Scythe Customization: BEAM LAZORZ!

[Pyreal]

pip pip pip?

Hellllllllll no!

I want:

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!

I want a Beam Laser upgrade for my Scythe. No Pulse lasers for me thanks!

I want a continuous beam of trash burning purple power! :D

[ArmedZealot]

TBH I don't know why there aren't more beam weapons in vanu ala lightning gun from quake or beam cannons from EvE.

Seems the most classic sci fi alien weapon there is is facemelting lasers.

TLDR: MOAR PEW PEW

[NewSith]

Actually pulse beams are quite logical even from RL perspective, because a continious laser will just melt the barrel.

Aye and it reminds people of BFRs...

[Pyreal]

A 'pulse beam' is logical, because a non-pulsed beam melts barrels? Eh?

A beam is different than a pulse. I want a continuous beam rather than an intermittent pulse.

Lasers are emitted, not fired, from Lenses rather than barrels.

Make it happen, Shags! :D

[Zekeen]

The problem with such a weapon (while not entirely), is that it is hit immediately or almost, leaving no chance to dodge. In a dogfight this would feel somewhat unfair that your turns are doing nothing for you.

Now, granted, it can be made fair such as making it come in smaller bursts with longer waiting periods and doing less damage, and if balanced enough it would add to the game.

I only play NC, PS1 did a number on me there, but I LOVE when Vanu get new interesting weapons, so that there is a COMPLETE change of strategy when fighting them. Also, I like kicking alien butt.

[ArmedZealot]

The problem with such a weapon (while not entirely), is that it is hit immediately or almost, leaving no chance to dodge. In a dogfight this would feel somewhat unfair that your turns are doing nothing for you.

Wouldn't be too much of a problem if it couldn't be directed with the mouse and could only be directed out of the front of the aircraft in a straight line. Wouldn't be too much different from the miniguns already in place in that respect.

[maradine]

Actually pulse beams are quite logical even from RL perspective, because a continious laser will just melt the barrel.

Lasers don't have barrels per se, and the whole point of coherent light is that you're not spilling energy out of the beam path. A more applicable consequence of continuous beam directed energy weapons is "shading" - the rapidly vaporized material of the contact location now forms an occluding cloud over the area. Compressing beam output into pulses delivers more energy to the target hull and less into it's rapidly expanding armor fog.

[NewSith]

Ok, now that there are two people countering my point, I'm going on defense. From BeamZ0R to Pulsar LMG, there is a a piece of metal covering the barrel, something you may actually call muzzle, that means the shots are made from inside the gun, not from the outside.

Here're the pictures:
http://www.planetside-universe.com/media/album/mp52rz6sp6/20120323_4f6cb3c3209d4.jpg
http://www.planetside-universe.com/media/album/mp52rz6sp6/20120127_4f227f7fac060.jpg

As you can see the latest Pulsar model still has the same issue, though the muzzle war redesigned.
http://www.planetside-universe.com/media/album/vmscby2n9f/20120224_4f47fbea18f2f.jpg

Same with Fission:
http://www.planetside-universe.com/media/album/vmscby2n9f/20120225_4f491efeca101.jpg

It is also same for the Maggy and the Scythe, the explanation for which is the one Pyreal gave. Vanu weaponry does not shoot lasers. It shoots beams. Beams of energy, not light.

PS: On a sidenote even NC can use lasers. Actually THEY are the ones who have the most potential to do that, because they''re all, you know, kinda miners...

[TheInferno]

Yeah, but isn't the Scythe the most maneuverable of the three craft? Even with a straight firing weapon (which I think all the weapons are at this point, not sure), it seems more than capable of keeping that beam locked onto a Reaver or Mosquito.

I mean, it'd be cool, but it just seems like it'd be way too powerful. Imagine an entire swarm of these guys coming in and cutting Galaxy transports out of the sky like a hot knife through butter.

If they could tweak it so it did minimal damage though... I don't know, I'd have to see it in beta. Might be alright, might not be. Still, I don't like the idea of having a laser constantly damaging me with barely any way to shake the tail. At least pulse shots have the chance of missing if I fly right.

[Sabot]

A beam laser would, logically, work in sucha fashion that the longer you aim it on a targets hull, the more damge it does, as it more or less rapidly heats up and loses integrity. Way too powerful for the most maneuverable fighter in the game imo. Cool yes.. but too powerful :/ I guess they could just do minimal damge at all times, but that would just be lame tbh :(
Then I'd rather sport the pewpew for skill shots!

[Badjuju]

I definitely would not want beam weapons on my scythe. One, beam weapons have never seemed fun to me. Pointing just isn't the same challenge as shooting. Two, it would probably be OP, especially with the scythe maneuverability. Three, I personally think it would look kinda corny. I can maybe see a NC max having a short range beam that is a converted mining weapon. They just don't seem tactical to me so I don't see the vs using them. I don't see any reason either why energy beams cannot be fired and should be in a beam. If it really bothers you that much though they can always just change them to plasma weapons.

[maradine]

Ok, now that there are two people countering my point, I'm going on defense.

