Cannons
"200 years, 3 stellar conflicts... We've developed fusion warheads and proton cruise missiles. And yet, here we are. Still shooting bullets."
- -- Captain Angela Settle, on lamenting the futility of engaging a UGTO Carrier without reloading her Railgun ammo stockpiles
Cannons are projectile based weapons that are designed provide a sustained front of damage towards enemy ships. They combine energy efficiency, accuracy, and power to make for the go-to standard armaments for mid-range combat ships.
When fired, with the exclusion of core weapons, fire multiple rounds towards the target ship. Onboard ship computers calculate the angle needed to fire based on the ships current speed and trajectory when fired. However, this does no guarantee a hit. Cannon fire can and should be dodged when possible, as it provides a ship with the most sustained damage of weapon types.
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Cannons
There are three tiers of cannons - Standard, Heavy, and Core. Standard Cannons are found on most ships. Heavy Cannons are an upgraded version, doing the damage of 2 standard cannons and can be found on larger capital ships. Core weapons are the equivalent of 2 Heavy Cannons, and are the most powerful of all the cannons. They are usually found on only the largest of ships.
Particle Cannon
| |
|---|---|
| Faction: | UGTO |
| Type: | Cannon |
| Range: | 925 GU |
| Damage: | Medium |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | High |
| Magazine: | Unlimited |
| Resource Req: | 60 |
| Tech Req: | 5 |
The most common UGTO armament, the UGTO Particle Cannon is a favorite among captains for its reliability, manageable power usage, sustainable damage, and excellent range. This weapon functions by drawing power directly from the ships main engines, containing charged sub-atomic particles in a magnetically charged sphere. Once charged, the sphere is transferred to the cannon itself, where it can be sustained until ready to fire. Since the cannon fires in a five round burst however, a cannon will not be ready to be fired until five charged rounds are held in containment for that weapon.
Due to its energy based nature, the Particle Cannon is only limited by the energy reserves of the ship in regards to ammo. However one major drawback to the weapon is that as the round travels, the magnetic field surrounding the charged particles begins to weaken, commanders are advised to close the distance as much as possible before firing.
The Particle Cannon can replace the EMP Cannon on available allied worlds, for 60 resources and 5 technology.
Heavy Particle Cannon
| 225px | |
|---|---|
| Faction: | UGTO |
| Range: | 925 GU |
| Damage: | High |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | High |
| Magazine: | Unlimited |
| Resource Req: | 120 |
| Tech Req: | 10 |
Realizing the need for a heftier armament, UGTO engineers came up with a way to better stabilize the magnetic capture of the sub-atomic particles and thus a heavier payload could be formed. Thus, the Heavy Particle Cannon was developed, capable of dishing out twice the firepower of a normal particle cannon and improved range. However as it was a larger mount and required a specialized framework, it could not replace existing smaller Particle Cannons.
The Heavy Particle Cannon is found on a few specialized smaller capital ships, but its mostly reserved for Cruisers and Dreadnought class capitals.
It can replace the Heavy EMP Cannon on available allied worlds, for 120 resources and 10 technology.
Electro-Magnetic Pulse Cannon
| 225px | |
|---|---|
| Faction: | UGTO |
| Type: | Cannon |
| Range: | 725 GU |
| Damage: | Low |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | Low |
| Magazine: | Unlimited |
| Resource Req: | 150 |
| Tech Req: | 25 |
The UGTO Electromagnetic Pulse weapon is a replacement option for the standard Particle Cannon. For UGTO commanders that prefer to take the rebels alive, this cannon's primary function is to do system damage, potentially disabiling enemy ships. It does however, do very little damage to all types of shield, armor, and hull, so it is best used in combination with other weapons (such as torpedos) to punch through the outer layers, as the shielding of even the thinnest armor prevents system damage.
Unlike the Particle cannon, it is fired in a four round burst, due to a common (but largely debunked) UGTO superstition that excessive firing of the cannon would disable their own ship.
Like all UGTO cannons, this weapon suffers from diminishing returns at extreme ranges, commanders are advised to use their primary armaments as close as possible for maximum effectiveness.
This weapon requires no ammo, and may be purchased from available friendly planets for 150 resources and 25 technology.
Heavy EMP Cannon
| 225px | |
|---|---|
| Faction: | UGTO |
| Range: | 725 GU |
| Damage: | Low |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | Low |
| Magazine: | Unlimited |
| Resource Req: | 300 |
| Tech Req: | 45 |
Once UGTO engineers discovered how to develop a heavier payload for the Particle Cannon, it wasn't long before they applied the same technology towards the EMP cannon. Delievering twice the payload of a normal EMP round, this hefty armament is mostly found on a few specialized smaller capital ships but is mostly for use on Cruiser and Dreadnought capital ships.
It can replace the Heavy Particle Cannon on available allied worlds, for 300 resources and 45 technology.
