Cannon Computer

Cannon Computer
Hit Points	50
Armor	0%
Mass	0.1
Luminosity	no
Data Value (ID)	6

The Cannon Computer is one of the four main weapons systems in StarMade and is the only weapon system provided to all new players who start the game.

Item Description

The Cannon Computer is required for creating functioning Cannon systems.

It is capable of controlling any amount of Cannon Barrels, although using multiple groups imparts a 10% power consumption penalty for each group beyond the first. Once placed, you can select/deselect it with C, and link Cannon Barrels using V while it is selected and you are looking at a Cannon Barrel.

Press R to get in/out of the Computer."

Manufacturing

Production Info
Produced in a			Standard Factory
Requires			To create
Hylat Capsule	x500		Cannon Computer	x1
Crystal Composite	x1000

Usage

Main article: Weapon Systems

The unslaved cannon is the most simple and straight forward weapon system in the game. When linked with Cannon Barrel, it will fire one projectile per reload. In many ways it is comparable to a semi-automatic rifle. All Cannon variations require the user to lead their target as the projectile does not hit instantaneously like Damage Beams. Unlike Damage Beams, the Cannons offer more range and an overall better damage per block ratio.

As of version 0.19282, Cannons' projectiles can destroy multiple blocks.

Weapon Slaves

Machine Gun

Slave: Cannon

PROS: Extremely versatile Requires fewer Power Capacitors

CONS: Its low damage per shot may fail to overcome high shield regenerations

This combination is one of the most popular in the game. It fares well against armor, shields and systems alike and requires very few Power Capacitors to boot thanks to its low power consumption per shot.

Notable Uses

• All-purpose
  

Often combined with a Punch-Through effect or more rarely with an Overdrive effect, this is your typical all-purpose weapon. They are sometimes found in groups of 891/891/891 or 443/443/443 (depending on whether you use Punch-Through or Overdrive) to destroy one Advanced Armor Block with full passives per shot.

• Shield-Nullifier
  

High firerates help keeping an opponent's shields depleted, leaving its hull vulnerable. This is even more pronounced if combined with a Ion effect.

• Momentum Guns
  

Combined with a Push, Pull or Stop effect, the Machine gun affects the target's movement at the expense of overall weapon damage.It's an effective means of position enemies where you want them(i.e pulling them in to get a better shot, pushing them away, or holding them in space).

• Anti-missile system
  

Cannons are the only weapon able to hit missiles and missiles are always destroyed in one shot, hence small fast firing cannons are often used as anti-missile system.

• Flak Gun:
  

AI turrets that feature Cannon+Cannon systems can completely fill the skies with projectiles and is a good way of pressuring your enemy.

Shotgun

Slave: Missile

PROS: Capable of hitting multiple targets at once

CONS: Extremely poor accuracy unless at point blank range

One of the most unique weapon combinations, the Shotgun allows the cannon to damage more than one block at a time. Increasing the amount of Missile tubes connected to the slave will increase the amount of projectiles fired from a single grouping. At a 1:1 Master/Slave ratio the cannon will fire 10 bullets from every grouping although unfortunately more projectiles comes at the cost of damage per bullet. Current game limitations prevent shot spreads from being truly random thus making every bullet fly in the same pattern/direction. At the present (Alpha Version 0.19174), the Shotgun is only useful in highly specialized weapon configurations.

Notable Uses

• Flak Cannon
  

In large enough groupings, Shotgun arrays can fill the entire screen with bullets. They are sometimes used as an auxiliary anti-missile system.

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Sniper Cannon

Slave: Damage Beam

PROS: Second longest range in the game Faster Bullets Moderately high damage per shot

CONS: Difficult to aim at longer distances High energy usage

Depending on the server size and ai accuracy settings you're playing with, the range boost can be negligible or an interesting asset. The increased projectile speed however is always useful and the moderate damage per shot increase nicely complements the Cannon slave version. Unfortunately, it is impossible to really benefit from the increased range when firing these weapons manually so it will often be left to turrets and other AI controlled weapons.

Notable Uses

• Piercing cannon
  

While a Cannon slave is usually more efficient (since it requires fewer capacitors), the increased damage per shot of this combination makes it interesting to pierce through what could otherwise be near impenetrable defenses (like multiple layers of Advanced Armor or very high shield regeneration rates). It is especially efficient when paired with either Punch-Through, partial or total Ion or even Piercing effects depending on what kind of defenses you plan to overcome.

• (AI only) Detection system
  

As of Alpha Version 0.19174, The AI's ability to detect a enemy is completely dependent on the range of its weapons. Even with the smallest possible configuration a 1:1 Sniper system will allow the AI to "see" targets coming at the maximum range the game allows.

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Siege Cannon

Slave: Damage Pulse

PROS: High damage per shot

CONS: Requires a lot of Power Capacitors Long reload time

This combination suffers from the comparison with either the Sniper Cannon for low power capacity ships, or other power-hungry weapons like Smart Missiles for low power regeneration ships. It can however deal massive damage assuming you can reliably hit your target and may help deplete large shield pools.

Notable Uses

• Heavy Anti-Shield Cannon
  

Due to shields being a single entity a High damage cannon system can help deplete large portions of it.

Trivia

• Currently the Cannon is the only weapon in the game whose projectile changes in size to represent its damage output.
• Despite what one might think, Machine Gun system's(Cannon+Cannon) rapid fire speed can not be fully replicated via a logic clock.
• Prior to the Weapon update (Alpha Version 0.15), The Cannon (Formerly called "Anti-Matter Cannon") was extremely over powered. Adding more weapon modules increased virtually all stats (Damage, Range, Rate of fire). Massive groups were capable of firing faster than 1:1 Cannon+Cannon combos, Had ranges of multiple sectors, and each bullet doing thousands of points of damage.