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Beam or Pulse weapon preference

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 10:53 am
by stratobrick
Beam-instant and continues damage,

Pulse-single bolt with "slow" speed, must lead target.

I'm not saying one is better then the other, I am just wondering what everyone will like the most.

Re: Beam or Pulse

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:45 am
by Mistycica
Got a place for both here!
Of course phaser arrays vs distruptors need to be generated adequately balanced, but that's just theorycrafting so far.

Re: Beam or Pulse

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:49 am
by Lum
Oh well, in the Abramsverse they have both I believe... :eh:

Re: Beam or Pulse

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:56 am
by Cha0zz
I'm going to go with both :)

Re: Beam or Pulse

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 12:19 pm
by Etsu
Star Trek never was good on combat. To me Star Wars is the king in that matter.

Re: Beam or Pulse

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 1:10 pm
by HowSerendipitous
Beams? Star Trek style? Are you insane, sir? :twisted:

This link may have been posted before.... :think:

Re: Beam or Pulse

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 1:14 pm
by Cornflakes_91
stratobrick wrote:Beam-instant and continues damage,

Pulse-single bolt with "slow" speed, must lead target.

why choose?

Is there not enough place for both?

Re: Beam or Pulse

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 1:56 pm
by Talvieno
I included both in my LTFC. :D My opinion on the matter is fairly clear there.

I believe Victor might opt for Star Wars style, but I could be wrong.

Re: Beam or Pulse

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 2:13 pm
by Gazz
I'd like both but... beam weapons and instant hits are likely ending up the I-Win weapon.

They'd have to work differently than a regular gun.
For instance: Difficult to track targets with. Firing the beam weapon freezes the turret (so it can't track) and/or draws enough energy to nerf the ship's maneuvering ability.
Also, the damage ramps up as you paint the target so this would be a weapon that will only hit capital ships.
That's a lot of workarounds to let it remain powerful...

Re: Beam or Pulse

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 4:26 pm
by Mistycica
Etsu wrote:Star Trek never was good on combat. To me Star Wars is the king in that matter.
With space fighter combat consisting of going down a straight alley and being ramped up in the ass? Go on :lol:
Gazz wrote:I'd like both but... beam weapons and instant hits are likely ending up the I-Win weapon.

They'd have to work differently than a regular gun.
For instance: Difficult to track targets with. Firing the beam weapon freezes the turret (so it can't track) and/or draws enough energy to nerf the ship's maneuvering ability.
Also, the damage ramps up as you paint the target so this would be a weapon that will only hit capital ships.
That's a lot of workarounds to let it remain powerful...
Star Trek got them pretty balanced, especially in a lot of games. Sure they are easy to hit things with, but dissipate fast on shields, have a slow rate of fire, and limited firing arcs. Also needs a rather large ship to equip them at an effective scale.
I think they can be made passable with relatively little balancing work.

Re: Beam or Pulse weapon preference

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 8:27 pm
by BFett
Voted for both because Star Wars, Battle Tech, and Star Trek are cool.

Re: Beam or Pulse weapon preference

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:21 pm
by Scytale
BFett wrote:Voted for both because Star Wars, Battle Tech, and Star Trek are cool.
BattleTech managed both, after all

Re: Beam or Pulse weapon preference

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:47 pm
by Flatfingers
Traveller has both.

I voted for both.

It is possible that the preceding two statements are not connected. :)

Re: Beam or Pulse weapon preference

Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 12:30 am
by Victor Tombs
I also voted for both. :thumbup:

I like the idea of having a mixture of weapons fitted to my ship. I'm hoping we get a mass driver cannon in the final mix of available armaments. ;) I enjoy having to choose the right weapons loadout for missions. :angel:

Re: Beam or Pulse weapon preference

Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 1:54 am
by HappyGhecko
pfff energy weapons are for the weak!

projectiles
Image massive projectiles 8-)