big answer with damages and histories and notes
-- DEFENCE and WEAPONS and WHEN WHAT CAME OUT ---
Privateer occurs round the same time as WC3 I think .... if I recall it starts at the beginning of the same year as WC3, and then Priv.Righteous Fire starts near the middle of that year.
-- DEFENCE TECH --
If you review its material (ship options) you'll see that from Priv to Priv:Righteous Fire they introduce a new kind of armor... and other goodies. There was even an entire "faked news article" in teh Priv:RF doc's about "an industrial accident leading to the creation of a new kind of armor" (iso-metal armor)
if I remember correctly, defence tech goes like this:
ERA ------------------------------------ NEW STUFF (or at least first time mentioned)
WC1 ---------------------------------- dura-steel (10X stronger than reg.steel) + regular shields
WC2---------------------- phase shields (on cap ships)
---------------------------- Plasteel armor (1 cm plasteel = 10 cm durasteel)
early WC3/Priv --------------------- Tungsten armor (1 cm Tungsten = 20 cm durasteel)
Priv.RF ------------------ iso-metal armor (1 cm iso-metal = 40 cm durasteel)
---------------------------- gun cooler (increases refire rate of particle + energy guns)
---------------------------- speed enchancer (improve max.speed and afterburner output)
---------------------------- thrust enhancer (for better turning + acceleration)
---------------------------- shield regenerator
NOTES:
defense equivalents quoted from:
http://www.classicgaming.cc/pc/privateer/equipment.php
-- WEAPONS TECH --
yeah, weapons did improve over time, but you don't really see a massive upgrade in the laser until PRIV.2 and WC4/WCP with their "5-way laser" (using crystal mirrors or something to magnify output) and the "laser chaingun" (much shorter blasts but fired rapid "chaingun" style so that each "hit" actually consists of a dozen or so half-power hits, so that total resulting damage is not only more but occurs far more quickly)
I do remember there was another ships database here on CIC which had actual ship pictures (rather than how they appear in the HUD display) and if you clicked their weapon it would bring you to a page about that weapon. And if I remember correctly (once upon a time, 12 years ago) I actually went through all the game manuals and compare weapons damage rates, and they did slowly increase from one game to the next.
I also did a quick search and pulled up wedge's old post on Priv and Priv.RF weapons
post ref:
http://www.crius.net/zone/showthread.php?threadid=4056 (2/3rd's way down page)
file ref:
http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~hedgehog/privguns.txt
--- WC WEAPONS HISTORY ---
in general history (data ripped from WC: Armada along with "first time" a given weapon appears in overall series history). Armada introduced us to a lot of experimental one-offs and hold-overs, most of which sounded promising but got killed due to production expense or lack of usefulness
2628 – Laser Cannon, Meson Blaster, Plasma Gun
2632 – Photon Cannon
2640 – Neutron Gun (retired in 2668)
2650 – Mass Driver
2658 – Particle Cannon
2668 – Ion Cannon (not to be confused with the Ionic Pulse Cannon of 2665)
2669 – Reaper Cannon, Tachyon Cannon,
Capship Only:
2620 – Turreted Laser
2638 – Turreted Flak Cannon (retired 2668)
2645 – Turreted Neutron Gun
2653 – Phase Transit Cannon (extracted from Sivar Dreadnaught, operated problematically on a lesser scale as an anti-capship primary weapon, retired 2665)
2667 – Antimatter Gun
2669 – Capship Missile, Phase Shields,
--- My own ideas on why some weapons were developed then dropped ---
Until Armada, Kilrathi weapons were, for the most part, limited to lasers, mass drivers, neutron guns, and particle guns (with the last of the four being on only heavy fighters). Met by superior human tech, the Kilrathi attempted to branch out their weapons but as you can tell by the general list below, most of their weapons were failures.
While the particle gun was in use by kilrathi in 2654 it was only common to heavy fighter prototypes and ace-piloted ships due to energy limitations (pilots preferred more speed and shields to the heavy weapon). WC2’s Jalkehi and Gothri had particle guns, and the 2667 Bloodfang prototype sported 4 of them.
Two of the more promising guns, the Electron Gun and Phase Blaster, proved extremely valuable but unfortunately weren’t cost-effective enough for the Empire to keep developing and was phased out by WC3.
The third promising gun, the Plasma Bolt, was found to be variable in several ways: the further the target the less damage it did; and the further the range the but less charging time. In the end the Plasma Bolt would be scrapped as a long-range gun in favor of a more devastating short-to-mid range gun.
By WC4, after the fall of Kilrah, the main Kilrathi guns were the Photon Gun and the Particle Gun. Confed on the other hand would develop “Heavy” versions of the best weaker guns and even a “Light” version of the popular Tachyon gun.
By Prophecy the Kilrathi will have picked up the Ion Cannon, Stormfire Cannon, and redeveloped the Tachyon Gun. Confed will have developed several new guns: Chain Ion Cannon, Cloudburst, Dust Cannon, and Pulse Particle Cannon.
--- AS PER VARIOUS GAME MANUALS ---
Mass Accelerator Gun (Kilrathi).
A relative of the super-collider, this gun delivers light damage using blasts of sub-atomic particles.
Damage 15 dpph
Range 2600 km
Speed 2000 kps
Refire delay .14 sec
---notes--- the damage count must be wrong. This essentially sounds like a particle gun, except given lousy range and damage stats. The only way I can see this gun is in the history books, as in prior to WC1.
