Combat in Transcendence was inspired by Star Control II, and when I say “inspired by” I really mean “stolen from”. Star Control II had about twenty different ship types, and each had a unique feature, often embodied in its weapons. The Kohr-Ah Marauder, for example, could shoot spinning blades of death; the Syreen Penetrator had a siren-call weapon that caused enemy crewmembers to jump out into space and join as friends.
For better or worse, Transcendence weapons are slightly more conventional, yet they too play a central role in the game.
In this newsletter I’d like to talk about weapons and take you on a tour of my favorite ones.
Trade Offs
Sid Meier talks about games as a “series of interesting choices.” I can’t think of a better description. A game must have choices, otherwise it’s not a game. And if the choices aren’t interesting, then it’s not a fun game.
In Transcendence a lot of the choices come from equipping your ship. Should I buy more armor now or save it for a better reactor? Should I upgrade my shields or weapons? Choosing what weapon to use is (hopefully) an interesting choice because there are many trade-offs to consider.
I think there are four main trade-offs when choosing a weapon:
Fire rate vs. damage: Some weapons, like the fast-fire laser, shoot lots of times per second, but don’t do very much damage. In contrast, howitzers take a long time between shots, but hit very hard. Which is better? That’s up to you.
Ammo vs. energy: Some weapons require ammunition, which must be obtained and carried with you. Other weapons consume energy to fire. In general, ammo weapons do more damage, but there is a downside: buying ammo isn’t cheap, and no one likes to run out of ammo in the middle of a fight.
Omni/tracking vs. aiming: I’m terrible at aiming, so I prefer omnidirectional or tracking weapons. But the downside is that those kinds of weapons do less damage per hit. Is it worth it? For me, “less damage” is still better than no damage when you miss.
Drawbacks: Lastly, some powerful weapons come with drawbacks that make them less desirable. The advanced tritium cannon does a lot of damage, but it tends to overheat if you use it too much. The Qianlong archcannon is one of the only antimatter weapons in the game, but it can only be recharged with (rare) longzhu spheres.
Choosing Weapons
I’m an average player of Transcendence, at best, but I’ve developed some preferences that have helped me to survive all the way to the end. Others might give you different (or better) advice, but here is mine:
As I said above, I prefer tracking or omnidirectional weapons. I almost always take the SmartCannon that Benedict helps you find. Its ammo is plentiful, and the tracking is perfect for Corsairs, Hornets, and other pesky gunships.
I usually buy a NAMI missile launcher. With all the pirates in the New Beyond you’ll always be able to find missiles. You can use the cheap KM100s for base-cracking and save the tracking KM500s (or KM550s) for tough gunships and Charon frigates.
I replace the SmartCannon before I get to St. Katharine’s Star. I like the particle beam weapon: it’s fast enough that I can spray-and-pray against Corsairs and Vikings, and with some enhancements it will hold up deep into the Ungoverned Territories.
An enhanced Flenser cannon is also pretty good. It’s as fast as a beam weapon, but packs a good punch; it also has some WMD for hitting stations.
Just after St. Katharine’s Star I start looking for Tinkers to manufacture some XM900s. Those thermonuclear missiles are awesome against Sung Slavers, Sapiens, and others. I often get a howitzer too. A mark I howitzer does a ton of damage, but doesn’t require ammo. It’s perfect for large targets like stations or capital ships. The mark III is obviously better, but harder to get (and afford) that early.
By the time I get to Sanctuary, I’m looking for thermo weapons. A Fusionfire howitzer is nice. I love tritium cannons too. You can get them pretty early and then boost them with enhancements.
Beyond Jiang’s Star it’s all about missiles. I like the Rasiermesser launcher; the Gotha-400s are expensive, but much more powerful than XM900s. Alternatively, I sometimes get a NAMI heavy launcher and load up with anti-gunship S3s and M2/M5s for stations and capital ships.
For the endgame, I have a soft spot for the Lamplighter. Yes, you have to let the CSC Antarctica die to get it, but it’s hard to beat. It’s got half the DPS of an M5 missile, but never runs out of ammo. The only other antimatter weapons in the game are the Qianlong archcannon, which does less damage and the Quantumsphere disintegrator, which is not available to the player.
What weapons do you choose? Let me know in the comments.
My Favorite Weapons
In this video I try out some of my favorite weapons. Some weapons are powerful and easy to obtain, others have really cool effects, still others are just plain fun to shoot.
Future Ideas
There’s plenty of opportunity for new weapon types. The Vault of the Galaxy (Part II) introduces hit-scan weapons, for example. Here are some weapon ideas that I love. Some of them come form mods; others I’d love to add to the game:
Charging weapons: There should be a line of weapons that charge up while the fire key is pressed and fire when the key is released. The strength of the shot (and the energy used) is proportional to how long you help the fire key.
Range-sensitive weapons: Some weapons should decrease (or maybe increase?) damage with range. Think about the Romulan’s plasma weapon from Balance of Terror.
Grappling weapons: We have a rudimentary physics engine in the game; it would be fun to create grappling weapons with it. Imagine various Part II asteroid creatures that are able to grab on to the ships.
Sentient weapons: What if an installed weapon had a mind of its own and a separate agenda? Perhaps the player would have to help it accomplish its goals in order to continue to use it.
Join the Universe
What do you think? Which weapons do you gravitate to? Do you have ideas for the new weapons? Let me know in the comments below, or write to me: transcendence@kronosaur.com.
You can buy Transcendence on Steam or download a free version on our site. If you’re really brave you can download the development version and/or contribute to the code on GitHub.
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