weapons question

[d0b]

I'm currently playing my first se iv gold game after it came in the mail after 6 loooooong days.
I was wondering if there is any disadvantage to sheild and armour skipping weapons like null-space and phased. I get that phased weapons cant penetrate phased shields but what's stopping you using null space as your main weaponry once you've researched it. And wouldn't that just make all armour and shields useless? Are anti-proton beams and meson bLasters used at all once this sort of technology is researched?

[tesco samoa]

No disadvantage to sheild and armour skipping weapons. ( the null has a reload time of 3)

phased beams can penetrate any shield.
Nothing stopping you. The computer cannot handle that combination very well. Human players can.
Armour and shields are still needed to stop the other weapons.
Anti-proton beams have a longer range than the prevous weapons. I cannot remember the range of the meson bLasters.

[d0b]

I hadn't really put any of these weapons into use (except the anti-proton beam) because in a few moves the types of weapons I could get doubled so it was a bit confusing. Thanks for the help

[LGM]

Phased Polarians cannot bypass Phased Shields (Shields 6+ technology).

Besides the slow reload of Null Space, they can be costly. In a game with a low ship limit, they tend to rule, because cost does not matter. In a game with a high ship limit, someone could defeat a Null Space fleet with a swarm of little, harder to hit ships.

Null Space have a range of 5, which is not good, but it is adequate. Ph Pol are 6. Anti Protons are 8. I never use Mesons, so I cannon remember.

Specialty Weapons are something else to consider. Engine killing are good. Weapon Kill are only range 3 and expensive and reload slow. You might as well use Null Space.

Here is one thing to consider about Null Space. they will not take out the defensive armor components (Scattering Armor and Stealth armor), where as a Phased Pol will. Once those are gone, your to hit chance will jump up 30%! Of course the Null Space will hit any ECMs and Sensors.

If the target does not use Armor or Shields, then other weapons have higher damage yield than Null Space weapons.

I myself would like to see some sort of shield that hinders Null Space.

[capnq]

Phased Polarians cannot bypass Phased Shields

Note that Phased Polaron Beams still can damage Phased Shields; one of my newbie misimpressions was that Phased Shields were totally immune to PPB.

[ June 28, 2002, 17:36: Message edited by: capnq ]

[Suicide Junkie]

I myself would like to see some sort of shield that hinders Null Space.

Buckytube Gel in my Pirates&Nomads mod does just that.