Direct Fire Weapons

Direct Fire Weapons

Lasers

Lasers are direct‑fire energy weapons that use a focal lens to concentrate power into a damaging beam. Laser performance is determined by four primary technologies: focal size (damage and HS), wavelength (range retention), capacitor recharge rate (rate of fire), and reduced‑size modifications (compact but slower‑firing variants).

Laser Focal Size

Laser Focal Size determines the calibre of the laser. Larger focal sizes increase base damage and effective range, but also increase size (HS) and power requirements. Power requirement equals the base damage, so larger lasers fire more slowly unless supported by sufficient capacitor recharge technology.

Focal Size	10cm	12cm	15cm	20cm	25cm	30cm	35cm	40cm	50cm	60cm	70cm	80cm
Size (HS)	10	12	15	20	25	30	35	40	50	60	70	80
Base Damage	3	4	6	10	16	24	32	40	64	96	128	168
RP Cost	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000	15,000	30,000	60,000	125,000	250,000	500,000	1,000,000	2,000,000

Laser Wavelength

Laser Wavelength determines how well a laser retains damage over distance. Higher wavelengths lose less power with range, allowing lasers to inflict more damage at long distances. Wavelength does not affect base damage, only range performance.

Wavelength	Infrared	Visible Light	Near Ultraviolet	Ultraviolet	Far Ultraviolet	Soft X-Ray	X-Ray	Far X-Ray	Extreme X-Ray	Near Gamma Ray	Gamma Ray	Far Gamma Ray
Range Modifier	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
RP Cost	500	2,000	4,000	8,000	16,000	30,000	60,000	125,000	250,000	500,000	1,000,000	2,000,000

Reduced Size Lasers

Reduced‑size lasers remove part of the recharging mechanism to reduce component size. This dramatically increases recharge time, reducing rate of fire. These variants are useful when space is limited and rate of fire is less critical.

Reduction	Standard (1.0)	0.75 Size	0.5 Size
Recharge Multiplier	1	4	20
RP Cost	1	5,000	15,000

Particle Beams

Particle Beams are mid‑range direct‑fire energy weapons that fire a concentrated stream of high‑energy particles. Unlike lasers and plasma carronades, particle beams suffer **no damage drop‑off across their entire range band**, making them extremely effective at medium ranges. Their drawbacks are higher power requirements and shorter maximum range compared to lasers. Particle beam performance is determined by two primary technologies: **beam strength** (damage) and **maximum range**.

Particle Beam Strength

Particle Beam Strength determines the damage inflicted by a particle beam. Higher strengths increase component size, power requirement, and research cost. Particle beams use a **gradient‑2** damage profile, meaning they penetrate armor less effectively than mesons or lances but still deliver consistent internal damage once armor is breached.

Particle Beam Strength	2	3	4	6	9	12	16	20	25	36	50
Size (HS)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Power Requirement	5	7	10	15	22	30	40	48	64	90	125
RP Cost	2,000	4,000	8,000	15,000	30,000	60,000	125,000	250,000	500,000	1,000,000	2,000,000

Particle Beam Maximum Range

Maximum Particle Beam Range determines the farthest distance at which particle beams can fire. Particle beams do **full damage at any range**, but their maximum range is significantly shorter than lasers. Increasing range allows particle‑armed ships to engage earlier and avoid closing to dangerous distances.

Max Range (km)	60,000	100,000	150,000	200,000	240,000	320,000	400,000	500,000	640,000	800,000	1,000,000	1,200,000
Range Tier	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
RP Cost	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000	15,000	30,000	60,000	120,000	240,000	500,000	1,000,000	2,000,000

Particle Lance Modification

Particle Lances are a modification to particle beams that convert them into **extreme armor‑penetration weapons**. Lances deal **straight‑line penetration**, ignoring gradient damage and punching through a number of armor layers equal to their strength. They are devastating against unshielded or lightly shielded targets but have long recharge times and are ineffective against strong shields.

Technology	RP Cost	Description
Particle Lance	30,000	Enables the Particle Lance modification, allowing particle beams to penetrate armor in a straight line equal to their strength.
Lance Modifiers	—	×2 Size, ×2 HTK, ×2 Crew, ×2.5 Power Requirement, ×3 Cost, ×2 Development Cost of the like Particle Beam

Meson Cannons

Meson Cannons fire exotic particles that bypass shields and armor entirely, striking internal components directly. Mesons always deal **exactly 1 point of internal damage per hit**, regardless of focal size. Larger focal sizes do not increase damage; instead, they increase component size (HS) and reduce the Armor Reduction (AR) percentage. AR determines the chance that a meson hit is negated before reaching internal systems. Lower AR values mean more reliable internal hits. Meson performance is determined by **focal size** (HS and AR%) and **meson focusing** (range).

