapon build reqirements, but similar possible damage. Grey are my initial thoughts before the final statement.
- For beams, the problem would be overheating, not available ammunition.
- Good in combination with armor to store heat and to put all excess energy to use (traders have powerful thrusters but pirates might still be faster and more agile, so thrusters are no use to traders but their heat-power-recycling and they can use "fuel produced by electric power during flight" during combat to act as usual-drainers and adversly as in-combat-generators for a limited time). Four uses as generators / reason to have big generators, heat-sinks, thrusters and even flamethrowers.
- Cannons also need hull to absorb recoil.
- Recoil energy could even power beam weapons AND be used to propell your ship out of firing range at the same time, thus have three-uses as thrusters, weapons and generators.
- Missiles are in my opinion a last-resort to brutal violence, because they have zero investment into reuseable weapon parts.
- When you use missiles, you can not win a fight because of your expense. You could only lose less by saving a ship via supplementing your other weapons or punish an opponent.
- They should be handled the same as purchasable jump-charges, even if they auto-regenerate due to "passive reproduction while out-of-combat, built with second-class loot or insurrance-money."
- Plasma reactors/generators may additionally reason heat sinks and favour plasma weaponry to expend heat for damage while EM reactors/generators are more tied to beam weaponry.
Plasma-reactors or modules may have a short lifetime which is represented by a malus for long-distance weapons or weapons which regenerate during combat and a combat bonus on weapons which are only usable in the early-mid combat stage.
EM-reactors or modules prefer prolonged combat and shield strength.
In StarMade, you have one block (any weapon block) for damage output, 2 blocks for damage-absorption (shield/hull) and 2 blocks for combat-regeneration (shield/energy generators) which is ... boring.
I prefer a system where you puzzle your weapon system together after defining the primary role of a ship. 2 examples (traders, carriers).
- Traders have steady EM-Generators for their massive jump drive and reliability and they could have fast shield regen and moderate capacity and high-velocity turrets which are pre-charged before combat.
- Their weapons are more efficient in the first 3-5 seconds. Usually they use weapons to redirect smaller space particles away from a collision course or for mining, thus these weapons are more efficient at distance against armor than against close shielded targets.
- Their thrusters are powerful and need above-average time to reach travel velocity. They can have a long burst time for planetary escapes and equally long heat-cooldown for their burst period, but are the reason for perfect heat sinks during prolonged flight and a high amount of passively generated fuel.
- Carriers have 2 reactors, type EM and type Fusion. They are also more difficult to maintain than a battleship or destroyer. Dreadnoughts are heavy-only and reliant on fleets while homeships are often large trade-ships outfitted with modules or carriers with either the largest hangar or largest cargo hold being a living habitat.
- Fusion generators are tied to the ammunition- and onboard-fuel-production system, burst thrusters and laser-emitters.
- EM generators are tied to shield upkeep/recharge, jumpdrive plus railguns which feed on the magnetic field and they need scouts because their own sensors are overloaded with their very own magnetic flux.
- Their main wepaons are their regular fighters and drones which utilize mostly plasma technology, gunships and interceptors with EM-technology and Elite-ships with fusion technology.
- Fighters use mostly cannons, mines as bombs and a few beam weapons on turrets; drones use plasma weapons and engines, the carrier has big missiles, moderate cannons and many beam-weapons, gunships use EM for 2 main railguns, 2 cannons for closer combat and beam-turrets as missile/drone defense, to spend excess energy or cover blind angles with 2 bombs as tactical option and suicide option and 3-5 missiles for when they underestimated the threat-level or heavy combat.
- They may also have some plasma technology but only use it to escape planet gravity and it's built in an array, so that they can be used to replace plasma technology in their fighters without adaption.
The reason why we need so many different generators on a Carrier is, that they are cheaper in small and medium sized because mass-produced plus that they can use each ones buffs.
Destroyers on the other hand would not specialize in so many different types and only use Fusion-technology.
Battleships are better off with EM for passive and shield/jump modules and plasma for most active combat modules or active production.
Ofcourse Fusion is not equal another Fusion-technology. Different types of fusion/antimatter reactor can be constructed as plasma or EM drives or mixed output types, as well as any more primitive technology uses primarily either heat/em/kinetic energy of any reaction.
Different approaches could have different mixes (thrusters may produce 70% kinetic/fusion, 10% em, 20% heat/plasma for example while dedicated reactors prouce 40% em plus 60% heat and convert per choice 60% heat to plasma or 50% to kinetic or 40% to em. Another option produces either 40% to kinetic or 50% to em).
This is the big puzzle which we have in the real life.
You don't have to go over-complicated when building a ship other than a dedicated carrier, but learn for your role and afterwards learn the rest of mechanics if interested.
