Let beam weapons to be focused to one spot and shot from there

[VoidrayX]

Allow beam weapons to be able to focus on one point and shoot it as one giant ray from that point.
The beams being focused will still be visible still to look nice and stuff

Looks cool, and makes logical sense.

 

[GaeasSon]

So... death-star beams?
Looks-cool: It sure does!
Makes Logical sense: ROFL...BWAHAHAHA!

 

[spunkiethefirst]

So... death-star beams?
Looks-cool: It sure does!
Makes Logical sense: ROFL...BWAHAHAHA!

**************************************************
*Makes Logical sense: ROFL...BWAHAHAHA*
**************************************************

 

[jayman38]

Could be easy to program.
Example:
Place an invisible area-sensor block (area activation block)
Slave that invisible block to multiple weapon computers or barrels selected as the output ports.
When fired, visible beams are drawn from the emitter barrels, converging on the invisible block, then the real "beam" is fired from the invisible block in the direction of the primary weapon computer. (I guess it could be aim-able from the invisible block like a normal weapon, but that might look funny.)
Maybe nerf the range by 10% or so and leave the invisible block unshielded when slaved, so that the practice of using this method to extend the range of the weapon is not so OP.

Edit: This idea could be extended to allow builders to create in-ship beam effects.

Illustration: Just ignore the foreground action and look at those sexy beams in the background.

 

[Lecic]

Looks cool,

Yes.

and makes logical sense.

No.

Maybe nerf the range by 10% or so and leave the invisible block unshielded when slaved, so that the practice of using this method to extend the range of the weapon is not so OP.

Completely unnecessary. Just subtract the distance the beams traveled in the first place to reach the invisible block.

 

[sayerulz]

I totally agree with this, seems like a reasonably easy to implement thing that would be really cool.

But I also don't get the "makes logical sense" thing. I mean, I suppose in theory you COULD do this with a particle beam or plasma, but I don't see why you would. Energy loss for no gain. But this is starmade, so logic has no power here.

 

[Dire Venom]

+1

 

[CrunkPrime]

What if when you are selecting blocks to make the output, if you select side by side blocks in the same group, the beam itself gets bigger as you select more blocks, up to a certain limit? Damage is less concentrated and it spread out in a bigger beam, and uses up more energy as well.

But then this would be pretty brutal with a bigger weapon group slicing huge holes through ships that has enough damage to destroy everything in the beam. But hell, you can already do that now by doing a checkerboard of beam groups.

 

[therimmer96]

This would fuck with so many things, it would have to be an optional thing.

 

[VoidrayX]

Look people this is purely for asthetics and you can still make beams that fire straight. With this you can make deathstar looking lasers rather than lasers that look like they do no damage