Weapons question

RogueBanshee

RogueBanshee

Rear Admiral
I was board and was skimming through the ship-class section of the Encyclopedia, and looking at the weapons specs and I noticed something odd. According to the data base the Particle Cannons inflict 43 cm of damage per shot, the Mass Drivers inflict 45 cm of damage per shot, and the Neutron Cannons inflict 30 cm of damage per shot. But in WC I it states that the Neutron Cannons inflict more damage then the Mass Drivers so why does the database state otherwise?
 
perhaps that is the damage at a certain range? You have to remember that energy weapons dissapate (sp?) after a short time. Perhaps the damage quota was measured at a certain range. If you think about it like this, it makes a lot of sense. Mass drivers maintain thier damage ratio longer because of thier range. Neutron guns are only powerful at close range and (in my opinion anyway) are really worthless in dogfighting. They're slow, the suck up way too much energy, and are too slow to recharge. I don't even bother using them. Particle cannons are an improvement on the Neutron gun, which is why they were replaced on the Rapier II. If memory serves, they do damage at much greater range then the Neutron gun, but thier range is still slightly second to mass driver...

My solution:

I completely forget about all of them and use the Tach, Reaper, and Plasma guns. :p

Though i will say one thing... it seems like Mass drivers were all but phased out of Wing Commander 3... why is this? I know they were used as a turret weapon on the Thunderbolts (even though the Neutron gun was usually the preferred turret gun)... they were such a popular weapon on fighters before, and after WC3, why were they phased out of that era?
 
I was board and was skimming through the ship-class section of the Encyclopedia, and looking at the weapons specs and I noticed something odd. According to the data base the Particle Cannons inflict 43 cm of damage per shot, the Mass Drivers inflict 45 cm of damage per shot, and the Neutron Cannons inflict 30 cm of damage per shot. But in WC I it states that the Neutron Cannons inflict more damage then the Mass Drivers so why does the database state otherwise?
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This is because the stats change from game to game. One thing they kept trying to do was get rid of the Neutron Gun - to suggest that it was becoming less effective and had been retired... except each new game kept bringing it back!

You can find comparitive stats of all the different guns across the different games here: https://www.wcnews.com/articles/gunchart.htm

(Also, the Encyclopedia is wrong about the numbers - 43 *damage units*, which is 4.3 centimeters).

Though i will say one thing... it seems like Mass drivers were all but phased out of Wing Commander 3... why is this? I know they were used as a turret weapon on the Thunderbolts (even though the Neutron gun was usually the preferred turret gun)... they were such a popular weapon on fighters before, and after WC3, why were they phased out of that era?
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I think it's just a matter of not seeing them on the Victory - they were certainly plentiful in the Gemini Sector at the same time. :) This is mostly a design thing - Armada proved that the casual player is only interested in learning so many different guns... when you incorporate too many they all run together.
 
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I just looked at the chart and according to it the Mass Drivers and Neutron Guns in WC2 are the same as they were in WC1. Also was why they wanted to get rid of the Neutron Gun ever explained?
 
RogueBanshee said:
I just looked at the chart and according to it the Mass Drivers and Neutron Guns in WC2 are the same as they were in WC1. Also was why they wanted to get rid of the Neutron Gun ever explained?
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The fancy particle cannon was positioned as its successor in WC2, so it got kind of an outdated aura after that. However the original WC1 guns have been some of the most enduring - only having three in the game made them all really stick with everyone and have helped ensure their longevity.
 
Yeah... and then they ended up retconning the Particle Cannon to be much older than originally intended... and then they kept bringing back the Neutron Gun... and it's still with us today, in Arena!
 
What a luck, I really missed it. I have never liked the Mass Driver - from a emotional standpoint. It was a good weapon.
Wasn't the Neutron Gun a relatively new weapon, being invented in 2628 or something like that? Also, considering that apparently the Kilrathi first developed the Particle Cannon, they do use it rather seldom.

Still, do we have the actual stats for the WC1 and WC2 guns? I only remember from the WC1&2 guide that the Neutron Gun should have 25% more destructive power than the MD.
 
I don't know if it's so much that the weapons have changed as it is that they never actually spelled out that they were removed from service. It was only implied, so the next development team goes back to the classic guns again...
 
Mekt-Hakkikt said:
Still, do we have the actual stats for the WC1 and WC2 guns? I only remember from the WC1&2 guide that the Neutron Gun should have 25% more destructive power than the MD.
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That would put the Neutron Gun at around 5.6 cm damage per shot (divide 4.5 by 4 and you get 1.125, add 1.125 to 4.5 and you get 5.625.)

I always thought the Particle Cannon was intended as a replacement for the Mass Driver since the Particle Cannon had similar damage but a much longer range.
 
The Particle Cannon was explicitly a "one up" for the Neutron Gun. From the WC2 manual: A recent Terran innovation, particle cannon have almost completely replaced neutron guns in the Confederation Navy. They combine the extended range of lasers with the strong punch of neutron guns.

Ah, I remember the days when that was all the background we had on the different weapons. :)
 
Bah, stupid "do-it-all" Particle Cannon! ;)

RogueBanshee said:
That would put the Neutron Gun at around 5.6 cm damage per shot (divide 4.5 by 4 and you get 1.125, add 1.125 to 4.5 and you get 5.625.)
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Yes, if the WC1+2 MD really do 4.5 cm of damage. But that number is for the WC3+ MD. :)
 
According to the chart all pre-Prophecy Mass Drivers excep for the civilian Mass Drivers from Privateer inflict the same amount of damage.
 
Off the top of my head, we see Lasers Cannons, Meson Blasters, Photon Cannons, Plasma Guns and Mass Drivers at the start of the war. There may be a few other references somewhere.
 
frostytheplebe said:
perhaps that is the damage at a certain range? You have to remember that energy weapons dissapate (sp?) after a short time.
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Well theoretically, the Mass Driver shouldn't lose any damage energy over range, because it's firing a solid projectile. According to Wiki, and I know it's not totally accurate, but it describes a mass driver as a coil gun. Coil guns are simlar to rail guns, which if you're not familiar fire a magnetically accelerated round. In an atmosphere, or near large gravitational bodies, the round would tend to lose altitude and slow down at different rates, depending on the content of the atmosphere. But in open vacuum it should continue on forever until it strikes something or is drawn into a gravity well.
 
Bandit LOAF said:
Off the top of my head, we see Lasers Cannons, Meson Blasters, Photon Cannons, Plasma Guns and Mass Drivers at the start of the war. There may be a few other references somewhere.
Click to expand...

As Chris pointed out in this thread, the Neutron Gun is from 2618, so I guess it was around.
 
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