Sonic Accelerator (Kilrathi).
Still in the prototype stage, the long-range sonic accelerator gun uses a sonar tracking system. Damage potential is low, but will probably improve with time.
Damage 18 dpph
Range 4400 km
Speed 2400 kps
Refire delay .13 sec
---notes--- not listed on WC3+ ships the Sonic Accelerator appears to have fallen in disfavor against the common Laser which offers the same damage with an additional 600 km range (laser has an a 5000 km range). The Sonic has two advantages over the laser: it can be fired 7 times per second (in comparison to the laser’s 4/sec) allowing for a little more damage (126 damage/sec versus the laser’s mere 72 damage/sec); and it tracks. WC:Armada doesn’t give a power requirement, and seeing as I can’t find data on this gun anywhere else I’m guessing that its power requirement was higher than other comparable guns by damage and range.
---notes--- other than the fact that it tracks it sounds like another pre-WC1 gun.
---notes--- the only place I do see this gun would be as a field-weapon used by soldiers (weapons of a similar name are used by Kzinti in the Larry Nivens written Man-Kzin Wars books).
Flux Cannon (Kilrathi).
The flux cannon uses magnetic pulses to track and identify enemy ships. It delivers average damage at medium range and low energy cost.
Damage 20 dpph
Range 2500 km
Speed 2000 kps
Refire delay .14 sec
---note--- another lousy gun. Must be a hold-over from pre-WC1 like the Mass Accelerator. Otherwise the only useful property of this gun is the fact that it tracks.
Electron Gun (Kilrathi).
This weapon fires high energy bursts of electronic energy that effectively diminish shields. However, the electron gun has medium range and refire delay.
Damage 25 dpph
Range 3500 km
Speed 2500 kps
Refire delay .15 sec
---note--- FINALLY! A GUN THAT MAKES SENSE! Pity it didn’t survive into WC3.
---note--- a little less damage (-10) and a little more range (+1500) than the Mass Driver.
---note--- somewhat reintroduced as the "reaper" gun, but that gun has different stats
Phase Blaster (Kilrathi).
These guns interrupt the electrical phasing mechanism of energy shields. Phase blasters inflict heavy damage at medium range.
Damage 30 dpph
Range 3000 km
Speed 2200 kps
Refire delay .13 sec
---note--- another “makes sense” gun. Weaker than Confed’s Neutron Gun (-5) but better range (+500). Pity it didn’t survive into WC3.
Ionic Pulse Cannon.
This high-power cannon fires ionized electrical pulses that can down a light fighter with just a few shots. It inflicts high damage at medium range but renergizes more quickly than other guns. (Kilrathi Matter Disruptor)
Damage 33 dpph (33)
Range 2000 km (2000)
Speed 2500 kps (2300)
Refire delay .1 sec (.1)
---note--- per other sources, gun requires 30 nJ of power
---note--- one hell of a refire rate at 10 shots per second (that’s an amazing 330 damage/sec). Too bad the range wasn’t better. Still it was one hell of a gun back then.
---note--- still good, by 2668 its stats have evolved to: 30 dpph, 4500 km, and 0.35 seconds per refire. It looks like they cut the damage/sec by a third in order to more than double the range.
Plasma Gun (Kilrathi).
Plasma-bolt guns are new weapons, present only on a few fighter prototypes. These guns are only effective at short ranges and apply little damage. Don’t take them lightly — the blasts use little power and can be fired indefinitely. (the “Plasma Bolt”)
Damage 37 dpph
Range 4200 km
Speed 2800 kps
Refire delay .125 sec
---note--- another powerful weapon for the WC2/Armada era.
---note--- not to be confused with the bulkier Plasma Gun available in Privateer or most Confed fighters. (The Confed Plasma Gun has: 67 dpph, 44 nJ, 3000 km range, 0.50 seconds refire. This Kilrathi “Bolt” version is weaker but has 1/3rd greater range and can be fired 8 times a second. Comparison per dpph/second: Bolt does 296, regular Plasma does 134)
Particle Cannon (originally Kilrathi)
The particle cannon is one of the most significant energy technology that we possess. Prototypes were first developed three years into the war, when a similar cannon was extracted from a captured Kilrathi fighter. After 20 years of testing, engineers have finally perfected a comparable version capable of hurling minute nuclear particles at high speeds. Any impact results in a small nuclear explosion that gives off blast, heat, and radiation damage that has deplorable effects on the fighter's armor, hull, and electronic systems. In effect, particle cannons combine the extended range of lasers with the strong punch of neutron guns. This gun is however useless in atmospheric conditions; nevertheless, the particle cannon has almost completely replaced neutron guns in the Confederation Space Force.
Damage 43 dpph
Range 4200 km
Speed n/a
Refire 0.35
E-cost 22 nJ
---notes--- WC1 (stolen by Confed in 2638, working copy in 2658) / WC2 common
---notes--- a high-power gun for the Kilrathi for many years. Almost on par with the laser in terms of range and refire rate, the Particle Cannon does a whopping 43 dpph while (2.5x over laser) costing only twice the energy of the laser per shot.
---notes--- for many years Confed had weapons that were as powerful but lacked the range, or had the range but weren’t quite as powerful.
