Lasers

This article contains information relevant to both the C# and VB6 versions of Aurora. Where differences exist, they are noted in the appropriate sections.

Lasers are a type of beam weapon.

Description

Lasers are a type of beam weapon.

Maximum Range = ( Base Damage * 10000km ) * Range Modifier
Rate of Fire  = ( Base Damage *      5s ) / Capacitor Recharge Rate (rounded up to the next multiple of 5s)

While the theoretical maximum range far exceeds 1.5m km, no Beam Fire Control is able to handle ranges beyond this limit. Longer laser ranges still lead to increased damage across their effective range. Lasers can be mounted in a turret.

Usage

Lasers are an all-rounder weapon, with the widest array of modifications and able to work in some capacity in most roles. They have no major weaknesses with their weakest area possibly being point defense; even there, their range allows them to counter missiles with laser warheads effectively. Medium-calibre lasers can provide decent damage with good fire-rate, while large lasers can hit hard even at longer ranges.

Lasers can be put on a spinal mount: basic spinal mount will increase the caliber by 25% and advanced one will increase it by 50%; this will increase the range, damage and time to reload accordingly. Only one spinal weapon can be mounted on a ship.

Lasers can also be turreted and downsized at a cost of massive penalties to their firerate.

Damage Profile

Lasers use the 3-gradient damage profile, the second best after Particle Lances.

Components

Laser Focal Size determines how large the laser focal size (or calibre). Larger lasers cause more damage and have longer ranges, but they also require more power (for lasers, power requirement is equal to the base damage), which means they'll fire slower unless your capacitor recharge tech keeps up.

Focal Size	10cm	12cm	15cm	20cm	25cm	30cm	35cm	40cm	50cm	60cm	70cm	80cm
Size (HS)	3	4	4	6	8	9	11	12	16	19	22	25
Base Damage	3	4	6	10	16	24	32	42	65	94	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 modifies the range, with shorter-wavelength lasers having greater range.

Wavelength	Infrared	Visible Light	Near Ultraviolet	Ultraviolet	Far Ultraviolet	Soft X-Ray	X-Ray	Far X-Ray	Extreme X-Ray Laser	Near Gamma Ray	Gamma Ray	Far Gamma Ray
Range Modifier	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	125,000	250,000	500,000	1,000,000	2,000,000

Capacitor Recharge Rate determines how fast the laser's power can be recharged, and therefore determines its rate of fire. A ship must also be equipped with sufficient Power Plants to recharge the lasers in order to maintain their maximum rate of fire.

Recharge Rate	1	2	3	4	5	6	8	10	12	16	20	25
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

Reduced Size Lasers creates more compact lasers that have slower rates of fire.

Reduction	1	0.75	0.5
Recharge Multiplier	1	4	20
RP cost	-	5000	15,000

Energy Weapon Mount allow to design a larger weapons than could normally be constructed using available technology. A ship can only mount one spinal weapon and they cannot be mounted in turrets. The possibilities are Standard Mount, Spinal Mount and Advanced Spinal Mount. The latter two use a focal size 25% larger and 50% larger than the maximum possible for a normal laser. This increases all bases stats, as specified above.

Reduction	Standard	Spinal Mount	Advanced Spinal
Focal Size	1	1.25	1.5
RP cost	-	5,000	20,000

List of Components

Engines and Power Plants: Engine • Fuel Storage • Jump Engine • Power Plants
Beam Weaponry: Beam Fire Control • Lasers • Particle Beams • Mesons • High-Powered Microwave • Plasma Carronade • Railguns • Gauss Cannons
Missile Weaponry: Missile Fire Control • Missile Launchers • Magazines
Defensive Systems: Armor • Shields • CIWS • Sensor Jammer • Fire Control Jammer • Missile Jammer • Decoy Launcher • Cloaking Device
Maintenance and Repairs: Engineering Spaces • Maintenance Storage Bay • Damage Control • Maintenance module
Carriers and Fighters: Hangar deck • Fighter Pod Bay
Sensors: Active Sensor • EM Sensor • Thermal Sensor • Geological Survey Sensors • Gravitational Survey Sensors • ELINT Modules
Command and Control: Bridge • Flag Bridge • Auxiliary Control • Science Department • Main Engineering • Combat Information Centre • Primary Flight Control
Transportation: Cargo Hold • Troop Transport Bay • Cryogenic Transport • Passenger Accommodation
Logistics: Cargo Shuttle Bay • Refuelling System • Ordnance Transfer System • Tractor Beam
Production: Orbital Mining Module • Sorium Harvester • Terraforming Module • Jump Point Stabilisation Module • Salvage Module