Photon Beam Cannon

Nothing is more strongly identified with FreeSpace than the deadly beam cannons that fill the heavens in FS2. Thee weapons are a sight to behold as they rip through fighters and capital ships. The beam cannons are called photon beam cannons in-game, and as would be expected for a laser with an output of many gigatons per shot, their effects are kinetic as well as thermal (an AAAf hit can knock a 50-ton bomber several meters off course). Unlike lasers, they produce a visible beam and a loud noise as they fire (although this is arguably for gameplay purposes and thus falls under game mechanics). These weapons range from kiloton-level SAAA beams to the BFRed, whose yield is approximately 200 gigatons. They may be lasers (with allowances for gameplay issues) or they may be particle beams that travel at a significant fraction of c.

Shivan capital ship beams are far more powerful than GTVA beams (the BFRed in particular is extremely powerful), and are bright red in color. However, their anti-fighter beams are weaker than the GTVA's AAAf.

Both Terran and Vasudan ships use the AAAf anti-fighter beam, which is considerably stronger than the Shivan SAAA. The GTVA AAA beams are the only blue beams in the game. In the 'Game of T.A.G.' mission in FS2, a Fenris cruiser mounts an AAAf that is twice as powerful as normal. This is the only time this variant of the beam appears. Why it does not appear anywhere else is unknown.

Terran anti-capship beams are always green in color. They are more powerful than Vasudan beams, but have a much longer delay between shots. Vasudan anti-cap beams are yellow/orange. Vasudan beams are weaker than Terran beams, but recharge more quickly. This is probably due more to Vasudan tactical preferences than technical issues.

The significance of such characteristics as the sounds, the colors, and the large glows at the bases of the beams are unclear. Very little technical information is provided by the games.

Record 503 - technology - Last update 16 Nov 2007, 17:01:38

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