Class 3 & Class 4 Railguns

Spartan0536 · May 5, 2017

Hello Commanders,

With all the new updates out, it seems like 1 thing keeps getting passed over... RAILGUN's...

Yes they did get some nice buffs such as more ammo and slightly lower heat generation, however keep this in mind, we currently have large (class 3) and huge (class 4) plasma accelerators which do more damage in general than railguns do.

For the love of all that is gaming, why do we not yet have Large and Huge railguns, these would be perfect for a Fer-De-Lance in the huge slot backed by 4 medium pulse/burst lasers. Even SyFy has a show called The Expanse (which is an excellent show BTW) that uses Railguns as they are extremely deadly. I would really like to see class 3 & class 4 railguns in the game, please.

Here is what a Huge Railgun could be like, compliments of SyFy's The Expanse....

[video=youtube;mq0xETavaN0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq0xETavaN0[/video]

Bazziegamer · May 5, 2017

They should have a long charge time so that you really get the feel youre charging up a lightspeed hammer. But yeah i dont see why not.

Bunkerkind Anni · May 6, 2017

because you can avoid getting hit by a slow plasma ball,
but you can't evade a hitscan slug.

Jaylem · May 7, 2017

Aye, If NPCs got nerfed with their accuracy then I'd be in (I actually suggested this about a month ago

)

NPC's are WAY too accurate with these things... I'm talking sniping a moving fighter at 2.5-5km 4 times in a row without missing kind of accurate

Otherwise I do love the idea... reminds me of the MAC rounds out of HALO hehe

Allchemyst · May 8, 2017

This has been asked numerous times, and responded too a few times, by the devs.

Essentially, you'll never see the colour of those, because this game has PVP, and such weapons would sway combat balance towards larger ships - or else they'd need to be made so costly and demanding as to be pretty much inoperable.

All games that incorporate some player-to-player competitive elements ultimately throw the most fun possible mechanics out of the window because of this.

Also, NPC railgun accuracy + large ships using them would mean newer players/those in smaller crafts would get completely wrecked. <- I don't think this is a good argument, FD should rather fix the AI, but it's a fact to be considered for now.

However, IMO, the first place to implement such railgun tech is on planetary bases. Those would be the only structures with the ability to produce enough power and dissipate the massive heat generated by the weapon... all the while making SRVs more essential to the settlement attack minigame.

Spartan0536 · Jun 14, 2017

With the Thargoids back in 2.4, perhaps its time to educate the alien menace about how deadly Sir Isaac Newton is in space with Class 3 and Class 4 railguns?

Their ships are massive, and I am quite sure they will also have smaller ships and possibly larger... so now is it time for Class 3 and Class 4 Railguns, please?

Allchemyst · Jun 14, 2017

Maybe FD could also make Railguns more usable by replacing their riddiculous heat generation by a recoil so powerful they actually slam the user's ship backwards and slow it down?

I think it would make their gameplay overall much more interesting than simply "Heat Sink - spam spam spam - Heat Sink - spam spam spam".

Having them alter a ship's flight model mean we have to act differently during combat... as far as I'm concerned, that's never been a bad thing.

Konnivar · Jun 14, 2017

Just increase the charge up time for size 3 and 4, have to stay on target for a longer period of time before firing. Wouldn't help with NPC Haxor aim though.

BurntJello · Jun 14, 2017

Allchemyst said:
"Heat Sink - spam spam spam - Heat Sink - spam spam spam"..

This is the problem with railguns that I think needs to be dealt with before we get class 3 and 4 (which I would like). Rails should be high-damage-per-hit but low DPS. Unfortunately they are extreme DPS (with heat sinks).

I also support the idea of longer charge time the higher the class.

Vette with 2 C4 rails... mmmm...
(actually it's a C3 rail I want for my vette)

Ca$hback · Jun 14, 2017

As long as the energy requirements are prohibitive, the ammo is low and the heat generation is through the roof. Also, very diminishing returns. You shouldn't be able to fit 2 on a Vulture. You shouldn't be able to fit 2 huge ones on a corvette either. One huge one on the FDL with some power management. The huge one should drain a size 6 capacitor every shot. Basically, nerf them into almost-uselessness or they're OP.

Limoncello Lizard · Jun 15, 2017

It's the NPC 100% aimbots that worry me with this, otherwise they would be fun.

Spartan0536 · Jun 15, 2017

BurntJello said:
This is the problem with railguns that I think needs to be dealt with before we get class 3 and 4 (which I would like). Rails should be high-damage-per-hit but low DPS. Unfortunately they are extreme DPS (with heat sinks).

I also support the idea of longer charge time the higher the class.

Vette with 2 C4 rails... mmmm...
(actually it's a C3 rail I want for my vette)

Ca$hback said:
As long as the energy requirements are prohibitive, the ammo is low and the heat generation is through the roof. Also, very diminishing returns. You shouldn't be able to fit 2 on a Vulture. You shouldn't be able to fit 2 huge ones on a corvette either. One huge one on the FDL with some power management. The huge one should drain a size 6 capacitor every shot. Basically, nerf them into almost-uselessness or they're OP.

Limoncello Lizard said:
It's the NPC 100% aimbots that worry me with this, otherwise they would be fun.

Here are some ideas for this to work...

1. Charge time - ABSOLUTELY, this is something that is done in real life. it would be a 2-3 second charge time per shot

2. Heat Sinks - heat generation should remain about the same, however POWER DRAW & CAPACITOR DRAW should be increased exponentially. Firing a massive railgun takes TONS of power, this would make heatsinks about worthless as you would not be able to rapid fire railguns.

3. AI Aimbot issue - depending on the combat level of the AI, they need to be tweaked so that they miss shots more often than they do with all weapons. This coupled with the extended charge time and massive power draw should stop AI OP issues.

4. DPS to Alpha - Railguns should never be used for DPS, it makes no sense, at least not in any realistic sense. Railguns are extremely powerful kinetic weapons of mass destruction that require pinpoint accuracy to deploy effectively, but transfer megatons+ of nuclear grade force on a target at insanely high speeds.

5. ECM Jammer Pulse - This should interfere with railgun targeting (aiming reticules), thus making it hard to make an accurate shot for some time while deployed.

Tier 1 Railgun (Small) - Pretty much as it is in the game right now, no real change needed (I think most people would agree, charge time is changed to 1.5 seconds)

Tier 2 Railgun (Medium) - 2.25 second charge time, +25% capacitor draw, +15% power draw. +10% heat generation, +25% damage (this is over CURRENT values in game, NOT including CURRENT charge time)

Tier 3 Railgun (Large) - 3 second charge time, +50% capacitor draw, +20% power draw, +25% heat generation, +50% damage (this is over Tier 2 Railguns, NOT including charge time)

Tier 4 Railgun (Huge) - 4 second charge time, +100% capacitor draw. +30% power draw, +50% heat generation, +150% damage (this is over Tier 2 railguns, NOT including charge time)

This is simulating the following...

Tier 1 - 5lb ferric projectile @ 5% light speed

Tier 2 - 10lb ferric projectile @ 8% light speed

Tier 3 - 20lb ferric projectile @ 10% light speed

Tier 4 - 50lb ferric projectile @ 15% light speed

Hypothetically speaking a Farragut Class Battlecruiser could mount a single Magnetic Accelerator Cannon (upgunned railgun) in its center (between the center section) that would fire a 500lb ferric projectile @ 15% light speed.

*Note:
Capacitor Draw - weapons energy drain on the WEP (Weapons) system

Power Draw - energy required to deploy the weapons system on a ship