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With the announcement of planned features and changes for the weapons update, I decided to revisit and rework a previous suggestion. This one is for a new weapon system that may play an interesting role in terms of gameplay.
The Concept
Current weapons work off of various methods of causing damage, be it an explosive missile, a continuous beam of damage, or the newly revealed mines. What has yet to be introduced is a mode of strategic combat, one that doesn't focus on damage, but instead tries to give one player an advantage over another player/entity and isn't as absolute and hardwired as stealth/recon.
Volt Charges are a way to make an attempt at gaining that temporary advantage. They are meant to give the opponent a slight debuff for a short amount of time, which could make all the difference in a tense combat situation.
How They Work
A Volt Charge weapon system occurs in two parts:
The Volt Drive: this is what generates the Volt Charges.
The Charge Computer: this, like all weapon computers, is used to control the weapon output and allows the weapons to be triggered.
This weapon is largely unique in that it does not automatically charge like other weapon systems. Instead, it must be manually charged using the fire button, and subsequently fires upon reaching a full charge.
Upon fire, each Volt Drive group releases a single 1.5m-diameter orb of plasma into space, which becomes stationary after traveling a certain distance. This Volt Charge will remain where it is until it despawns after a set duration, which increases with the number of Volt Drives in the firing group it originated from.
The key to this weapon system is how it generates its effects. While the Volt Charges remain in space, any ships that pass through them (including the ship they originated from) suffer from three effects:
1) a 10% (or so) loss in max speed and a proportional loss in current speed
2) a noticeable loss in maneuverability (enough to make it somewhat difficult to steer)
3) a considerable jump in power consumption on the affected ship
4) a set amount of damage (not large) is inflicted upon any blocks it collides with
All of these effects lasting a set amount of time (5-10 seconds) after the Volt Charge is no longer touching the ship.
Additionally, if multiple Volt Charges are within a set distance of each other, a thin (.5m-diameter or less) bolt continuously arcs between the volt charges, creating a sort of Volt Line. Anything that passes through this Volt Line also experiences the above effects. And when one of the Volt Charges in the Volt Line dissipates, the line connecting it to the other Volt Charges dissipates as well.
Secondary and tertiary systems can be slaved to the Charge Computer with secondary systems having the following effects:
Cannon: faster recharge, less power consumption, shorter charge duration, smaller area in which charge forms line with other charges
Missile: charge loses velocity slower until moving continuously at 1:1 ratio (good for turning charges into projectiles)
Damage Beam: increased area in which charge forms line with other charges, slower recharge, more power consumption, longer charge duration
Like Shield Drain/Supply and Power Drain/Supply, however, Volt Charge systems cannot be slaved to other systems (including themselves).
The Concept
Current weapons work off of various methods of causing damage, be it an explosive missile, a continuous beam of damage, or the newly revealed mines. What has yet to be introduced is a mode of strategic combat, one that doesn't focus on damage, but instead tries to give one player an advantage over another player/entity and isn't as absolute and hardwired as stealth/recon.
Volt Charges are a way to make an attempt at gaining that temporary advantage. They are meant to give the opponent a slight debuff for a short amount of time, which could make all the difference in a tense combat situation.
How They Work
A Volt Charge weapon system occurs in two parts:
The Volt Drive: this is what generates the Volt Charges.
The Charge Computer: this, like all weapon computers, is used to control the weapon output and allows the weapons to be triggered.
This weapon is largely unique in that it does not automatically charge like other weapon systems. Instead, it must be manually charged using the fire button, and subsequently fires upon reaching a full charge.
Upon fire, each Volt Drive group releases a single 1.5m-diameter orb of plasma into space, which becomes stationary after traveling a certain distance. This Volt Charge will remain where it is until it despawns after a set duration, which increases with the number of Volt Drives in the firing group it originated from.
The key to this weapon system is how it generates its effects. While the Volt Charges remain in space, any ships that pass through them (including the ship they originated from) suffer from three effects:
1) a 10% (or so) loss in max speed and a proportional loss in current speed
2) a noticeable loss in maneuverability (enough to make it somewhat difficult to steer)
3) a considerable jump in power consumption on the affected ship
4) a set amount of damage (not large) is inflicted upon any blocks it collides with
All of these effects lasting a set amount of time (5-10 seconds) after the Volt Charge is no longer touching the ship.
Additionally, if multiple Volt Charges are within a set distance of each other, a thin (.5m-diameter or less) bolt continuously arcs between the volt charges, creating a sort of Volt Line. Anything that passes through this Volt Line also experiences the above effects. And when one of the Volt Charges in the Volt Line dissipates, the line connecting it to the other Volt Charges dissipates as well.
Secondary and tertiary systems can be slaved to the Charge Computer with secondary systems having the following effects:
Cannon: faster recharge, less power consumption, shorter charge duration, smaller area in which charge forms line with other charges
Missile: charge loses velocity slower until moving continuously at 1:1 ratio (good for turning charges into projectiles)
Damage Beam: increased area in which charge forms line with other charges, slower recharge, more power consumption, longer charge duration
Like Shield Drain/Supply and Power Drain/Supply, however, Volt Charge systems cannot be slaved to other systems (including themselves).