Meson Focal Size

Meson Focal Size determines the calibre of the meson cannon. Larger focal sizes increase HS and reduce the Armor Reduction (AR) percentage, improving the chance that the meson particle reaches internal components. All meson cannons deal **1 internal damage per hit**, so focal size affects only survivability, tracking, and penetration reliability—not damage.

Focal Size	10cm	12cm	15cm	20cm	25cm	30cm	35cm	40cm	50cm	60cm	70cm	80cm
Size (HS)	3	4	6	10	16	24	32	40	64	96	128	168
Armor Reduction (AR %)	40%	32%	25%	20%	16%	12.5%	10%	8%	6.4%	5%	4%	3.2%
RP Cost	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000	15,000	30,000	60,000	125,000	250,000	500,000	1,000,000	2,000,000

Meson Focusing

Meson Focusing determines the maximum range of meson cannons. Mesons have extremely short base ranges, and each level of focusing provides only a modest increase. Higher focusing levels are essential for making mesons viable outside point‑blank combat.

Focusing Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Max Range (km)	10,000	20,000	30,000	40,000	50,000	60,000	70,000	80,000	90,000	100,000	110,000	120,000
RP Cost	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000	15,000	30,000	60,000	120,000	250,000	500,000	1,000,000	2,000,000

High‑Power Microwaves

High‑Power Microwaves (HPMs) are electronic‑warfare beam weapons that disable enemy sensors, fire controls, and other electronics. HPMs always deal **exactly 1 point of electronic damage per hit**, regardless of focal size. Larger focal sizes increase component size (HS) and improve the chance of inflicting electronic damage, but do not increase damage amount. HPMs cannot penetrate armor and are only effective once armor has been stripped away. Their performance is determined by **focal size** (HS and hit reliability) and **microwave focusing** (range).

Microwave Focal Size

Microwave Focal Size determines the calibre of the HPM emitter. Larger focal sizes increase HS and improve the likelihood of successfully inflicting electronic damage on the target. All HPMs deal **1 electronic damage per hit**, so focal size affects only hit reliability and component size—not damage.

Focal Size	10cm	12cm	15cm	20cm	25cm	30cm	35cm	40cm	50cm	60cm	70cm	80cm
Size (HS)	3	4	6	10	16	24	32	40	64	96	128	168
RP Cost	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000	15,000	30,000	60,000	125,000	250,000	500,000	1,000,000	2,000,000

Microwave Focusing

Microwave Focusing determines the maximum range of HPM weapons. Microwaves have very short base ranges, and each level of focusing increases their effective engagement distance. Higher focusing levels are essential for allowing HPM‑equipped ships to disable enemy electronics before entering lethal weapons range.

Focusing Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Max Range (km)	10,000	20,000	30,000	40,000	50,000	60,000	70,000	80,000	90,000	100,000	110,000	120,000
RP Cost	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000	15,000	30,000	60,000	120,000	250,000	500,000	1,000,000	2,000,000

Plasma Carronades

Plasma Carronades are short‑range, high‑damage energy weapons that fire a shallow‑gradient plasma bolt. They have significantly higher base damage than lasers of similar size but suffer from extremely poor range performance. Carronades are ideal for brawling ships, point‑blank assaults, and ambush tactics where closing to knife‑fight distance is possible. Their only research‑driven attribute is calibre, which determines size, damage, and power requirement.

Carronade Calibre

Carronade Calibre determines the maximum size of plasma carronades that can be constructed. Larger calibres dramatically increase damage output but also increase component size (HS) and power requirement. Carronades cannot be turreted but can be mounted as spinal weapons.

Calibre	15cm	20cm	25cm	30cm	35cm	40cm	50cm	60cm	70cm	80cm	100cm
Size (HS)	15	20	25	30	35	40	50	60	70	80	100
Base Damage	15	20	25	30	35	40	50	60	70	80	100
RP Cost	2,000	4,000	8,000	16,000	32,000	64,000	125,000	250,000	500,000	1,000,000	2,000,000

Railguns

Railguns are kinetic direct‑fire weapons that accelerate multiple projectiles using electromagnetic rails. They fire a burst of several low‑damage shots simultaneously, giving them excellent performance against lightly armored targets and missiles. Their drawbacks are short range, poor armor penetration, and high vulnerability to armor due to low per‑shot damage. Railgun performance is determined by two technologies: **railgun calibre** (damage, HS, and number of projectiles) and **launch velocity** (range).

