Weaponry

Chemical Ballistics
Post Count: 10 | Prerequisites: None

Conventional Chemical Weaponry that’s been in use for centuries.

Rocketry
Post Count: 10 | Prerequisites: None

Conventional missile and rocket weaponry that’s been in use for centuries

Infrared Lasers
Post Count: 10 | Prerequisites: None

What amounts to an oversized laboratory laser, they are hardly considered a weapon without massive amounts of power to use.

Railguns
Post Count: 15 | Prerequisites: None

Railguns are something that’s been around for a while, but limited in deployment due to bulk and power demand. Finally with a bit of miniaturization and optimization they are viable in the field.

Optimized Propellants
Post Count: 15 | Prerequisites: Rocketry

Some solid and hypergolic rocket propellants, though unsuitable for use as the primary means of propulsion in most starships, are well-suited for use as missile reaction mass. This improves missile acceleration and, thus, effective range.

Vacuum Optimized Lasers
Post Count: 15 | Prerequisites: Infrared Lasers

Optimization of the laser systems has provided a substantial increase in the power; Where previously they could be mistaken for a laser pointer they are now a viable weapon. (3e-7 m wavelength)

Gauss Weapons
Post Count: 15 | Prerequisites: None

Gauss Weapons are a simpler cousin of railguns, working off the principles of a coil rifle. Though weaker than a comparable railgun they are easier to work with and can fire a larger variety of ammunition. (Gauss rounds are 0.125 ton per point spent)

Gen II Warheads
Post Count: 20 | Prerequisites: Rocketry

In space, the normal explosive warheads used by rockets become drastically inefficient unless they breach a ship’s hull; new warhead development though takes a step back, reclaiming nuclear theories to create new thermal based warheads. (Adds 25% to gained missile tonnage per point.)

Enhanced Tracking
Post Count: 20 | Prerequisites: Railguns OR Gauss Weapons

In space the normal rules of ballistics that many a soldier faced no longer apply, targets are often far enough that enhanced tracking had to be developed to reliably hit anything. Unfortunately this can't solve the problem of drunk gunners.

Improved Frequency
Post Count: 20 | Prerequisites: Vacuum Optimized Lasers

Minor improvements to the lasers have resulted in a much more refined frequency, operating with a wavelength of 2e-7 m.

Particle Beams
Post Count: 20 | Prerequisites: Magnetic Envelope Projection

Charged particle weaponry, formerly found only in science-fiction, have moved out of the laboratory and are now feasible enough to mount on combat spacecraft. They are very energy intensive weapons, requiring large amounts of power to operate and having extended firing sequences. The practical use of them is the sheer damage they are capable of inflicting compared to lasers, especially at longer ranges.

Plasma Beams
Post Count: 25 | Prerequisites: Magnetic Envelop Projection

Generating and directing a giant beam of plasma is a crude yet effective weapon. The Plasma generators and projection systems of these simple emitters are able to be scaled with relative ease, giving a staggeringly large boost to power of the weapon emplacement with size. the base systems only able to support 50 kilometers without modification, every 5cm of scale added to the projector gives another 2.5km of reach to the projection equipment. Unfortunately, the complex cooling and projection equipment is too bulky to be miniaturized for strike craft mounting, leaving beam weapons as the exclusive realm of full scale warships. A temperature of only 3,700 degrees Kelvin may be sustained.

Gen II Gauss
Post Count: 20 | Prerequisites: Gauss Weapons

Compression of the coils, while a very crude method, still grants enhanced power to the gauss weapons. Further still, due to modifications to the coils the change in velocity is more gradual allowing more delicate payloads to be fired, as long as they still fit in the shell that is. The weapons projectile does see its maximum velocity increased.

Gen II Railguns
Post Count: 20 | Prerequisites: Railguns

Railguns, following their recent deployment, now see improvements in the velocity of their rounds. Higher velocities lending themselves to better range and damage. Outside of this, though, not much has improved yet, but the groundwork is in place for further developments.

Missile Evasion Upgrades
Post Count: 20 | Prerequisites: Rocketry

Unlike what one would think, this is not a development to dodge debris so much as a development of the missiles to detect and evade incoming point defense fire, enabling a better chance for missiles to get through defensive fire and strike their targets.

