[Grandpa Kim]

Back to the balance issue. If the PPB is overpowered, it is by not very much. I agree with LGM that too big a change will make it as obsolete as Last year's tax form. I do like the idea of randomizing damage (as a percentage of max damage). I do believe this tends to "balance" weaponry.

But I've often wondered why the PPB my scientists invent is IDENTICAL to the one the Krill's scientists invent. Consider this: My scientists are dough heads in this department. The standard gun weighs in at 40 kt. and is not very efficient delivering a blow only 60% of the norm. The Krill hit their Version dead on the nail. Only 25 kt firing at 140% of standard values!
Not to worry, my newly invented Null-Space Projector though of average size delivers a blow 1.5 times the expected norm!

I would love this sort of randomization. Nothing is certain, but balance would only be affected in the short term and would even out in the long. Sure, you would occasionally get creamed when you invent three consecutive lousy weapons, but who said life, or SEIV, was fair? As it stands now, I know EXACTLY what I'm going to get when I research something. Even in real life this would be boring.

Limits would be required for this to work well. If you go too far, all weapons become identical and only the randomization matters. Keep the number of variables small and the range reasonable.

In the end we may find our own treasured weapons of choice may not be the best ones after all when we are forced to use different ones.

Kim