Twin Plasma Cannon

Twin plasma cannon failing to have much impact on an asteroid! (Oolite v.1.77)

Overview

Some say this is an outdated technology as plasma travels at sub-light speed, and current laser systems are more powerful.
Plasma projectors are compact and easily cooled, but suffer from slow cycle rates and are resistant to upscaling in size.
Plasma projector technology is still used extensively by the Navy in turreted anti-fighter defense systems.

An aft-mounted plasma cannon can be handy for shooting down closing missiles. Although the plasma does little damage, it is enough to take out a missile. As it tends to go everywhere, a few "globes" in the general direction of the missile often does the trick. Littlebear (2007)

Sparkler is a Slang term for a plasma cannon.

Availability

Cost: 200.0 ₢
Techlevel: 2

Details

From Cim's post in 2014 (see link below):

Virtually nothing has twin plasma cannon, because they don't have "available_to_all" set in Equipment.plist, and they're not in the "optional_equipment" list of any core ship either, so most player ships can't equip them except those that went looking for them.

NPCs don't generally have them because they're pretty bad weapons at the best of times, and as a relatively slow projectile, need shots to be led to stand any chance of hitting ... which the NPCs aren't yet programmed to be able to do.

If you want to try them out, the Porcupine from the Z-ships OXP is cheap and available in most systems, and does allow fitting them. They have several major disadvantages:

• you have to lead your shots and they're relatively slow projectiles
• they're really short ranged (not that you'd hit anything moving at longer range anyway)
• they overheat fairly quickly (much faster than a pulse laser)
• they use a ridiculous amount of energy per shot: getting them to the overheated state will go through most of three energy banks
• they do about 40% of the damage per hit of a pulse laser (though the rate of fire is a bit better)

From Aegidian's Vanilla game code ("ShipEntity.m" 2004)

forward_weapon_type = WEAPON_PLASMA_CANNON;
weapon_energy = 8.0;
weapon_recharge_rate = 1.0/3.0;
weapon_offset_x = 10.0;
shot_time = 0.0;

case WEAPON_PLASMA_CANNON :
if (range > 3750)
	return NO;
[self firePlasmaShot:weapon_offset_x:1500.0:[NSColor yellowColor]];
[self firePlasmaShot:weapon_offset_x:1500.0:[NSColor yellowColor]];
return YES;
break;

Musings

I have always thought that the (as of now widely unused due to their crapulosity) twin plasma cannons could become a nice "beyond the military laser" piece-of-equipment - make them double or even triple as powerful as the ML, accessible only at TL 14+ and for 70000Cr - but leave the disadvantage of it firing not-instant-hit plasma and only having a firing range of 5 or 6 kms in.

Voila, a new, powerful and unique weapon that doesn't unbalance the game the way laser coolers or one-shot-superweapons would do. (Lestradae (2010))

Plasma Turrets

The plasma turret weapons fitted to capital ships and sometimes smaller OXP ships are quite different (only in OXP's):

• automatic shot leading makes them reasonably accurate
• they're turrets, so you don't also have to point the ship more than vaguely in the right direction
• no overheating
• no energy use
• still low damage per hit, though
• still short range

1) you must target another ship; plasma turrets only fire on targets which are targeted by you;

2) your target must be hostile to you; plasma turrets don't fire on friendly or neutral targets;

3) your target must be inside the actual firing range and angle of the cannons; plasma turrets have a range of 5000 meters and a firing angle of approximately 150 degrees. Therefore your starboard cannon will never send a shot to a target on your port side, even not to a target right in front of you.

Links

• Recent BB thread (2021)
• Older Thread (2015)
• Start of discussion in thread leading to Cim's post above (2014)
• Discussion (2007)
• Discussion (2007)
• Equipment by Ship Class by Redspear still features them

Plasma Turrets

• Yasen-N Turret - a much superior version to the Plasma Cannon!

Oolite Equipment Standard Equipment Astrogation Console • Cargo Hold • Compass • Energy banks • Engine/Main Drive • HUD • IFF Scanner • Life Support Systems • Missile • Pulse Laser • Shields • Ship's Hull • Torus Jump Drive • View Screen • Witchspace/Hyperspace Drive Optional Equipment Advanced Navigational Array • Advanced Space Compass • Cargo Bay Expansion • Docking Computers • E.C.M. System • Escape Pod • Extra Energy Unit • External Heat Shielding • Fuel Scoops • Galactic Hyperdrive • Integrated Targeting System • Military Shield Enhancement • Multi-Targeting System • Naval Energy Unit • Passenger Berth • Scanner Targeting Enhancement • Shield Boosters • Target System Memory Expansion • Witchdrive Fuel Injectors • Wormhole Scanner Weapons Beam Laser • ECM Hardened Missile • Energy Bomb • Military Laser • Mining Laser • Missile • Pulse Laser • Quirium Cascade Mine • Twin Plasma Cannon