(Another) Weapon Rework

[Reviire]

I know, gets suggested all the time. But hear me out, there's a chance this might not suck. (Hah.)

Now, I hear that the reason for the whole master/slave system is to lower the amount of blocks, while increasing the amount of weapons.

But it has limits, the variety of weapons is limited by how many weapons we have. So instead, why not have a system where we have a "base" weapon group, i.e "Ballistic", "Beam", "Explosive", "Energy (Projectile)" etc. From that weapon groups computer, you would have access to a menu that lets you pick a specific kind of weapon from that falls under that weapon group.

The weapons in these groups wouldn't be determined by any master/slave, but instead would be unique weapons made by the devs, having more differences than is allowable by the current system we have. Look at any space game, i.e Fractured Space or Starsector, those games have vast varieties of weapons, and most are different to the others.

Honestly the main reason for this idea for cosmetics, the weapons in Starmade are just bland and boring, having weapons made by the devs without any rules to follow (i.e with a master/slave), probably allows for cooler stuff. But it also lets have more variety in weapons, without any limits because of how many weapon systems we have.

Sorry if this is a bit of a mess, i've been writing it in between matches.

EDIT: Maybe allow slight stat tweaking, like in the days of old. One persons plasma cannons are fast and quick, the other guys are slow and really hurt. Idk, back to the game.,

 

[Madman198237]

Perhaps another layer to the master/slave system. Each projectile class is an option in a menu for weapons computers, and has its own set of effects.
Energy can deal more damage against shields and move faster in general, but is severely underpowered against hull (Reflection, mostly). Missiles would act like Halo plasma weapons. Relatively poor tracking behavior, death itself on shields (No spherical projection of damage against shields, perhaps?)
Ballistic would move slower, deal lots more damage against hull, but less against shields. Also, ballistic would morph the beam into some sort of railgun, changing it so that it's no longer truly a beam, but instead fires devastating and fast projectiles. Pulse.....well.....Flechette launcher, anyone? Shoots a cloud of small shards of metal. Extra-deadly to astronauts.
Other types? Beam and beam/explosive are just weapons we have in the game already.

 

[DrTarDIS]

I miss the old slider system.

 

[jayman38]

If I were the devs, I would hate this idea, for the simple reason that it moves the responsibility for weapon development, balance, and design from the players to the devs. And then a bunch of people leave the game because of unforeseen balance issues. I don't see a clear reason why this would be so much better than the current system.

By all means, if you think we are missing a weapon type, suggest it.

The average game probably has about 12 different weapons, with an average of 2 "modifiers". Starmade has about 9 different weapons (plus 7 non-starters that everyone avoids, mostly due to ranged ineffectiveness), with non-static modifiers (based on block count) for fire rate, damage, range, and effect. Bottom line: We are not falling short on weapon types.

Also, maybe the weapon texture could use an upgrade or modified variant to look less bland. Unfortunately, there just aren't a lot of people interested in making texture mods.

One idea I had was to have linkable custom "bullets", which would alter how the weaponfire actually looked.

 

[sayerulz]

Pretty much what jayman38 said. This puts more work on the devs, and less freedom for the players. Besides, they already plan on adding several whole new weapon systems, master/slave effects included, such as flak and a minelayer. and a few more are on the table but not confirmed.

And as for weapon effects, there is, as far as I know, no reason why the current master/slave system does not allow for them to implement different effects for each weapon combo. Or better yet, let players choose from a number of weapon effects, perhaps with different decorative computers serving the same function for effects that light emitting blocks do for color?

 

[Kaisaurus]

I think that the current weapon system is pretty fine and offers a respectable panel of possibilities. Ofc it could use one or more addictionnal weapons, that would even more increase the possibilities, since every additionnal system would offer a new slave for each one already existing. Adding one weapon would increase the possibilities from 20 ( 4 base, 16 with slave ) to 30. So yeah, pretty sure there's plenty of future opportunities to develop the weapon panel.

The only thing i'm not satisfied with, is the projectiles look, even tho we can colour them, i'm sure it could use a bit more of fancyness !

 

[BoerToon]

Well the DPS and the PPS ( power per second) of all weapons are equal. So it doesn't really matter what combination you use.

The only usefull effects are : increased shield damage ( ion), increased block damage (punch), no shield/ increased block&armor damage ( pierce, more general damage with more power (overdrive).

Explosive is not worth it, radius is capped at one

 

[Lecic]

Sliders are complete garbage and stuff that is solely cosmetic like what you are suggesting is not something I am a fan of. I like being able to have a general idea of what weapons my enemy are using. No thanks.

 

[Lukwan]

Space Whales...gonna need a harpoon. Could be fun in races too, or bounty hunting.

 

[Sven_The_Slayer]

And as for weapon effects, there is, as far as I know, no reason why the current master/slave system does not allow for them to implement different effects for each weapon combo. Or better yet, let players choose from a number of weapon effects, perhaps with different decorative computers serving the same function for effects that light emitting blocks do for color?

I personally would love to give each weapon system a couple options other than just color. Maybe your cannon projectiles are long and skinny or more rounded/look like a ball of plasma. I would also love to be able to choose from a list of sounds when that system is expanded so not every ship has to sound the same or it simply be based on a size scale.

 

[Madman198237]

Yes, different sounds! I want a TIE scream for my TIE fighter, not the dead silence I've got right now.

 

[sayerulz]

Yes, different sounds! I want a TIE scream for my TIE fighter, not the dead silence I've got right now.

Well, that's an engine noise, not a weapon one.

 

[Madman198237]

Yeah, but the idea of customizable noise is still cool, and definitely applies to something as distinct as the TIE fighter.

 

[Dire Venom]

I think weapons should stay as they are.\\

HOWEVER, i think they should have another 'level' added to them, more a purely cosmetic/decorative (maybe with some functionality) than any big rework.

I want to have giant, flashy beams of death, or maybe I want them to look like pencil thin space distortors?
Maybe I want giant glowing balls of death for missiles, or maybe I want dim, sleek missiles with giant thruster plumes?
Maybe I want my engines to have a giant radiant glow or maybe I want a concentrated stream?

Very little functional effect, however it would allow much greater immersion and customization of weapons to personal preferance without forcing players to use a missile type just for its looks.

Thruster blocks could also be linked to one of these 'cosmetic' computers, and allow cosmetic adjustment of the selected group.