Single Shot Weapons
Andrea 'Highlander' Santoro (with other contributors)
I think that everybody here agrees that the energy bomb like it has been thinked in Elite is too naive to be used in the game.
Nonetheless I think that there are some ways to obtain powerful "single shot" weapons. I suppose that the main condition to use them in the game should be that this weapons shouldn't be so powerful to destroy your ship with a single blow (otherwise the player would find quite frustrating to be destroyed without having any chance to avoid it).
But, considering that there is a large difference between the ships you can buy and that the damage you need to destroy the smaller one is probably only a slight damage for the larger ones, I think that the only two ways to use such a weapon are to: A) Have a damage increasing with the size of the ship. B) The weapon creates some particular effects, which are not directly related to the damage, but are heavily disabling.
Some possible examples:
1) Vibration Inducers: This one has been used in Master of Orion 2; the weapon use some vibrations of some kind (quantistic, gravitational, or something else, decide you what kind) which produce damage to all ships around proportional to the size of the ship itself. Of course, it can be used only once in a while; after you have used it, it needs some time to recharge. Possibly illegal?
2) Shield Disruptor: A sort of field or burst which disables the shields for all the ships around (your shields should also be disabled? matter for discussion).
3) Shield Overloaders: This one is quite tricky...:-) Do you remember what happened when the SDF-1 turned on his shield system on the Ontario? :-) We might insert a "shield overloader" equipment; a device which can be used to send an energy burst to the shields, so that the shields themselves explode towards the extern; the damage should be directly proportional to the dimension of the ships involved and decreasing with the distance; once the overloader has been used, shields should be too damaged to work untill you are able to repair them.
4) Plasma Discharge: This one can be found in a lot of places, from Star Blazers to Starcraft; a powerful beam weapon that can be used only once in a while. Morever, some side effects might happen before or after you have fired (IE: you may need some time with all systems off to charge the weapon, or you may be forced to stay with engines off for some time after you've fired).
5) Plasma Net: Another one from Master of Orion 2: this is not properly something similar to an energy bomb but it is a "single shot" weapon; the "plasma net". It is a net of plasma which envelopes the ship and erodes its shields (or the hull, if shields are depleted).
6) Strong Force Disruptor: A weapon that strong atomic force (in a particular area), causing the target's nuclei to disintergrate. Of course, when the nuclei are gone, the electrons just don't hang around... Basically good for making enemies vanish (no explosion). Shields should be able to severely hamper its effects, but if you don't have enough shields, you're gone because your cabin will be exposed to the vacuum (explosion this time, I think...). It may be illegal/military because it's untracable! Leaves no witnesses, that's for sure.
7) Lucifer: Bears a particular resemblance to a nuclear fusion device, though we'll leave open the possiblity that it is not. It will be a launchable device. The Lucifer will be so powerful that everything within a reasonable distance will be destroyed, including your ship. There will also be a slight chance of failure. Thus, if you wish to confirm detonation, you must carefully set the fuse very carefully (you may wish to have a crew member do this instead). Once launched, a Lucifer will arc toward its target. When the fuse has less than one second left, you'll see a flash followed by a continually building glow; this is the first detonation that powers the second. The second detonation of the Lucifer is the devastating one, and one no one's shields will last against (for more than two seconds). The second detonation gives the Lucifer it's name: "Bringer of light." From the second detonation, a light, seemingly from hell itself, pours forth, destroying all that it touches. Needless to say, the Lucifer will be difficult to come by (it will be old galaxy tech). I would expect, as well, that it would be a "smart" weapon and very particular about its targets (it will only strike those designated by whoever gives it to you).
8) Electron Cannon: An electron cannon or something similar which overloads the electrical systems. Possibly an instant effect, where for an instant the systems power out and all the shields need to start recharging, or maybe they loose their charge based on the length of time the ship is knocked out.
9) ESG: Analogous to a weak energy bomb, the ESG generates an expanding sphere of damage that is, of course, centered on the ship.