X3:Reunion Manual - Steam

Weapons Control SystemThe Weapon Control System originally required ships to be docked in order toinstall lasers into laser slots and then while flying, when docked it would only bepossible to use the laser groups to select which combinations of laser to use at anyone time. The WCS now has advanced features that allow lasers on board the shipto be installed while flying in space.In this example with the graphic on the right, there are four weapon groups aslisted at the bottom 1,2,3,4, with eight lasers in-group one.The weapon location grid indicators on the left of each lasershow to which group the weapon is allocated.The group number like the number 2 group on the right as is highlighted on the listof 1 to 4. When group 1 is selected, all lasers that are in-group 1 will fire andthose that are not in that group will not fire.First, click on the weapon location grid indicator to relocate thelaser in to another group like the next graphic on the right. Byselecting one of these the weapons in that group will now beavailable by selecting the group by selecting 1,2,3,4.A weapon can exist in more than one group, but remember if your ship cancarry eight lasers, you can have four groups with two lasers, or combinationslike two groups with three and a group of two.It is important to balance your weapons into groups, so you can use different powered lasersagainst different classes of ships, like light lasers against M5 ships and heavier group oflasers with a M3 or M6. You can even have all of the lasers listed in group four for shortpowered bursts against a larger more powerful ship.By clicking on the laser, the currently installedweapon is highlighted in the menu, any weaponsthat can be installed in that slot are listed normally,and any weapons that on board, but cannot beinstalled in that slot (either because its too big, orbecause there are none left) will be shown with a red symbol over the top of them.This upgrade now makes it possible to change weaponswhile in flight; Note, it is important that the groups of lasersare setup carefully, as it won't be quite so easy to enableor disable weapons from the current group in the heat ofbattle. Here is a possible layout a ship could have……..Group 1 = 2 A-HEPT;Group 2 = 1 A-HEPT+1ID;Group 3 = 2 A-PAC;Group 4 = 2 A-PAC+2 B-IRE.26Weapon Energy IndicatorsAs you fire your weapons you will see the red bar aboveeach weapon drain. When the bar is back to the originalposition on the right they will be fully recharged.Remember that due to laser energy limitations it is important not to fire all of the lasers atonce. Higher-class weapons consume a lot of energy. Using lower-class lasers may allow aship to fire more or less continuously, because the recharge rate will be higher than theenergy consumption. So in certain types of combat it may be to your advantage if you use alower-class of laser in higher-class ships, enabling you to shoot for a much longer time.