Plasma Pulse Weapons
Post Count: 20 | Prerequisites: Plasma Beams

The otherwise crude but powerful plasma beams of before have been redesigned into a far easier to manage form. Using new emitters that operate in short successive blasts to lob semi-condensed plasma projectiles down range. they have been lovingly named "Blappers" by the scientists due to the distinct sound of firing. The standard range for these first generation "Blappers" or blasters is approximately 75 kilometers with every additional 10cm of caliber adding enough containment equipment to boost the range another 5km. The reduced emitter requirements permit strikecraft to make use of them.

Refined focusing array
Post Count: 40 | Prerequisites: Improved Frequency

With advanced design in the focusing array, lasers are now on a much smaller wavelength, lending itself to even further damage (1e-7 m wavelength)

Energy Weapon Cycler
Post Count: 25 | Prerequisites: Vacuum Optimized Lasers OR Particle Beams

Energy Weapons are often inefficient; the addition of specifically designed cycles allows reclamation of previously wasted energy, the energy is than fed back into the weapon to increase the power of the weapon. These same cycles also function to ramp the energy of the weapon, enabling higher power to begin with. (Lasers are now 25MW a point / Particle Beams are now 343.75MJ a point)

Specialty Payloads
Post Count: 25 | Prerequisites: Gen II Gauss

Due to the nature of Gauss weapons, they are able to fire payloads that would normally be impossible for a railgun. As such the new rounds developed allow a variety of payloads to be loaded, though it was discovered rather unfortunately that explosive payloads would often by detonated by the charged coils during firing. This of course didn't prevent scientists from discovering ways to fit various signal emitters into the payloads, along with finding ways to potentially transport more robust equipment to a target via such methods.

Zero-G Loading Mechanisms
Post Count: 30 | Prerequisites: N/A

Taking advantage of the Zero-G nature of space, loading mechanisms have been specifically designed and modified such to use Zero-G to the fullest advantage. The result is drastically increased reloading speeds for projectile based weaponry at the minor cost of weakening magazine protection. For Railguns this provides significant advantages, being able to modify barrel designs to allow direct radiating to surrounding space, reducing thermal issues from rapid fire.

Smart Munitions
Post Count: 30 | Prerequisites: N/A

Smart munitions are a fairly classic idea, taking what would normally be just a simple dumb projectile, and giving it some form of intelligence and way to guide itself. For railguns this is of limited use in a Vacuum, as no modifications can be made. For Gauss and Conventional weapons this is an attached stage, capable of very limited trust for course correction, usually no more then a few meters to turn a near miss into a hit, or a glancing hit into a direct hit.

Generation II Particle Beams
Post Count: 30 | Prerequisites: Particle Beams

Incorporating a series of refinements into the original particle weapon designs, the original accelerator system was vastly simplified. Further improvements into the efficiency of the system as a whole has led to drastically reduced power requirements, roughly half of that required before.

Neutron Beam
Post Count: 30 | Prerequisites: Particle Beam

A side development of the particle beam, offering more range and being more difficult to deflect (both as a result of its neutral charge), but loses most of its crew-killing capability.

Gen III Warheads
Post count: 35 | Prerequisites: Gen II Warheads

An entirely new design of warheads, revolving around utilizing a specialized nuclear charge to create an extremely high intensity though short range thermal blast. (Adds 50% to gained missile tonnage per point.)

Gen II Lasers
Post Count: 30 | Prerequisites: Refined Focusing Array

Developing an entirely new class of lasers from the ground up, these lasers are able to function on a significantly smaller wavelength due to new methods of beam generation. Allowing them to keep a much tighter beam at distance, as such a lens is roughly 25% more effective then normal.

Advanced Plasma Projectors
Post Count: 35 | Prerequisites: Any Plasma Weapon

Plasma weapons are an enormously powerful weapons system, capable of doing unrivaled damage to their targets - assuming they're in range. This range limitation is nearly prohibitive for their usage, being a hard limit after which the plasma scatters into space harmlessly - this technology improves on the projection system design as a whole, increasing the baseline range for blasters by 50km, and 25km for beam projection systems.

Advanced Missile Designs
Post Count: 35 | Prerequisites: Rocketry

Advancements in missile designs now enable armored missiles, up to armor rating 2. The armoring of a missile unfortunately reduces the maneuverability, lending them more to torpedo’s than missiles.

