Help? How to read STO weapon stats

[UberWaffe (OP)]

Busy designing STO defenses in my game, and I don't quite understand how to read the stats shows for STO weapons.
Specifically I have two lasers designed, one a small 10cm one and another a beastly 35cm one.
I expect the 35cm one to have massively longer range than the 10cm one, but that does not appears to be the case.

Below are the stats shown during STO design when I select the relevant weapons:

10cm:

Code: [Select]

Transport Size (tons) 282     Cost 640.62     Armour 54     Hit Points 54
Annual Maintenance Cost 80     Resupply Cost 0

SunbeamM3 Mk1 Deepgut Ind. 1x3/5s:210k:3p:T10cm:TR70k:TC6:Std:Std Laser
Range 210 000 km      Tracking 8 000 km/s      Damage 3 / 1     Shots 1     Rate of Fire 5
Maximum Fire Control Range 600 000km      Chance to Hit at Max Range 65%
Maximum Sensor Range 6 055 510km      Max Range vs Missile 544 996 km
ECCM  40
Non-Combat Class

Duranium  14.5    Corbomite  25    Boronide  34.3    Vendarite  0.72    Uridium  100.8    Corundium  43.6   
Development Cost  6 406
35cm:

Code: [Select]

Transport Size (tons) 682     Cost 1 135.32     Armour 54     Hit Points 54
Annual Maintenance Cost 142     Resupply Cost 0

SunbeamM11 Mk1 Deepgut Ind. 1x32/30s:2240k:32p:T35cm:TR70k:TC6:Std:Std Laser
Range 600 000 km      Tracking 8 000 km/s      Damage 32 / 3     Shots 1     Rate of Fire 30
Maximum Fire Control Range 600 000km      Chance to Hit at Max Range 0%
Maximum Sensor Range 6 055 510km      Max Range vs Missile 544 996 km
ECCM  40
Non-Combat Class

Duranium  47.5    Corbomite  25    Boronide  67.3    Vendarite  0.72    Uridium  100.8    Corundium  142.6   
Development Cost  11 353

What determines max ranges?
Are the ranges the 600k and the 210k respectively shown?
I assume the 32cm laser is limited to 600k (down from 2240k) since my research for Maximum Beam Fire Control Range is 120k.
So 4x 120K = 480k
+25% for being an STO = 600k

Is this 600k an actual hard limit, or is the 2240k the hard limit and accuracy penalties apply beyond the 600k?

Is my big laser blind?
The 10cm has a 65% chance to hit at max range, while the 32cm laser has a 0% chance?
Is this again related to the 600k limit imposed by the BFC technology?
So basically the 32cm laser hard limit is 2240k, but at that range it will just never hit.

Should I read it as:
10cm has a 65% chance to hit at 210k, and cannot shoot farther.
32cm has a "not shown here" chance to hit at 600k, and can shoot up to 2240k, but has a 0% chance to hit when shooting that far.


What is the benefit of sensor ranges?
In both cases it shows

Code: [Select]

Maximum Sensor Range 6 055 510km      Max Range vs Missile 544 996 kmI assume this is purely based on sensor technologies.
I assume that as long as this is longer than your weapon range, all is good. (I.e. this is just for seeing the target.)
Or are there some additional impacts / effects?

[Iceranger]

What determines max ranges?
Are the ranges the 600k and the 210k respectively shown?
I assume the 32cm laser is limited to 600k (down from 2240k) since my research for Maximum Beam Fire Control Range is 120k.
So 4x 120K = 480k
+25% for being an STO = 600k

Is this 600k an actual hard limit, or is the 2240k the hard limit and accuracy penalties apply beyond the 600k?

Beam's max range is determined by its BFC range. Outside their BFC range, their hit chance is 0. In your case, the hit chance at or above 600kkm is 0.

[davidb86]

SunbeamM3 Mk1 Deepgut Ind. 1x3/5s:210k:3p:T10cm:TR70k:TC6:Std:Std Laser
Maximum Fire Control Range 600 000 km      Chance to Hit at Max Range 65%

This laser has a max range of 210,000 km which is the longest range that it would score a single point of damage, beyond this range it does no damage.  The laser's max range is less than the BFC range of 600000 km so at the max range your chance to hit is 65%  at longer distances you could still hit but would do no damage.

