Right, in the interest of gun balance, I was thinking we could use a standard sort of equation to make them all fit the same general range, because, it seems we are attempting to balance without any standardized numbers....If Igiss already does this, and I don't know about it, hit me.
A couple of things to think about, would be the fact that projectile speed affects accuracy, and that changes what a damage per second percentile would hit, and thus, changing the actual efficiency. I find, on fighter guns, that speeds of 750 or above mean I hit alot, and I think everyone will agree with me...and, since I think 800 the fastest projectile speed for fighter guns available, I'll make that equal to 100% gun effectiveness. This will be Ps (Projectile speed).
The total balance figure will be the arbitrary number B (balance)
so, now, Ps/8=B
any gun with 800 speed has a balance value of 100, and speeds of 750 have a balance value of 93.75, speeds of 700 have a balance value of 87.5.
Krakens, which seem to be the gold standard of damage, deal about 2224 damage a second, so we can call that 100% damage a second, so, our Damage value, Dm needs to be divided by 22.24, to create a 100% value, and then divided by the hit percentage created above....
so, now, (Dm/22.24)((Ps/8)/100)=B, and the (now imaginary) gun that deals 2224 damage a second, at projectile speeds of 800, has a balance of 100.
So far, this is a process that has us creating guns with some range of what could be considered 100% possible damage, while completely ignoring refire, and efficiency. Refire I think may have to affect the possible hits number, that is, ((Ps/8)/100), depending on how refire on average affects the targets hit...I'll leave that to discussion.
Then, there is the energy efficiency. We have established that 2224 damage/sec at 800m/s speed is 100% possible damage, so now, the energy usage per second, Ed (energy Drain) should be an inverse number, that is, since lower drain is better, we divide the whole preexisting equation: (Dm/22.24)((Ps/8)/100), by our value for 100% damage at energy cost. Again using the kraken, which drains 504 energy a second, as our gold standard for energy efficiency, one can assume that our Ed can be divided by 504 to create a fraction, which, if energy cost is below 504, makes our Balance number, B, higher.
So, finally, ((Dm/22.24)*((Ps/8)/100))/(Ed/504)=B
I think it still needs work, because the energy drain may not deserve that much of an influence, but I would like some community input before I continue to develop the equation, as it will be easier to fix as its done than to bugcheck later.
Good effort but making all the guns same would get us nowehere, I guess. Some guns could benefit from particular boosts though as they seem to be a bit underpowered, say the IMG and Hacker guns maybe..
Making all the guns the same is not the point, the point is a way to compare their differences in ways to create 'fair' gun variances...using this system, one could create guns that wildly vary, and yet still maintain the balance: once we have an established range of 'acceptable' balance values, we can create an infinite number of guns, with very odd actual numbers.
While some guns do deserve a boost, the point is to boost guns in some areas, and to detract from them in others, to make unique guns.
Seperate equations could be made for each gun type (particle, tachyon, laser, photon, neutron, plasma etc) with emphasis on whatever characterises that gun type.
For example, the equations would be weighted as such:
700ms - 750ms | particle = damage per second | medium refire
700ms - 750ms | tachyon = no particular defining characteristics | medium refire
750ms | laser = efficiency per unit damage | high refire
750ms | photon = damage per second | high refire
600ms | neutron = efficiency per unit damage | medium refire
500ms - 600ms | plasma = damage per shot | low refire - medium refire
Each type already has an assigned speed, as seen above. Emphasis should be instead on the points attached to each type of gun.
For example, if you wanted to boost a laser gun, you would decrease its energy usage while keeping the damage per second the same.
Another example, if you wanted to boost a plasma gun, you would increase its damage per shot while increasing energy per shot.
For another, say, a tachyon cannon, you would increase damage and energy, but overall the gun would become more efficient per unit damage, so the increase would not be proportional.
I dont think we need a formula for guns, we just need to decide on the defining characteristics of each gun and act upon them.
Actually, I really like the idea...although viewing the equation in one-line format is tough, I put it in actual equation style...
This might help visualize.
I was thinking about refire rate as well. Would you even need it? From what I gather here, B is equal to 100% Balance Per Second. All you would really need to decide your refire, and divide your damage and energy consumption by your desired refire rate. This gives you damage per shot, with no mess, no problem.
I believe Igiss already has a table like this... anyway
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You cannot take all statistics and make one formula....
some problems:(mostly related to aiming)
Speed
amount of hits scored does not decrease linearly with speed...
with 800 almost everyone will hit
700 a lot will hit
600 most will hit..
500 hardy any hits...
Refire
Has a lot to say especially combined with speed..
500m/s 2.00 refire gun.. is extreme pain to aim with..
700 m/s 3.03 is easy...
I believe 500m/s 8.33 would have been reasonably easy to aim with (there are no such guns in game I believe)
Gun type
Unigue features... for example Black Widow is very energy ineffective.... but it pack a big punch... so it's good for bombers...same with Colada
How it synchronizes with other guns = Nomads, Codes, Civ. Shieldbusters
EDIT: I would simply make a damage vs energy table.. with other information on the side..
But if someone makes a table with some lvl 9 guns.. feel free to post it and we can discuss how well it reflects the usefulness of the weapon.
Igiss says: Martin, you give them a finger, they bite off your arm.
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