Advanced Weapon Capacitors
Post Count: 35 | Prerequisites: Laser Energy Cycles

Creating a deliberate power leak, the excess power is cycled into capacitors which during firing are fed into the main weapon. This increases strain on the weapon, but provides a notable improvement in power output. (Lasers are now 30MW per point / Particle Beams are now 412.5MJ per point)

Gen III Gauss
Post Count: 40 | Prerequisites: Inertial Dampening, Specialty Payloads

Minor improvements increase maximum projectile velocity and inertial dampening is integrated into weapon system. Improvements to the design of specialty rounds for gauss weaponry has resulted in increased hardening to electromagnetic radiation, enabling basic explosive payloads to be added along with more unusual payloads. (Warheads are now 0.25 tons per point spent)

Gen III Railguns
Post Count: 40 | Prerequisites: Gen II Railguns

Now railguns have finally gotten a much needed overhaul. With significant changes in the charge rails and shell design, railguns are able to deliver a truly incredible punch. Shields now have more to worry about as the shells fired carry a minor energy charge capable of causing an EMP effect upon striking shields. While too small to affect a starship, it greatly improves the damage done against shielding.

Plasma Heating Methods
Post Count: 40 | Prerequisites: Plasma Pulse Weapons

Improvements in plasma creation and control methods, as well as more heat resistant materials used in the construction of the plasma weapons, allows for it to reach temperatures of 5,200 degrees Kelvin. This dramatically increases its destructive power.

Gen IV Warheads
Post Count: 45 | Prerequisites: Gen III Warheads

Changes in the creation of warheads has enabled the shaping of the warheads at a much smaller scale, resulting in the ability to make more direct use of the explosive material at hand. this in turn has resulted in a vastly more powerful warhead. (Adds 75% to gained missile tonnage per point.)

Lancers
Post Count: 45 | Prerequisites: Advanced Weapon Capacitors

Lancers are a specialized form of emitter for energy weapons, trading off lens focusing support for more raw power in the weapon. The trade as such has created something of a divide, rendering lasers less efficient when used in such a manner but notably improving particle beams. (Allows use of Lancers)

Advanced Turret Design
Post Count: 50 | Prerequisites: Zero-G Loading Mechanisms, Simulated Artificial Gravity

A critical advancement in the design of turrets, both internal and external, allows significantly improved armoring. This is achieved by combining various types of Zero-G engineering with Artificial Gravity engineering, in the same turret. (Double armor gained per point for turrets)

Advanced Shell Design
Post Count: 45 | Prerequisites: Gen III Gauss

Changes in the design of the shells enable a much larger payload than before, though this comes at the cost of velocity. While the shells have lost effectiveness against shields, they are still quite powerful against armor and hulls. (Warheads are now 0.5 tons per point spent)

Shield Cracker Rounds
Post Count: 45 | Prerequisites: Gen III Railguns

These new Railgun shells are specificly designed to cause the maximal amount of damage to shields. When fired, the shell itself generates a charge within the head of the shell. Upon impact, this creates a shaped electromagnetic effect against the shield, causing vastly more strain on the shield than before.

Integrated Accelerator Reactor
Post Count: 45 | Prerequisites: Advanced Weapon Capacitors

Changes to the reactor feed have integrated micro reactor feeds into the energy accelerators for energy weapons, enabling a faster and more powerful charge to be accumulated. While making weapons far more energy intensive its still a rather powerful upgrade. (Lasers are now 35MW per point / Particle Beams are now 481.25MJ per point)

Torpedo Design
Post Count: 45 | Prerequisites: Advanced Missile Design

These missiles have completely forgone mobility for the creation of a true space "torpedo". Heavily armored against point defense systems, these monsters can be a nightmare for those unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end. (Up to Armor rating 4 on missiles)

Gen IV Railguns
Post Count: 45 | Prerequisites: Gen III Railguns

[Fluff to come, Railguns up to 22.5km/s]

Gen IV Gauss
Post Count: 45 | Prerequisites: Gen III Gauss

[Fluff to come, Gauss up to 17.5km/s]

Hot Cell Plasma Weapons
Post Count: 50 | Prerequisites: Plasma Heating Methods, Forcefields

These rather complicated shells bring something entirely new to plasma weapons. They bring the ability to jump start plasma generation, completely bypassing the normal power surge required for initial plasma generation. This results in significantly higher rate of fire for plasma weaponry, at the cost of having somewhat unstable "Plasma Cells" on board.