Railgun Calibre

Railgun Calibre determines the size of the weapon, the number of projectiles fired per shot, and the total damage output. All railguns fire **four projectiles**, each dealing a fraction of the total listed damage. Because each projectile has low individual damage, railguns struggle against armor but excel at shredding unarmored targets and incoming missiles.

Calibre	10cm	12cm	15cm	20cm	25cm	30cm	35cm	40cm	45cm	50cm
Size (HS)	1	2	3	4	5	7	9	12	16	20
Total Damage (4 shots)	3	6	9	12	15	21	27	36	48	60
Damage per Shot	0.75	1.5	2.25	3	3.75	5.25	6.75	9	12	15
Shots per Salvo	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
RP Cost	1,000	2,500	5,000	7,500	10,000	20,000	40,000	60,000	120,000	240,000

Railgun Launch Velocity

Railgun Launch Velocity determines the muzzle velocity of railgun projectiles. Higher velocities increase maximum range and improve hit chance at long distances. Launch velocity functions similarly to laser wavelength: each tier increases effective range and reduces damage falloff.

Velocity (km/s)	10,000	20,000	30,000	40,000	50,000	60,000	70,000	80,000	90,000
Range Modifier	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
RP Cost	1,000	2,500	5,000	7,500	10,000	20,000	40,000	120,000	240,000

Gauss Cannons

Gauss Cannons are rapid‑fire kinetic weapons that use magnetic acceleration to launch small projectiles at extremely high velocity. They require **no power**, have **no capacitor**, and can be mounted in **turrets**, making them ideal for point‑defense (PD) and anti‑missile roles. Their performance is determined by three technologies: **rate of fire**, **launch velocity**, and **size vs accuracy** (barrel size trade‑offs).

Gauss Cannon Rate of Fire

Rate of Fire determines how many shots a Gauss Cannon fires every 5 seconds. Higher ROF dramatically increases point‑defense effectiveness, especially when mounted in multi‑barrel turrets. This is the single most important Gauss technology for PD performance.

ROF (shots / 5 sec)	2	3	4	5	6	8
RP Cost	1,500	5,000	15,000	45,000	135,000	750,000

Gauss Cannon Launch Velocity

Launch Velocity determines the muzzle velocity of Gauss projectiles. Higher velocities improve accuracy at long range and increase maximum engagement distance. This is especially important for STO Gauss turrets and long‑range PD platforms.

Velocity (km/s)	10,000	20,000	30,000	40,000	50,000	60,000
Range Modifier	1	2	3	4	5	6
RP Cost	500	1,500	5,000	15,000	45,000	135,000

Gauss Cannon Size vs Accuracy

Gauss Cannons can be built in a variety of barrel sizes. Smaller barrels reduce HS size but also reduce accuracy. Larger barrels increase accuracy but consume more hull space. This tech line determines the available size/accuracy trade‑offs.

Barrel Size (HS)	0.5 HS	0.6 HS	0.75 HS	1.0 HS	1.5 HS	2 HS	3 HS	4 HS	5 HS	6 HS
Accuracy	8%	10%	12.5%	17%	25%	33%	50%	67%	85%	100%
RP Cost	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

Energy Weapon Mounts

Technology	RP Cost	Description
Spinal Mount	5,000	Allows one energy weapon per ship to be designated as a spinal mount. Can be up to two sizes larger than the normal maximum size for that race.
Spinal Mount – Advanced	20,000	Allows one energy weapon per ship to be designated as an advanced spinal mount. Can be up to three sizes larger than the normal maximum size for that race.

Turret Rotation Gear (10% Gear)

Turret Rotation Gear determines the maximum tracking speed of turrets using gear equal to 10% of the weapon’s mass. Higher levels increase the maximum target speed the turret can track. Using 2× or 3× gear multiplies the tracking speed accordingly.

Tracking Speed (km/s)	1,250	2,000	3,000	4,000	5,000	6,250	8,000	10,000	12,500	16,000	20,000	25,000
RP Cost	500	1,000	2,000	4,000	8,000	16,000	30,000	60,000	120,000	250,000	500,000	1,000,000

Research Fields

• Biology and Genetics
• Construction and Production
• Defensive Systems
• Direct Fire Weapons
• Ground Combat
• Logistics
• Missiles
• Power and Propulsion
• Sensors and Control Systems