Installed BETA 1.4.0
Same poor balance in PD, Beam vs Projectiles. Pulse Beam (1 Ordance Point Beam) are much better PD then for example both Pulse Laser (5 Ordance Points Projectile) and Void Driver (6 Ordance Points Projectile). As I understand Beam PD must be better vs fast moving ships, when Projectile PD must be better vs slow tanky ships and slow big missiles but it's not the case. Even when I tested it against slow and tanky Fighters, Projectiles performs much worst, effectivness against Missiles I won't even try to compare. Beam weapon is just overkill when Projectiles PD its just a waste of space (ordance points).
What I mean by overkill is that my Paragon (all Paragon fighters slots are EMPTY for this test) equiped with 9 Pusle Beams (1 Ordance Point "trash") at his back (not even at front, only at the back) can for the most part beat my 2 Astrals. The same Paragon against same 2 Astrals dies pretty fast even when equiped even with 14 Pusle Lasers (5 Ordance) and Void Drivers (6 Ordance).
Small Burst PD Laser (7 Ordance Points Beam) can't be even be compared to any small projectiles PD, 2 Burst PD Laser performs the same as about 7-10 small Projectile PD againts fighters. If we will talk about rockets vs 2 Burst PD Laser, they can't be compared at all, Projectile PD is just a joke. Later I will compare Missiles attack vs 2 Heavy Burst PD Laser at Paragon vs fully equiped front of the ship with only Projectile PD, 4 medium and the rest is small, I think 2 Heavy Burst PD Lasers have some chances of wining or performing at about the same level.
So its again not about you need to increase PD damage, its more about verry poor balance, Beam PD must be nerfed, Projectile PD dps must be increased.
Somehow you need to work around Projectile PD miss a lot, mb there is a way to increase their accuracy (something like Leading Pip). If there isn't, then mb you need to just increase their dps by a factor of 2-4 (testing is needed, also there can be a new problem after this, that projectile PD is dealing to much damage to normal ships, atm I can't give proper advise becouse don't know what you can do and what can't, like for example is it possible to add -ship damage modifier to PD?) and reducing beam PD damage to about 0.7-0.8 of current.
There is much more things wrong with Fighters overall but Im not ready atm to talk about them. What I can say right now is that Pirates have verry weak fighters, I understand that they aren't having best of the best equipment but 250-350 HP interceptors and fighters? Are they really that bad? With that stats, their fighter/gunship type fighters are useless for pirats, they instadie vs some Pulse Beams (1 Ordance Point Beam) or 1-2 Burst PD Laser (7 Ordance Points Beam) and are just a waste of space, would be nice increase HP for Interceptors to 450-550, keep shields at same 0. Also there is same problem with Beam vs Projectiles, Pirate Inteceptors have Projectile weapon, so they just can't do anything against decent Interceptor with beam weapon. If I been a pirate and had bad technologies, projectile weapon that can't hit small targets, probably I'd try to make some weird Interceptor with mines on board and some Kamikaze drones, they will act almost like a missiles, you can get rid of useless fighters and make gameplay even more versatile and interesting by adding mines Interceptors and Kamikaze.
Graviton Lance OP
1. Damage is insane, especially with +200% shield damage
2. Its beam weapon (much better PD then projectile) and attacks both ships and Fighters, so when ship is attacked by a enemy Fighters it can defend it verry well, when you to attack enemy ships it's one of the best Large Energy Weapon in the game
3. 0-Flux cost to fire weapon, why?) Even with 200-400 Flux cost it would be a decent choise.
Some 300 dps 0-Flux 900 range Beam weapon would be pretty balanced Large Energy Weapon and 400 dps 0-Flux 900 range projectile (you already added) would become nice, player will have to chose projectile weapon with more damage vs big ships or more accurate beam wapon, wich is better vs small ships and fighters. Atm player have totally broken OP 0-Flux choise (Graviton Lance) and wrong useless 0-Flux choise (Capital Pusle Canon). 0-Flux gives A LOT of surviveabillity + beam weapon itself also does (kill fighters MUCH better then Projectile), its OP when you can use Graviton Lance and have both survivability and insane damage capable of shreading enemy capital ships.
Conclusion: balance got worst in some parts, you increased overall PD damage when it wasn't the problem, the problem was:
1. Insane damage of Fighters (seems like its fixed, but I need more time to say this with confidence)
2. Projectile PD performance, not overall PD, you increased Pulse Beam damage and made it even worst. And it wasn't a slight difference, as I already stated, beam PD performs about 2-10 times better (1 Ordance Points beam PD is 2-3 times better then 5-6 Ordance projectile, when 7 Ordance beam PD 5-10 times better then 5-6 Ordance Projectile)
3. Overall to much damage on Beam weapon. Beam weapon must have worst damage/flux ratio then projectile since Beam have high accuracy, accuracy its already VERRY good adventage by itself
Its not all but probably it's enough for now. Tell me if you need my observations and advices and most important, would you use any of those?)
Also if you want, I can try to change some values on weapon/fighters, then you and couple testers can try it out and tell if like new balance or not. But to do that I would need some help, I newer worked with any mods for Starsector, I think it won't be hard since all I want to do its just to change values > test > change > test > and so on xD