A Case for Energy Based Weaponry - SE2 Concept

This is a proposal and my reasoning behind why SE2 should incorporate energy based weapons.

A basic defense: based on power supply.

Energy based weapons are good for early-game combat without major consequences (i.e. running out of ammo and not being able to produce more)

In a survival setting, the consequence of running out of all ammo ruins a new player experience. I have seen it myself with friends I’ve gotten to try SE. People like to blast things! Especially new players.

But note, this weapon system is not necessarily a go-to. It is requires significant power supply. There is still a purpose for all ballistic weapons in the game. And since when is having more a bad thing! :D

Energy based weapons act as easy “plug and play" / backup defense option.

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How it works:

Capacitor blocks act as the “ammo clip” - charged between cycles.

Energy: Low armor damage

vs.

Ballistic: high universal damage

Energy weapons are best when used in conjunction with ballistic weaponry so you can have a backup when you run out of ammo!

This addition really expands options for combat gameplay. And this outlined system can be much more fleshed out in future.

This is a mock-up of the idea:

This example shows a pulse repeater (that can be a near Full-Auto energy weapon)

I also would suggest a "autocannon" style Energy Weapon would be the most accessible early game.

More weaponry mock-ups here: https://www.artstation.com/ianjt/albums/14882623

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Realism:

Simply put… It’s a video game. And a science fiction one at that- suspension of belief is fine and expected in my opinion.

But regardless of that, the conceptual door has already been open with the inclusion of the plasma based welder in SE2. It is also not a stretch of the imagination that the Almagest system has developed high tech weapon systems (ahem… SPERA!) :)

Also it is an option. Players who don’t want energy weapons do not need to use them or can simply mod them out.

In conclusion, I think an addition of an energy weapon system like this will also bring in a large audience from other sci-fi games. Removing barriers of entry and increasing fun is a big push in SE2 and I hope this concept is considered!

Additional Notes:

On Balancing.

I may be in a minority here, but I think the concept of “balancing” in a sandbox game is overly focused on. The only balance I am concerned with is Fun. How Fun is the game? Does it feel right and as players expect?

For players concerned with "arcade-y" - allow all options to be adjusted in future so these people can customize the experience to what they enjoy.

And for future multiplayer gameplay- allow options for server-wide settings.

Some of the options could be:

Damage Output multiplier

Damage Input multiplier

Thrust multiplier

Gyroscope multiplier

Etc.

I think all of these need a bit of tweaking in vanilla SE2 for best play experience! :)

In a game where much of the time will be against NPCs, the gameplay for the human should be the most enjoyable!