| | 15 | |
| | 16 | == Weapons == |
| | 17 | There are basically three main categories of weapons: Projectile weapons, laser/energy weapons, disruptor weapons. The three categories all come with advantages and disadvantages and can be combined to make up for the disadvantages. |
| | 18 | |
| | 19 | This means that all weapons cause three different kinds of damage: Physical, energy and disruptor damage. |
| | 20 | |
| | 21 | === Projectile Weapons === |
| | 22 | A projectile weapon shoots a mass (a projectile) with large speed towards its target. The mass is designed to damage the target's structure significantly on impact. The size of the weapon and projectile vary from handheld devices to large mass drivers on battle ships. The means to propel the projectile can be a small explosion, but also a strong magnetic field when the projectile is magnetic. |
| | 23 | |
| | 24 | Depending on the target different ammunition cause different amount of damage. |
| | 25 | |
| | 26 | Projectile weapons don't do damage on energy shields. They usually penetrate the shields without problems. Only magnetic projectiles may be slowed down or redirected slightly. |
| | 27 | |
| | 28 | ==== Handheld ==== |
| | 29 | Everything we know nowadays. Small pistols to large assault rifles exist in the realm of Orxonox. Their damage to structures, armor plates and flesh is significant, depending on the design of the projectile. The projectile weapon is used most in combat with handheld weapons. |
| | 30 | ==== Mounted on Spaceship ==== |
| | 31 | Projectile weapons use ammunition, which is heavy and therefore often limited in space. The damage on the hull of a spaceship however is significant. The fire rate of such a weapon can be up to 3000 RPM when it's cooled. |
| | 32 | ==== Turret on Battle Ship ==== |
| | 33 | Usually projectile weapons on turrets are used to fight slower targets. Very large mass drivers can be used to attack space stations or even targets on a moon's or planet's surface from space. |
| | 34 | |
| | 35 | === Laser/Energy Weapons === |
| | 36 | Laser weapons release a burst of high energy that heats up the target significantly and melts it in the process. |
| | 37 | While the damage to the hull is not as bad as with projectile weapons, a laser weapon doesn't need ammunition and can fire with a higher rate. Since the laser emitter overheats quickly in normal environments the laser is designed to emit rapid pulses instead of a continues stream. |
| | 38 | |
| | 39 | Another disadvantage of the laser is it's loss of energy when travelling far distances. |
| | 40 | |
| | 41 | To make up for these disadvantages there is a subcategory of particle stream weapons that use subatomic particles with the energy released by the laser to make additional physical damage on impact. |
| | 42 | |
| | 43 | The best defense against laser and energy weapons is a super-conductive overlay (SCO), which absorbs most of the energy of the beam without causing damage to the hull. |
| | 44 | |
| | 45 | ==== Handheld ==== |
| | 46 | Handheld laser devices are available and cause instant damage to all kinds of materials. Human flesh is burnt away while metals and stone melts and loses structural integrity. Lasers also find uses as mining equipment and tools in general. In these cases they are rather ineffective as a lethal weapon, but they can injure people badly. |
| | 47 | ==== Mounted on Spaceship ==== |
| | 48 | Laser and energy weapons are the favorite weapon for space ships. The high fire rate and the speed of the particles are more suitable over large distances and in chaotic combat situations. |
| | 49 | ==== Turret on Battle ship ==== |
| | 50 | Very strong particle beams can only be mounted on large battle cruisers. However their use against small ships is questionable, because they may damage ships beyond the target. Against large ships big energy weapons are very effective to damage certain parts of the ship to render the ship immobile or defenseless. |
| | 51 | |
| | 52 | === Disruptor === |
| | 53 | |
| | 54 | |
| | 55 | |
| | 56 | == Shields === |
