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Weapons Systems

Intercosmic weapons have come a long way since the stargun plob-cannons of decades past. Modern commanders can choose from a wide array of weaponry made by a cornucopia of manufacturers. Most weapons can be divided into 'guns' and 'missiles'.

Guns

Most vessels have room for one main gun, and this generally faces forwards. Energy weapons, particle beams, burners and recoil resistant rockets are all possible upgrades for the budding entrepreneur. Some weapons will drain more of your energy than others. Keep in mind that when your energy is exhausted your thrusters, shields and weapons are useless.

The Fire control (default Left Mouse Button) will fire your main weapon. You may hold down fire for a continual burst.

Stun Weapons

Stun weapons are used by security forces to disable vessels. Stun weapons damage armour in the conventional way but when the hull is penerated an electrical shockwave overloads the generator. Once their ship is disabled, most commanders become receptive to demands. Stun weapons will destroy targets without a generator so asteroid miners sometimes use them for safety reasons.

Missiles

Many vessels also have missile pylons. Missiles is a general term for 'one shot' weapons. Tools such as the Adams mine might be more bomb than missile and unguided rockets or torpedoes are also available, but most missiles are intelligent homing weapons. Missile pylons can face in any direction, not just forwards (the Starmaster by Fokker has a good example of a tailpipe missile launcher).

The Arm Missile control (default M) will activate a missile. When a missile is armed, it's name will appear on the H.U.D. and the green targeting cursors will change to red. Press the Arm Missile control again to cycle through different pylons and associated arms.

Press the Fire Missile control (default Left Mouse, the same as the Fire control) to launch a missile. If a target is selected, a guided missile will seek out that target. For a successful missile lock, the target should be close to your ship when you fire the missile.

Firing a missile at someone is not very friendly and is detected by the target. If a missile is fired at your vessel a red alert is automatically triggered.

Gun Turrets

Larger vessels have gun turrets. These should be manned and equipped with an appropriate turret weapon. Turret gunners will often pick a spread of targets related to your primary target. In an asteroid field for example, each gunner will pick a different chunk of rock to shoot at, and if you are under attack from a swarm of lightlaser fighters, it is every gunner for him (or her) self.

The Order Turrets To Fire control (default O) will order all turret gunners to fire.

The Turrets To Primary control (default X) will instruct all turret gunners to target the primary target to focus all of your firepower on one spot.

Turret gunners are not as gung ho as pilots and will go off duty if injured.

Fighters

Some ships can carry smaller fighter craft. Fighters add a valuable defensive capability to what are often large and unwieldy transport vessels. Fighters are mass compressed and stored on shelves in 10 centimetre cubes called litres so the physical size of the launch bay is much more of a factor than storage space for fighters. Fighters are low maintenance, armour is automatically repaired when they dock with a parent ship. It is not possible to customise the equipment aboard a fighter.

Fighter pilots are often rough and ready, never say die, bold derring-do hero types of people who often relish dangerous situations. They also get paid danger money, an extra $50 on top of their normal docking wage. You can transfer people from the main ship to fighters and vice-versa at any time, but all fighters must have at least a pilot.

Press the Launch Fighters control (default L) to launch all fighters on a seek and destroy mission. You must have a target to issue this order, fighters cannot merely patrol or perform astrobatics; these people are trained hunter killers. Selecting new targets while fighters are busy fighting is quite possible. The pilots will understand that you mean 'kill this too'.

Use the radio to recall fighters if you need to. Fighters will automatically return to base when they lack targets to destroy.

Compared to battle ships, fighters are small and flimsy but nimble little things. Using fighters in cramped spaces or dense asteroid fields can be foolish. A stationary base or slow moving hulk is little match for a fighter swarm.