Sharpshooter
Rear Admiral
Remember those "du" (damage units?) numbers in the WC4 ship selectors which are supposed to indicate how much damage a ship does with a full gun salvo? I did a quick analysis, and found a few interesting things.
Let's start with the Banshee, which is listed as having 72 du. It has 4 Lasers, which according to Bandit LOAF's spreadsheet and the CIC do 18 damage each. 18 * 4 = 72, so no surprise there.
Next is the Bearcat, which is listed as having 200 du. It has 4 Light Tachyon Guns, which according to Bandit LOAF's spreadsheet and the CIC do 50 damage each. 50 * 4 = 200. Also no surprise here.
Next is the Lance, or "Dragon", which is listed as having 274 du. It has 2 Plasma Guns and 2 Tachyon Guns, and according to Bandit LOAF's spreadsheet and the CIC, the Plasma Guns do 67 damage each whereas the Tachyon Guns do 70. 67 * 2 = 134 and 70 * 2 = 140. 134 + 140 = 274, so still no surprise here.
Next is the Hellcat. It has 2 Particle Guns and 2 Ion Guns. According to Bandit LOAF's spreadsheet, a Particle Gun does 43 damage and a Ion Gun does 30 damage. 43 * 2 = 86 and 30 * 2 = 60. 86 + 60 = 146. By now you must be wondering why I even bothered creating this thread, but I promise you, we're getting there.
Next is the first strange one, the Longbow, which is listed as having 234 du. It has 2 Plasma Guns and 2 Heavy Ion Guns. According to Bandit LOAF's spreadsheet, a Heavy Ion Gun does 60 damage. However... 2 * 67 = 134 and 2 * 60 = 120, so that means the Longbow should actually do... 254 damage per full gun salvo. Could this be a typo of some kind on the developers' part?
EDIT 2 : Actually, I can explain this one. If we use the WC4 Official Guide numbers rather than the engine numbers, a Heavy Ion Gun only does 50 damage. And 134 + (50 * 2) = 234
Next is the second strange one, the Vindicator, which is listed as having 184 du. It has 2 Lasers and 2 Tachyon Guns. However, 2 * 18 = 36 and 2 * 70 = 140, so it should actually do only 176 damage per full gun salvo.
Finally, here is the weirdest one, the Avenger, which is listed as having 267 du. This is an odd number rather than an even number, so everyone can already see that there's going to be a problem. It has 2 Heavy Photon Guns and 2 Heavy Mass Drivers. Both Bandit LOAF's spreadsheet and the CIC list the Heavy Mass Driver as doing 60 damage. The spreadsheet also says that the Heavy Photon Gun does 64 damage, the CIC disagrees and says that it does 74 damage, which would make it the gun with the highest damage output in the game. Let's try it, then : 60 * 2 = 120, and 64 * 2 = 128. 128 + 120 = 248, which does not match. However, if we use the CIC stats instead... 74 * 2 = 148, and 120 + 148 = 268. Almost there!
This raises two questions, in my opinion :
1) How do we explain the discrepancy between the "du" numbers and the actual full gun salvo damage numbers for the Longbow, Vindicator, and Avenger;
and
2) Which Heavy Photon Gun stat is correct? The CIC one, or the spreadsheet one?
(EDIT : I'd just like to say that I looked at the "Engine" stats on the spreadsheet.)
Let's start with the Banshee, which is listed as having 72 du. It has 4 Lasers, which according to Bandit LOAF's spreadsheet and the CIC do 18 damage each. 18 * 4 = 72, so no surprise there.
Next is the Bearcat, which is listed as having 200 du. It has 4 Light Tachyon Guns, which according to Bandit LOAF's spreadsheet and the CIC do 50 damage each. 50 * 4 = 200. Also no surprise here.
Next is the Lance, or "Dragon", which is listed as having 274 du. It has 2 Plasma Guns and 2 Tachyon Guns, and according to Bandit LOAF's spreadsheet and the CIC, the Plasma Guns do 67 damage each whereas the Tachyon Guns do 70. 67 * 2 = 134 and 70 * 2 = 140. 134 + 140 = 274, so still no surprise here.
Next is the Hellcat. It has 2 Particle Guns and 2 Ion Guns. According to Bandit LOAF's spreadsheet, a Particle Gun does 43 damage and a Ion Gun does 30 damage. 43 * 2 = 86 and 30 * 2 = 60. 86 + 60 = 146. By now you must be wondering why I even bothered creating this thread, but I promise you, we're getting there.
Next is the first strange one, the Longbow, which is listed as having 234 du. It has 2 Plasma Guns and 2 Heavy Ion Guns. According to Bandit LOAF's spreadsheet, a Heavy Ion Gun does 60 damage. However... 2 * 67 = 134 and 2 * 60 = 120, so that means the Longbow should actually do... 254 damage per full gun salvo. Could this be a typo of some kind on the developers' part?
EDIT 2 : Actually, I can explain this one. If we use the WC4 Official Guide numbers rather than the engine numbers, a Heavy Ion Gun only does 50 damage. And 134 + (50 * 2) = 234
Next is the second strange one, the Vindicator, which is listed as having 184 du. It has 2 Lasers and 2 Tachyon Guns. However, 2 * 18 = 36 and 2 * 70 = 140, so it should actually do only 176 damage per full gun salvo.
Finally, here is the weirdest one, the Avenger, which is listed as having 267 du. This is an odd number rather than an even number, so everyone can already see that there's going to be a problem. It has 2 Heavy Photon Guns and 2 Heavy Mass Drivers. Both Bandit LOAF's spreadsheet and the CIC list the Heavy Mass Driver as doing 60 damage. The spreadsheet also says that the Heavy Photon Gun does 64 damage, the CIC disagrees and says that it does 74 damage, which would make it the gun with the highest damage output in the game. Let's try it, then : 60 * 2 = 120, and 64 * 2 = 128. 128 + 120 = 248, which does not match. However, if we use the CIC stats instead... 74 * 2 = 148, and 120 + 148 = 268. Almost there!
This raises two questions, in my opinion :
1) How do we explain the discrepancy between the "du" numbers and the actual full gun salvo damage numbers for the Longbow, Vindicator, and Avenger;
and
2) Which Heavy Photon Gun stat is correct? The CIC one, or the spreadsheet one?
(EDIT : I'd just like to say that I looked at the "Engine" stats on the spreadsheet.)
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