🚀 go-pugleaf

 >:      I'm afraid that I must jump on the "fusion cannon sucks" bandwagon.
 >: As it stands, the weapon simply is not cost-effective.  Slow firing rate,
 >: comparatively low damage, prohibitively expensive, and difficult to aim
 >: make this weapon a player's last choice.  Sure, it can be fun to goof off
 >: with to practice sniper shots, but what's its value in a real game?
 >: The cannon obviously needs to be causing greater damage per hit to make
 >: it a viable alternative to the quad lasers or plasma cannon.  Was the
 >: weapon intended to be this poor, or did the creators of Descent let this
 >: one slip by?  I'm looking forward to the possibility of a fix-it program
 >: being released to tweak this weapon towards what it should have been in
 >: the first place - a devastating weapon above all others.

D>If you asked me a week ago, I would have agreed with the general
 >sentiment on this newsgroup -- that the fusion cannon sucks. However,
 >I've been toying around with it now, and it doesn't seem half bad. True,
 >you'll never be able to fill up a region with fire the way you can with
 >the plasma or quads, but a direct hit from the fusion is so devastating
 >(about 60 shields, I think?) that it makes up for its deficiency in the
 >rate of fire and energy consumption rate. It may be difficult to hit your
 >opponent with it, but hey... you only need two shots... :)
 >I find it most effective in medium-sized rooms, where there's enough room
 >to dodge "faster" weaponry, yet not so much space that you can't get
 >close to your adversary. The central room in Chaos level 2 is a good example
 >(not the lava-filled cave, the other room). This area is especially nice
 >because it is right next to an energy recharge station that is difficult
 >to defend, meaning you won't be deprived of juice at a critical moment.

I don't know about "devestating".  I did some tests last night.  A FULL
POWER blast from the fusion gun seems to be only the equivalent of about
2 shots from the level4 quad lasers. (Full Power being charge until you
start taking damage.)

Actually, this was a question I had - does the power of the fusion
cannon only have 3 "levels"?  i.e. single-shot, charge-but-not-damage,
charge-taking-damage?

Incidentally, I also found that a single shot from the plasma gun is
roughly half the power of the level4 quad lasers.

And, amusingly enough, the "Mega" missile is equivalent to about 5
shots.


 * QMPro 1.52 * "Charity and beating begin at home." - John Fletcher