You might like to note that Heavy Maulers deal equal DPS to Twinned Assault Coilguns at equal range for less flux/second. For the Twinned Heavy Railguns I understand the criticism a little more, given that the closest equivalent is probably the Hypervelocity Driver (equivalent DPS but some of it as EMP, much less flux, 1 more OP, better accuracy, less range). I feel like it's still within the bounds of vanilla balance, but it's the one weapon I feel like might need a more significant nerf. I think I might have to make the medium ballistics turn slower -- this would do more to cement them in place as long-range support weapons, help to emphasize the lack of maneuverability on Kadur ships, and provide a balancing factor that I could apply to both medium ballistic weapons so as to not ruin the current homogeneity they have while also not making the Twinned Assault Coilgun useless as I feel like it's in a pretty good balance spot right now. The small mounts might catch some of the same, too. I don't think I'll be changing the large weapons much -- comparing the Gauss Cannon and the Tachyon Lance to the Demolisher seems perfectly fair, and the Redemptor deals considerably less DPS than other large ballistic high-explosive weapons but has the benefit of range.
I'm not really too concerned about the coilguns; I suppose that's not a big issue.
But, compared to the heavy mauler, the Coilguns have a
much faster projectile speed. This is a problem with the Railguns vs. Hypervelocity Driver. This does affect balance, and I feel it makes them too good as enemies can't dodge the shots like they can with their vanilla counterparts. It's also worth noting that I generally perceive the heavy mauler as a little too powerful (it's almost always better than the Assault Chaingun, but it might also be that way by design, by virtue of being higher tech).
A turn rate nerf would be fine, but I also feeling slowing projectile speeds by 20% or more would also bring them in line with vanilla weapons.
That said, I hope you're going to have a harsh talk with the Small Ballistics, because I feel those are the most ridiculously overpowered weapons. At that projectile speed, range, damage, and efficiency, they're just far too good, even for 9 OP (only 1 more than a light needler, which isn't nearly as effective).
The biggest thing I can tell you is that, as a player who wants to do well, I can use railguns (any size) to chop through armor, even against heavier vessels. One small railgun (not an array) can
demolish the armor of a Lasher, much less several. For a kinetic weapon, this just isn't right. This may actually have to do with how armor absorbs damage; it seems like simply having more damage lets you get through armor better than if you had equal DPS with several smaller projectiles. This also relates back to the heavy mauler seeming better than the assault chaingun even up close, though this could very well be me being off my rocker.
Point is, the 9OP railgun is just too good. I think projectile speed might not be accounted for in balancesuite, or not accounted heavily enough, because it's a big deal. It's why (I believe) beam weapons deal soft flux to shields; instant transmission. Given a choice between a Heavy Autocannon (vanilla) or the 9OP railgun, I'd choose the latter, every time. And it can be put on a small mount. That's a huge deal.
As for the VLRMSs, the medium-sized one deals less DPS than the Pilum for the same OP with the benefit of firing four missiles (each much less effective than a Pilum LRM, hence the reduced DPS) instead of three. The small mounts are half as effective, and at 6 OP cost more than a rack of Harpoons or as much as a rack of Atropos Torpedos. That said, I actually intended to make all VLRMSs only have ammo for 10 volleys like the Pilums do -- the current ammo counts are actually a mistake left over from when I had them firing 3/6/12 missiles in older versions of the mod. Oops! That'll be fixed in the next release.
Fair enough. A slight nerf is all I wanted; ammo ought to be fine. Though I still think the small LRMs should get even fewer missiles (note that at 1 OP more, the Javelins have far more ammo than a harpoon; with only a slightly lower projectile speed and damage these are a far better option even for close-range HE damage).
p.s. The EWAR field jams enemy everything -- in the sense that it reduces their weapon and sensor ranges by as much as it boosts yours. At this point there aren't any new ships that I'm actively working on, but I do keep an eye out for interesting systems or empty design space, so if something catches my fancy a new hull or two might come out.
Not bad! But as much as I hate tearing your mod up, I feel this could take some looking at as well. It's powerful, and that's cool (the Hauberk is a destroyer with mediocre hardpoints, railguns notwithstanding) but it should have a larger drawback than merely disabling its shields; the fact it increases your range
and decreases theirs is a huge swing in power. The enemy AI isn't smart enough to focus it down, so I feel it should also have a relatively high flux generation, and/or make it disable weapons as well. Problem with that being allowing the Hauberk AI know when to use it and when not to. But I'm sure you can think of something.
P.S. If it makes you feel any better, the only other mod I've "abused" to this extent was keptin's IFed, and that's because I loved it. It's just a form of affection, you know?
P.P.S. The mod's interceptors seem to be really poor at being interceptors. This is a fair tradeoff given they have kinetic weapons (which makes them amazing support craft) but I think this could use some looking at. A weapon that had decent range, high burst damage but low DPS would suit the faction quite well. Problem is, it'd be balanced for fighters but it'd be stupidly good as PD. So, maybe give it short range ala the Vulcan Cannon, with its damage frontloaded in a long, potent burst which an equally long cooldown between bursts.
P.P.P.S. (Darn, keep forgetting!) Martyr drones just seem far too ineffective. It's a dangerous thing to ask, but buffing martyr cannons just a liiiiittle bit would be nice. They are basically energy mortars, which are ineffective in every other way (but the concept is cool!)
OH MY GOD I KEEP THINKING OF THINGS (This actually happened with IFed too, now that I think about it!) The Jackal deserves a buff to its peak performance time! While it fits with what it is, it just renders it far too ineffective and deserves to be able to stick around and contribute what little it can. It's a cute little guy and I'd like to use it more, but I just can't justify it; my other frigates (especially Hyenas and Vultures) are about as fast and are just as good for capping points.
Also I should've gushed about how much I love you for adding carrier frigates because I love carrier frigates and they need to be more common! Alright, hopefully this will be the last edit to this post.
Oh, and One Last Thing: I might make my own faction at some point. I don't know if there's general policy for this, but I'm wondering if you'd mind if I copied the Sling ABM for it! I've already expressed my love for it, and I might still end up making my own missile-based anti-missile weapon, but in general I like the idea of mods having non-vanilla weapons in common and I wish it was more common. You'd get credit, of course!