Disruption Shells
Post Count: 50 | Prerequisites: Shield Cracker Rounds

Another series of new shells that is a bane to shielding. The specifically designed shell generates a charge as its fired. Once it reaches target the charge forms a miniature barrier and strikes the shield first. This is in turn is shaped by the shell into a very small and high power point. In some cases the shell is able to weaken the shield just enough to pass through, losing considerable momentum in doing so.

Gen V Warheads
Post Count: 55 | Prerequisites: Gen IV Warheads, Basic Nanites

The end in warhead development, these warheads are assembled on such a small scale that nanites are required for the manufacturing. Shaped down at the molecular level these warheads use the maximum potential of the warhead material. (Adds 100% to gained missile tonnage per point.)

Energy Compression Cycles
Post Count: 55 | Prerequisites: Integrated Accelerator Reactor

Changes in the design of the energy accelerator now enable the energy contained within to be compressed into a new wavelength as its charging, enabling significantly more power to be cycled into the laser at the same time. Unfortunately this wavelength is lost during firing, along with having the side effect of drastically increasing wear on focusing systems. (Lasers are now 40MW per point / Particle beams are now 550MJ per point)

Probability Matrix Targeting Computer
Post Count: 60 | Prerequisites: Quad-Phase QEC.

Combining AI integrated gunnery systems with an extremely advanced Quantum Computer has resulted in a terrifying targeting computer, This operates with a speed and accuracy rather impossible to defeat by a living person. A primary advantage is being able to extend the effective targeting range of weapons notably, although the weapons limitations are still a factor to consider.

Ablative Case Torpedo Design
Post Count: 60 | Prerequisites: Torpedo Design

The Ablative case design for missiles or torpedo is a somewhat novel yet practical approach to the defense of missiles. Where a missile may normally be destroyed by its armor being breached, this rather simplistic if awkward design to the armor casing partly negates that. Just prior to an impact from point defense weapons, it will attempt to 'eject' it's armor casing as a protective shield. This can in some cases negate the hit to the missile, although it is without saying that the system isn't perfect due to being prone to being fooled, sometimes even ejecting against hits that normally wouldn't destroy the missile. (Optional, Declare if a missile system is equipped with this or not)

Gen V Railguns
Post Count: 60 | Prerequisites: Gen IV Railguns

[Fluff to come, Railguns up to 25km/s]

Gen V Gauss
Post Count: 60 | Prerequisites: Gen IV Gauss

[Fluff to come, Gauss up to 20km/s]

Two Stage Warheads
Post Count: 100 | Prerequisites: Gen V Warheads OR Advanced Shell Design, Gen II Fabricator Nanites

These new warheads are extremely hard to manufacture, taking considerable time and effort to fabricate in any volume as nanites are used to weave two separate explosives into a single device. The practical benefits are significantly more powerful explosives, roughly 50% heavier then what could otherwise be manufactured; However, the warheads make the weapons extremely volatile, as mishandling, let alone direct impacts to the launcher, could result in the warheads detonating prematurely. (Optional, declare if a system is equipped with these warheads or not. Increases yield by 50%, Launchers are considered having 1/4th armor)

Ghost Shells
Post Count: 100 | Prerequisites: Disruption Shells, Hard Light Concepts

Specialized warheads created from a combination of hard light theories and preexisting applications of disruption shells. The act of firing creates a charge along the shell that is shaped into a piercing cap, forming an extremely powerful ion field along the tip of the shell and giving it a 'ghostly' appearance. Against heavily shielded targets these rounds are devastatingly effective, while against light shielding they have the potential to pierce through; However, the specialized shape and materials of the shells render them somewhat ineffective against armor.

Quantum Cell Energy Weapons
Post Count: 80 | Prerequisites: Quantum Capacitor, Energy Compression Cycles

Quantum capacitors can store phenomenal amounts of energy, yet for energy weapons the trouble is often the residual heat left after a firing sequence, Thus engineers have created specialized Quantum Cells. These devices allow a weapon designed for handling them to quickly displace large amounts of heat into the capacitor, the principle advantage being to enable continuous activation lasers to be mounted on vessels that otherwise would be incapable of handling the heat generated. The added advantage of these capacitors is the ability to rapidly convert that heat to energy, even at a loss this has been seen to reduce the energy demand for weapons by up to 25%.