SunbeamM11 Mk1 Deepgut Ind. 1x32/30s:2240k:32p:T35cm:TR70k:TC6:Std:Std Laser
Maximum Fire Control Range 600 000 km      Chance to Hit at Max Range 0

This laser has a max range of 2,240,000 km which is the longest range that it would score a single point of damage, beyond this range it does no damage.  The laser's max range is greater than the BFC range of 600000 km so at the max range your chance to hit is 0%, but at 590000 km you chance to hit would be small, but you would do a lot of damage if you did hit.

Should I read it as:
10cm has a 65% chance to hit at 210k, and cannot shoot farther.
32cm has a "not shown here" chance to hit at 600k, and can shoot up to 2240k, but has a 0% chance to hit when shooting that far.

No to both

Maximum Sensor Range 6 055 510 km      Max Range vs Missile 544 996 km

Indicates that your sensor can see a 50 ton object at 6 million KM and a size 6 missile at 544,996 km which matches well with you BFC range of 600,000 km. 

If you are using your 10 cm for point defense against missiles then you want to increase the laser range to match the BFC range and the Sensor range against missiles.  Additional sensor range allows you to take advantage of tracking time to reduce speed penalties, but the extra BFC range is unusable as the laser does no damage at that range.

If you are using your 35 cm to attack ships, fighters, or shuttles, then you might want to increase the BFC range to take advantage of the lasers increased range and to increase your chance of a hit at shorter ranges.  I would not use the 35 cm for point defense as it fires only every 30 seconds, and will do alot more damage than needed to destroy a missile.

[Ulzgoroth]

If you are using your 10 cm for point defense against missiles then you want to increase the laser range to match the BFC range and the Sensor range against missiles.  Additional sensor range allows you to take advantage of tracking time to reduce speed penalties, but the extra BFC range is unusable as the laser does no damage at that range.

Er, you can't generally increase the laser range that way. Not without making it a very different and much larger laser that won't really serve the same purpose.

If the 10 cm is for point defense, what you'd probably want to do is hit the STO design toggle to tell it so, so it will give it a resolution-1 sensor, a fast turret, and a high-tracking short range fire control.

[davidb86]

Agree.

I assumed he had hit the STO design toggle, since the active sensor appear to be a resolution 1 sensor.  (missile range = range/11)

I meant increase laser range through researching better tech.

[Ulzgoroth]

Agree.

I assumed he had hit the STO design toggle, since the active sensor appear to be a resolution 1 sensor.  (missile range = range/11)

I meant increase laser range through researching better tech.

I was assuming it wasn't, because having tech levels of 600,000 km beam weapon fire control range and 2000 beam weapon fire control tracking would be very weird, while 150,000 and 8000 would make more sense.

Playing with the toggle just now, it looks as if they use the same active sensor for point defense and non-point-defense STOs.

[Ulzgoroth]

...Tangential related question. Do we think it's intended that point defense STOs get their fast-tracking turret for free? Because it looks as if they do get it for free.

[SpikeTheHobbitMage]

...Tangential related question. Do we think it's intended that point defense STOs get their fast-tracking turret for free? Because it looks as if they do get it for free.

They get the turret for free?!?  I thought we had to supply that...  Awesome!

[Ulzgoroth]

...Tangential related question. Do we think it's intended that point defense STOs get their fast-tracking turret for free? Because it looks as if they do get it for free.

They get the turret for free?!?  I thought we had to supply that...  Awesome!

Well, they only display one tracking speed, and in a PD STO it's 4x racial tracking. With non-turret-mounted weapons. I haven't had anything like an opportunity to test whether they actually get the benefit of that.

Related info, you can't set non-turretable weapons as PD STOs. The box doesn't show up for railguns and microwave beams or plasma carronades.

[UberWaffe (OP)]

...Tangential related question. Do we think it's intended that point defense STOs get their fast-tracking turret for free? Because it looks as if they do get it for free.

Not for 'free' in that it nerfs range like crazy.

Agree.

I assumed he had hit the STO design toggle, since the active sensor appear to be a resolution 1 sensor.  (missile range = range/11)

I meant increase laser range through researching better tech.

Yes, I had played with the STO PD, but got confused with the ranges and sensors so I didn't ask about the PD tick option.
So far it seems to nerf range and grant tracking speed.

And yes, the plan was to use the 10cm as PD and the 35cm as anti ship.

[Ulzgoroth]

...Tangential related question. Do we think it's intended that point defense STOs get their fast-tracking turret for free? Because it looks as if they do get it for free.

Not for 'free' in that it nerfs range like crazy.

That's not for the turret, that's just the beam fire control. The STO beam fire control is either 4x range 1x speed or 1x range 4x speed, with a bonus 1.25x range either way.