1.9.5.2 Ion Pulse centres on target ship

[Chris McMahon]

I've installed Ion Pulses (area effect weapons - 10x each) on my mining bases. When they fire the effect is centred on the attacking ship, not my base. Ie the "wave" is centred on the enemy and radiates out from them, not me.

It also appears than the ion damage has no effect on the attacking ship, so it's not just a graphics glitch, but it appears the game treats the target as firing the weapon, rather than my base. I've also got 10 ion defence on my base, so I can't tell if I'm getting the negative effects from my own weapon or not.

[Spidey]

If you're up for a little test then design a simple ship with plenty of armor, no shields, no ion defense, and use the game editor to give the pirates one of those close to your base. It will attack your base and the ion pulse thing should fire on the attacking "pirate ship". And if you don't include a hyperdrive in your design then that ship can't really run anywhere either.

It should be fairly obvious in that case if your ion pulse gun does something or not. I haven't tested them myself, though.

[Chris McMahon]

ORIGINAL: Spidey

If you're up for a little test then design a simple ship with plenty of armor, no shields, no ion defense, and use the game editor to give the pirates one of those close to your base. It will attack your base and the ion pulse thing should fire on the attacking "pirate ship". And if you don't include a hyperdrive in your design then that ship can't really run anywhere either

I'll give that a try next time I play.

I've also noticed that now that I'm getting attacked by multiple pirate ships, when the Ion Pulse fires, all pirate ships in range create the pulse wave. That pulse does damage other pirate ships.

So:
If I get attacked by a single pirate, I lose the base slowly as I only have a couple of missles as my other weapons. (The pirate takes no damage)
If I get attacked by two pirates from different directions, I lose the base faster. (Pirate waves don't intersect)
If I get attacked by two pirates who are close to one another, they zap each other. (Pirate waves damage each other)
If I get attacked by several pirates all close to each other, they all zap each other even faster. (Multiple pirate waves intersect with multiple pirate ships)

So the game is definitely treating the target of the Ion Pulse as if it was the firing ship. It still honours the range of the weapon, so only pirates close to my base emit the wave.

I'm also going to try other area effect weapons to see if it's just the Ion Pulse or all area effect weapons.

[DeadlyShoe]

Area effect weapons are targeted on an enemy vessel - they are not centered on the firing vessel. IIRC Most area weapons have a line to show this effect. I'm not sure if the Ion Pulse does.

The best way to know if an emp weapon is working is to examine the firepower rating of the target. Weapons will be disabled by EMP damage, reducing said rating. EMP weapons cause NO regular damage.