New to SE 4

[Krom]

Hello everyone. I am new to SE 4. I am enjoying the game a great deal. It certainly is a very deep game. I have a question that I dont doubt has been answered already, but honestly I have not found it yet. I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. The question is about weapons. I am playing a game vs a number of computer opponents, and am coming to realize that I do not know what the different weapons do, and what is worth researching. Is there a chart comparing the weapons, damage, range etc? I have read about ppb and how popular it is. But I would like to compare it to the others like meson bLaster, anti proton beam and whatever else is out there. Thanks for the help.
Krom

[Desdinova]

That which does not kill you makes you stronger.

a couple of ways to compare.
1. if you have the patience you can read the individual weapons in components.txt

2. there is a list in the game...go to create a ship...when the new screen comes up there is a button on the lower right side called weapons report that will display damages for each weapon that you have researched...to get the entire list create a new game and give all techs to yourself.

[Fyron]

Do some calculations to get a rough comparison. Use this formula:

Damage / Rate of Fire / Tonnage

The higher this value is, the more damage the weapon does. It factors out differences in component size and rates of fire. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Desdinova]

Fyron, on that calculation what range's damage do you use or do you calculate for each range.

[Rojero]

It is also about preference..
I personally like Null and Pshyic weapons..
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
But again if you need effectiveness well then yea you can review the stats

[Arkcon]

The phased polaron beam is almost pure liquid murder against AI opponents. The ability to skip normal shields is great, and the AI won't respond with any sort of good plan.

[Krom]

Thanks for the input. I will consider your advise.

Krom

[capnq]

This ancient thread {link} (http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=003013#000015) includes a table of weapon Ratings that Suicide Junkie compiled. These Ratings are damage at max tech/tonnage space/reload rate.

[Fyron]

Originally posted by desdinova:
Fyron, on that calculation what range's damage do you use or do you calculate for each range.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I do range 1 and the Last range square. Get something like 1.7-1.3 for weapons. Weapons with no attenuation are normally better at long range, and those with attenuation are better at short range. So, you have to take that into account to compare them. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Atrocities]

I have uploaded a zip file containing 10 images for you to take a look at. They show all the weapons in GOLD, and their range and damage values at said range.

Weapons Range/Damage Zip (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/newuploads/1041207422.zip)

[Q]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
Do some calculations to get a rough comparison. Use this formula:

Damage / Rate of Fire / Tonnage

The higher this value is, the more damage the weapon does. It factors out differences in component size and rates of fire. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I prefer the formula (Damage x Range) : (Rate of fire x Tonnage). Otherwise short range weapons get overrated.

[Krom]

The pictures are perfect Atrocities.

Krom

[Taera]

I just must say, those charts dont matter much.
You can easily design a killer with mesons and a sucker with null-space. Each weapon has its, sometimes unique, uses. I recommend researching various weapons (maybe in different games) and see each one's effectivity in those particular cases.

As a general, PPB and Null-Space are quite powerful and require special counters. All racial weapons, with no exclusion, are powerful, but only when used right.
Certain special weapons (tractor/repulsor, ionic dispenser, tachyon projector, wormhole beam and so on) are useful but must be used with caution and not relied upon.

[ December 31, 2002, 06:27: Message edited by: Taera ]

[SamuraiProgrammer]

Here is a GEM!!

To Hit Calculations (http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=007441)