Well of course. I'm not sayign that has to be the way things are. However, we will have to have a relatively small amount of classifications if we want to hope to balance them all.
Also all weapons will have some kind of range. That range may be infinite or it may be adjacent, either way it needs to be shown on the combat map.
I'm thinking we will ahve 3 main types of weapons and one goofy type.
Energy, Ballistic, other. (paper rock scissors)
then a "psi-type" ( the one that isn't quite good against the others but isn't bad either). Will probably have a few other special aspects of it too. But regardless it will still follow the same rules as the rest for the wepons. Range and Damage + effects.
Hex Based Combat Mockup
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PowerCrazy
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What games like Moo2 lacked I think in the area of weapons were area effect weapons. If you have played Buldars Gate or Icewind Dale, then you will know that area effect weapons run rampant. There are so many good ideas that they have in those games, in the form of their spells.
See we could have lasers, missiles, fighters, etc. But we need some other cool things:
-a cloud that spreads
-an instant warhead. So it doesn't travel to the target, it is at the target.
-a missile type weapon that creates a massive area of splash damage on impact.
Various side effects of weapons would be cool like:
-stun, poison, fear, power shut down, life drain, energy drain.
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now to go back on topic I guess
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-A hex system would have to make ships and stuff move in hex directions.
-It would be more than just having a hex grid, terrain would be made up of hex shaped tiles, assuming top down or iso view. This gives a funny hexigon look to the terrain. Although there isn't much terrain in space, a hexagon tiled space enviroment probably wouldn't look as hex as ground and land would as a hex map.
See we could have lasers, missiles, fighters, etc. But we need some other cool things:
-a cloud that spreads
-an instant warhead. So it doesn't travel to the target, it is at the target.
-a missile type weapon that creates a massive area of splash damage on impact.
Various side effects of weapons would be cool like:
-stun, poison, fear, power shut down, life drain, energy drain.
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now to go back on topic I guess
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-A hex system would have to make ships and stuff move in hex directions.
-It would be more than just having a hex grid, terrain would be made up of hex shaped tiles, assuming top down or iso view. This gives a funny hexigon look to the terrain. Although there isn't much terrain in space, a hexagon tiled space enviroment probably wouldn't look as hex as ground and land would as a hex map.
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LithiumMongoose
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Yep, area-effect weapons and status-effect weapons add a ton of badly needed flavor to almost any combat system, scifi or otherwise. Cloud type stuff sounds fine, but not I'm not sure about this "instant warhead" thing; on a high abstract level, the basic tradeoff between missile and beam weapons is supposed to be that the former does more damage but has a higher chance of failure from multiple counter mechanisms (can be jammed, can be shot down, can be evaded) than beams (can miss, which is the same as can be evaded).
As for AE explosions, how about putting nukes in this category; they're traditionally the basic weak starting-type missile and that could still be true, but at least we'd be giving them a redeeming quality. Maybe throw in basic chemical-explosive warheads as the starting type one level lower. High-level exotic missiles could then revisit the AE effect much later in the tree.
While we're on the subject, the one kind of area effect I'd most like to see is a continuous/streaming type beam. (MOO1 had this on a weapon series that included the graviton beam, as a means for destroying large stacks of small ships on a single grid square. I'm not in any way advocating ship stacks, just mentioning it.) The idea would be similar to beams in EV Nova for those familiar with it, except not necessarily limited to short or even medium range: basically a beam that doesn't stop when it hits something, but extends to its full range at all times, probably with the usual dmg/range falloff, damaging anything it contacts while it is active. This category would include things that work on a different phase/plane/whatever than normal space, or use continuous-effect forces like gravity, and thus are not impeded by normal matter aka hitting ships, but still affect/disrupt them.
On status effects, you could also give nukes a % chance to stun in case some of the crew were looking out a window when the flash occured, and a "power shut down" effect (whatever utilae meant by that exactly) for x seconds due to the EMP. Just a thought. :)
As for AE explosions, how about putting nukes in this category; they're traditionally the basic weak starting-type missile and that could still be true, but at least we'd be giving them a redeeming quality. Maybe throw in basic chemical-explosive warheads as the starting type one level lower. High-level exotic missiles could then revisit the AE effect much later in the tree.
While we're on the subject, the one kind of area effect I'd most like to see is a continuous/streaming type beam. (MOO1 had this on a weapon series that included the graviton beam, as a means for destroying large stacks of small ships on a single grid square. I'm not in any way advocating ship stacks, just mentioning it.) The idea would be similar to beams in EV Nova for those familiar with it, except not necessarily limited to short or even medium range: basically a beam that doesn't stop when it hits something, but extends to its full range at all times, probably with the usual dmg/range falloff, damaging anything it contacts while it is active. This category would include things that work on a different phase/plane/whatever than normal space, or use continuous-effect forces like gravity, and thus are not impeded by normal matter aka hitting ships, but still affect/disrupt them.
On status effects, you could also give nukes a % chance to stun in case some of the crew were looking out a window when the flash occured, and a "power shut down" effect (whatever utilae meant by that exactly) for x seconds due to the EMP. Just a thought. :)
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PowerCrazy
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I'd imagine that many of these effects would be in the "other" category.
Area Effect Weapons, Area Denial Weapons, Streaming Weapons, Systems damage etc.
Then of course Sci-Fi weapons, Psionics, affecting the crew rather than the ship, and possibly support weapons, lowers defense value of a ship, Disables a ship temporarilly.
But this is all to come later. First we need a basic model, then we can start enhancing the model however we see fit.
Area Effect Weapons, Area Denial Weapons, Streaming Weapons, Systems damage etc.
Then of course Sci-Fi weapons, Psionics, affecting the crew rather than the ship, and possibly support weapons, lowers defense value of a ship, Disables a ship temporarilly.
But this is all to come later. First we need a basic model, then we can start enhancing the model however we see fit.
Aquitaine is my Hero.... 
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guiguibaah
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Topedoes
If you're looking for AE effect weapons, why not have torpedoes.
I don't know how they would actually work in space, since I've never made a space torpedo - but in submarine versus submarine encounters, you don't have to get hit by a torpedo to withstand damage - the shockwave alone is enough to crush parts of the hull and cause severe if not critical damage. (As displayed in the movie crimson tide).
Missiles would be your smaller variety direct-hit-much damage ship, while torpedoes would be your larger AE version. Great to use against a bunch of fighters of small corvettes.
(Of course, you also had those chain-lightning like weapons in Moo1 that would bounce from ship to ship).
I don't know how they would actually work in space, since I've never made a space torpedo - but in submarine versus submarine encounters, you don't have to get hit by a torpedo to withstand damage - the shockwave alone is enough to crush parts of the hull and cause severe if not critical damage. (As displayed in the movie crimson tide).
Missiles would be your smaller variety direct-hit-much damage ship, while torpedoes would be your larger AE version. Great to use against a bunch of fighters of small corvettes.
(Of course, you also had those chain-lightning like weapons in Moo1 that would bounce from ship to ship).
There are three kinds of people in this world - those who can count, and those who can't.
I'm not sure what you mean but that weapon, but it gives me an idea.PowerCrazy wrote: Area Denial Weapons
What if you had some kind of area negation weapon or system. For example a laser negation device. As long as it is active, lasers (energy weapons in general) would not be able to be activated. So missiles would be more viable in such situations.