Craft Weapons DPS Spreadsheet

[ohartenstein23]

Got a little bored on public transit, and saw the need for updated information on craft weapons since the https://ufopaedia.org article is still in the queue for revision.  So here's a link for a spreadsheet I made to calculate DPS for the weapons, based off the 0.99 ruleset file, and assuming you're attacking on aggressive stance.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1R0PvIky-_X6XYGLVkAxw5Prgdnd2_6_toKDOFIBaIaY/edit?usp=sharing

I included columns for the increased accuracy of some of the heavy-weapon toting ships, since I was partially make this to decide what early heavy weapon should go on my Swordfish, and whether or not it'd be fun to equip a Barracuda with the hyper-wave targetter.  In general, the DPS columns are more useful for the light and heavy weapons, with the exception of the plasma and fusion launchers, and the expected output columns are more useful for missiles.  There are also pages for looking at damage vs. different size targets, so you can make informed decisions on what you want to use to take down that cruiser.

Edit:  New sheet for modeling interception, up to date for pilot changes.

Edit: With my code addition of craft shields, determining the outcome of a given interception is no longer feasible without more direct simulation, so this spreadsheet is out-of-date and should not be used to direct your airgame.

[DracoGriffin]

... since the https://ufopaedia.org article is still in the queue for revision...

Just FYI, anyone is able to add to the wiki!

[ivandogovich]

and yeah... I haven't been updating it in a while.    I haven't even put in the changelog, etc for .99.   This would be a really good update to refresh the 'pedia to, because due to ReaLife (tm), Dioxine will slow down on updates for the summer.   Hmmm.. Maybe I'll get around to it next week.

And yeah, ohartenstein23. This is a nice tool.   It would be great to add to the 'pedia!   
There is still a lot I don't understand about it (mostly because I don't really understand air combat mechanics) so the why the enemy craft size makes a difference, why there are differences 10%-20% etc...    Those things might be nice to capture for a 'pedia article as well.

[ohartenstein23]

I guess I should get an account to help with the 'pedia if I'm going to the lengths to do this.

For the accuracy differences, the weapon hit chance increasing with larger UFOs is a behavior from vanilla - so DPS increases for the low-accuracy weapons pretty nicely when shooting at large or very large targets.  The 10%-20% range are for your craft that have innate gun accuracy bonuses, like the Swordfish or Jetbike, or for any craft on which you equip a targetter in one of the light slots.

[ohartenstein23]

I've added a few sheets just to rearrange to information by weapon class, in addition to by target shipping class.  I may add some analysis on the economics of the weapons as well, when I feel like mining more data from the rulesets.

[Dioxine]

Range is an important factor in engagement. For my own use, I tend to modify the dps score by adding approach time to the total time to unload all the ammo, and use the result as the base for dps calculations.

[ohartenstein23]

I agree range is important - otherwise the sheet shows things like the lancer missiles as basically useless, even though they make for perfectly safe interceptions against nonmililtary targets.  I just don't have the data for approach times.  Where's the best place to look that up, or is it up to experiment?

Edit:  Looking closer at https://ufopaedia.org (https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php/Craft_Combat_Mechanics), the approach speed for all craft is 0.5 km/s, starting from a standoff range of 70 km.  Are these the numbers you use in your calculations?

[Dioxine]

It's in the in-game Bootypedia as well (article '#012'), and no, this number is incorrect. It was true for the OG, and initially for OXC as well, but then Warboy for some unknown reason lowered all the speeds in the air battle by half. Therefore approach speed in OXC (and thus in Piratez as well) is .25 km/sec. Standoff range is unchanged (70 km).

[Solarius Scorch]

AFAIR the change was to unify two different Geoscape counters, so the game only needs to check one for both things.

[ohartenstein23]

Ah okay, that's good to know.  I don't remember if I've unlocked #012 in my playthrough yet.  Planning on updating the DPS calculations with the range and the weapons damage 50%-100% spread.

Edit:  Updated and made the color scale for ranking DPS more clear.

[ohartenstein23]

I just found out how to use some of the database functions and how to import data from https://ufopaedia.org tables into the spreadsheet - which means I have easy access to the data for practically all the shippings!  Expect a new set of calculations for kill modelling based on enemy shipping vs. your lead interceptor at some point.

[Dioxine]

It's quite helpful - I've already buffed the Ramjet based on your calculations And the Plasma Beam is waay OP (although perhaps it's how it's supposed to be).

[ohartenstein23]

I'm glad it's helpful!  I hope that by doing damage models on a per-shipping basis, we'll have more information on how the weapons are doing in specific roles.  For example, I considered using the Ramjet as a beyond-enemy-range weapon for early interceptions with the Bonny, but I felt it did too little for the price, and the ships it could take down were just as easily downed with looted Gauss cannons and a few hours'/days' repair time on a HK/Predator.

[Dioxine]

Ramjet has a good range advantage, but the DPS and total payload are so crappy they effectively nullify it. Especially considering how costly the Ramjet is.

[ohartenstein23]

That low total payload and cost were what turned me off of the Ramjet, and once you hit Lancer missiles, I don't really see any reason to use it.  Although, I guess that's the point of it being an early interception weapon on the black market - best of a few crappy choices, fence it once you can start producing better stuff.

By the way, I love the Naval Gun on the Swordfish for brutalizing nonmilitary targets - I know missiles and light cannons are a better and more economical choice, but there's something satisfying about mounting an a WWII-era battleship Abrams tank cannon on an interceptor and slamming UFOs with 120 mm shells.

Edit:  Got my cannon sizes mixed up, thanks for noticing my mistake legionof1