Railgun
| 225px | |
|---|---|
| Faction: | ICC |
| Type: | Cannon |
| Range: | 1225 GU |
| Damage: | Medium |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | Low |
| Magazine: | 90 |
| Resource Req: | 30 |
| Tech Req: | 5 |
The is the standard cannon device for most ICC ships, with a Magazine of 90 rounds and the ability to fire 5 accelerated projectiles every 3 seconds. Captains are notified the Railgun provides the same yield regardless of distance or time.
The Railgun works in a sequential launch sequence, collecting a preloaded projectile in it's firing chamber and charging it with magnetic energy, once the order for launch has been given, the chamber floor pushes the projectile into the barrel, where rings of super magnetic coils accelerate the projectile to near light speeds. This occurs at a standard rate of 5 projectiles every 3 seconds to ensure the Railgun does not overheat, but evidence from recent pirate skirmishes shows that this can be increased when required.
The standard Railgun costs a Captain 30 resources and can only be bought from suppliers with a technology rating of 5 or higher.
Heavy Railgun
| 225px | |
|---|---|
| Faction: | ICC |
| Range: | 1225 GU |
| Damage: | Medium |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | Low |
| Magazine: | 90 |
| Resource Req: | 60 |
| Tech Req: | 10 |
The Heavy Railgun is the higher powered version of the standard Railgun, features the same magazine and rate of fire but with a bigger charge yield. Captains are notified the Heavy Railgun provides the same yield regardless of distance or time.
The Heavy railgun uses the same chamber firing and magnetic coil system to launch it's Projectiles at near light speeds, however the barrel has been expanded to allow for a larger projectile, often containing an additional shaped charge.
The Heavy Railgun costs a Captain 60 resources and can only be bought from suppliers with a technology rating of 10 or higher.
Gauss Gun
| 225px | |
|---|---|
| Faction: | ICC |
| Type: | Cannon |
| Range: | 1410 GU |
| Damage: | Low |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | Low |
| Magazine: | 100 |
| Resource Req: | 30 |
| Tech Req: | 5 |
The Gauss Cannons boasts longest range, more damage per projectile and ammo than Railguns. It uses 3 coils to accelerate projectile by activating/deactivating each of them in order which increases energy useage and limits the cannnon to fire only 2 shots per volley; but has the fastest projectile speed which makes it good for sniping and hunting smaller ships.
Heavy Gauss Gun
| 225px | |
|---|---|
| Faction: | ICC |
| Type: | Cannon |
| Range: | 1410 GU |
| Damage: | Low |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | Low |
| Magazine: | 90 |
| Resource Req: | 30 |
| Tech Req: | 5 |
Psi Cannon
| 225px | |
|---|---|
| Faction: | K'Luth |
| Type: | Cannon |
| Range: | 660 GU |
| Damage: | Low |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | Low |
| Magazine: | Unlimited |
| Resource Req: | x |
| Tech Req: | x |
Heavy Psi Cannon
| 225px | |
|---|---|
| Faction: | K'Luth |
| Type: | Cannon |
| Range: | 660 GU |
| Damage: | Low |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | Low |
| Magazine: | Unlimited |
| Resource Req: | x |
| Tech Req: | x |
Plasma Cannon
| 225px | |
|---|---|
| Faction: | K'Luth |
| Type: | Cannon |
| Range: | 640 GU |
| Damage: | Low |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | Low |
| Magazine: | Unlimited |
| Resource Req: | x |
| Tech Req: | x |
Heavy Plasma Cannon
| 225px | |
|---|---|
| Faction: | K'Luth |
| Type: | Cannon |
| Range: | 640 GU |
| Damage: | Low |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | Low |
| Magazine: | Unlimited |
| Resource Req: | x |
| Tech Req: | x |
Core Weapons
Quantum Singularity Torpedo
| 225px | |
|---|---|
| Faction: | UGTO |
| Type: | Core |
| Range: | 1050 GU |
| Damage: | High |
| Falloff: | {{{falloff}}} |
| Energy use: | High |
| Magazine: | 80 |
| Resource Req: | x |
| Tech Req: | x |
Developed by UGTO weapons scientists as the final answer to capital ships, the Quantum Singularity Torpedo behaves more like a semi-automatic cannon. Sub-atomic particles are suspended in a quantum state in a shaped charge, and using tremendous amounts of energy, can be fired over extreme distances. Upon contact, the charge ruptures, distorting the quantum state at the target site, ripping apart armor and hull alike, doing the damage equivalent of four standard particle cannons. Highly dangerous, many commanders were warned to take precautions when using these weapons, warnings that generally went unheeded.
Several safety measures were finally undertaken when ICC sabatours managed to board an Elite Assault Dreadnought and detonate the entire cache of QST's currently onboard. There was not much left of the ship left to identify, and it is still strongly cautioned not to detonate QSTs in the immediate vicinity of allied ships for fear of any chain reaction.
Alternative weapons at par with the weapon are yet to be developed and tested, so QST cannot be replaced with another weapon.
