the main reasons why I don’t use disruptor bombs are:
- it’s a frigate weapon
- it’s range is rather short
- does no damage to the ship
- it may not shoot at the ships you want it to shoot
I see that as well, but I’ve been mostly playing on 8192x8192 maps where new races have typical engagement ranges over 2000 units, and many ships are dancing around at that sort of range while others dash in to closer range to attack. That said, the initial engagement is usually a head-on thing before they shear off to “keep moving.”
Note that a “wave motion gun” would fire early in an engagement typically (least from my old-school days of Star Blazers Battle System games years ago). Fire the big guns while your ships are intact to break up the enemy.
Regardless, watch ships on "keep moving, or watch fighters, they tend to go out to a max range, then turn back towards the target ship—that’s when they’d use the spinal, presumably.
Late to the party, as usual. Just wanted to pitch in my two cents by saying I like the notion of a radiation beam weapon functioning on a damage-over-time basis. It could be front-loaded a bit in keeping with a diminishing “half life” sort of effect so that its most grievous punch in terms of overall damage is its first punch. Conversely, I think the odds of radiation damage spreading to other parts of the ship should likewise go up over time; same curve as half life, but in reverse? “The enemy within,” muuahahahaha! [-twists my evil waxed mustachios in triumph and menace-]
Hmm, I’m late as well, some thoughts though:
a) Armor …
I’m not much of a physics geek, but do remember an astrophysicist speculating about how spaceships would have to be constructed to be able to even approach the speed of light … one point was radiation, and his solution was to use a one meter (3 foot) thick stone hull, “that ought to be enough”.
Armor (and possibly even hulls) could, for example, resist radiation based on their weight rather than their hitpoints … ?
b) Fighters
I don’t think anyone has mentioned fighters yet … Not sure how these should react to radiation; dash home when the dot starts ticking or the armor has melted? I guess having to use armor on fighters to keep them flying against radiation-using enemies would make those fast, unarmored fighters with free slots less powerful.
Maybe you could add an unlockable “Fighter Decontamination Unit” to ensure “fighters and a weak carrier” strategies remain useful… or an unlockable fighter deck that can remove/repair radiation, if the standard fighter decks don’t.
c) If the enemy has area effect …
Area effect weapons would mean we’d have to build fast ships with more than one engine and get in close ASAP, right? That would mean Tribe really, Howitzers are fun. (I’d like having to build faster ships … currently most of my cruisers move at .5 to .8)
d) Maybe add special anti-radiation shields, repair “scrubbers”, or armor types to unlock?
(Edit: typo)
A. Nope. 1 meter stone wouldnt stop a gamma ray, let alone the cosmic rays that are the real threat. That astrophysicist doesnt know what he was talking about.
No one said anything about resisting the radiation guns based on their hit points. Special shields and such have already been proposed, too.
Fighters is an interesting one, but the cautious order that is so useful would become a burden against radiation ticks, when its set to sensitive. And merely tweaking the caution % would be an exercise in luck, not something im a fan of.
Their is an obvious solution of not making them antifighter weapons. Just like how cruisers dont have any missiles really capable of hitting fighters.
Perhaps he misremembered and it was a guy talking about solar radiation. A few tens of cm of lunar regolith is enough to provide adequate day to day radiation shielding for a lunar base, and they consider a couple meters good for anything they might get otherwise.
For near c stuff a meter of lead would not be enough.