I have no opinion on your point, merely lobbing some education into the thread. If you're going to reference the dreaded "RL", expect to hear from people who play with expensive toys.

I don't care if the Vanu shoot rapid nadions or magically contained plasma.

[DarkTower]

If you just balance it so that the DPS is roughly the same as the miniguns (or the Scythe's equivalent if it has something different) then it's just another weapon variant for people who want LAZ0RS!!!!! (still not sure why anyone wouldn't just use missiles in the Scythe though)

[TheInferno]

The problem with that is other weapons have to worry about missing. This mostly doesn't, because it's easier to track a laser on something then it is to lead, especially with the maneuverability of the Scythe. Therefore, even if this had the same DPS based on averages, anyone who could actually hit with consistently above average weaponry would make the beam weapon fairly useless.

Seems like I'm missing something though, does my logic make sense to anyone else?

[TurelSun]

Forget melting barrels and whatever other technological limitations you might think of, this is a game. The most obvious reason why the Vanu are not going all out beam/lazers/whatever is because they give away your position very obviously. As a default option, pulsed is better. If you want a beam it should be a sidegrade or something, with limitations such as charge up time, short duration, and probably requiring you to keep on target to do any kind of damage so you couldn't just strafe with it and expect to vaporize anything it hits(plus of course, giving your position away).

[Captain1nsaneo]

Laser instead of machine gun on scythe? Wouldn't mind it as a side grade in the form of it doing more damage the closer you are to the target. Would look pretty cool too. Though you'd have to learn to not lead your target which might mess with how you dogfight in it a bit but that's part of the fun of different empires.

[Pyreal]

The problem with that is other weapons have to worry about missing. This mostly doesn't, because it's easier to track a laser on something then it is to lead, especially with the maneuverability of the Scythe. Therefore, even if this had the same DPS based on averages, anyone who could actually hit with consistently above average weaponry would make the beam weapon fairly useless.

Seems like I'm missing something though, does my logic make sense to anyone else?

In that case it all fits with the lore! Because we all know that the V.S. is superior.

Problem solved. Bring on the Beam Lazorz! :D

[TheInferno]

In that case it all fits with the lore! Because we all know that the V.S. is superior.

Problem solved. Bring on the Beam Lazorz! :D

I'm sorry, you must've been standing too close to your fancy microwave ovens, because everyone knows that the Terran Republic shall rule Auraxis! :vssucks: :trrocks:

Though I have to ask, would this be a continuous laser or a "Beam for half second, cooldown, fire again" deal?

[Vanu Techpriest]

You Terran scum won't stop humanity's path to enlightenment.

More lazers please.

[IMMentat]

Vanu probably work with plasma "blob" projectors, not beams. The only beam weapon for the vanu in PS1 was the BFR AI weapon, and seeing as it was:-
A. Hit-scan
B. Associated with BFRs
C. Attached to the most unstable weapon platform in the game.
I don't see it returning to planetside (at least in its current configuration).

Most Vanu weapon names are misnomers, the beamer is a plasma caster, the pulsar is just a rapid-refire plasma accelerator (out of the magazine, heated? contained and accelerated in projectile form towards the enemy).
If a beam is involved it is as a guiding force dictating the path the projectile travels, rather than being the damage source.

there is a a piece of metal covering the barrel, something you may actually call muzzle, that means the shots are made from inside the gun, not from the outside.Agreed, though the "muzzle" is most probably a heatsink, projectile guidance mechanism (and maybe accelerator chamber) who's to say the NC didnt steal a few railgun prototypes of some Vanu plasma tech).
the explanation for which is the one Pyreal gave. Vanu weaponry does not shoot lasers. It shoots beams. Beams of energy, not light.
Vanu weaponry does not shoot lasers. It shoots beams. Beams of energy, not light.

Phyreal said nothing of the sort, he just wants a continuous beam weapon rather than a flickering one.
Beams are usually pulsed to reduce the thermal, fuel and materiel (what its made of) cost of a continuous beam, given the Vanu level of tech I do not doubt they could create a man or vehicle portable beam weapon if they so choose (but hit-scan weapons are unfair so we choose to melt our foes with plasma "spheres").

I could wiki physics descriptions of the words you used but clearly didn't understand (beams, energy), but in the end, it does not matter from a gameplay standpoint if a beam weapon is firing lasers, electrons (lightning, yay) or whatever.
Any continuous beam with a high velocity will have the same properties as a laser, near instant hit, impossible to dodge and pinpoint accurate (pro and a con depending on how wide the beam is and how unstable the firing platform).

The ONLY "low velocity" beam weapon I have ever seen in a videogame is the "Phase Stream Projector" in Oni (old game, on the PC and Playstation1/2?, great weapons, good fun) where the beam was slow enough that it created a slow moving channel of doom similar to a high pressure fire-hose (or a gel based flamethrower before it was ignited) I looked but could not find a youtube vid with the oni gun in-use.
Either way that weapon would be more for air-ground use due to the fairly slow speed of the projectile mass and the need for sustained exposure to rack up damage (sort of bathing a tank in thermite).