GSB ships are rather large in comparison to the range of their weapons, which leads me to wonder if a weapon’s placement on a ship affects it’s range. For example, look at the layout of a Federation Eagle cruiser. There is a hardpoint right at the nose, and a couple more just behind it. However, there are also a pair of hardpoints way back on the Eagle’s “wings”. The eagle writeup says the hull is 220 meters long. To my eye it looks like those wing mounts are at least two thirds of the way back from the nose of the ship, which suggests they are around 150 meters from the nose. If the Eagle is pointing at a target, does that mean the nose mount is 150 meters closer to the target than the wing mounts? This could have a significant effect on ship design, leading to the possibility some weapons might be in range if placed on forward hardpoints but out of range if placed on hardpoints further back. However, I am not clear the game’s engine really does this, perhaps all weapons fire is computed from some center location regardless of the graphical rendering of where the fire comes from. Does anyone know how range is really computed?
Yes. On larger imperial hulls using cruiser lasers, this effect is quite easy to see. Also, click on one of your weapons during battle. There will be max/min range circles centered on the weapon, not the center of the ship.
Yep, this is why certain ships are better with a uniform loadout, as the weapons come to bear at the same time.