A mass-driver is a device used to accelerate an object. Depending on design, mass-drivers can be used as weapons, mining tools, or delivery systems.
EMD-14 mass driver
“The Mk14 Electromagnetic Mass Driver fires 10 kg projectiles of iron-vanadium alloy at 4500m/s. Its slugs are shaped for ice fracturing, designed to impart shock without overpenetration.”
A cheap, simple, and reliable mining tool, the EMD-14 is the most common mass driver in the rings. It’s effective at cracking ringroids of all sizes, and its precise and powerful shots are highly effective when used offensively. However, its low rate of fire is suboptimal for the hectic combat in the rings, and its high energy output is prone to breaking rocks apart at high velocities.
| Name | Price(k) | Peak Power Draw(MW) | Ammo Consumption(kg) | Velocity(m/s) | RoF(pps) | Penetration | Estimated Kinetic Damage (MJ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMD-14 | 10 | 750 | 10 | 4500 | 2 | 1 | 101.25 |
MPI Railgun
“A railgun relies on direct contact of the projectile with guiding rails to form an electrical circuit, inducing the electromagnetic force which accelerates the projectile. While this simple design offers great velocities and impressive rates of fire, friction lowers the power efficiency and it wears faster than coilguns.”
A less accurate, powerful, and efficient design than other mass drivers, the Railgun more than makes up for its flaws with its high volume of fire, rendering it highly effective at breaking up fragmenting ringroids as well as saturating ships with kinetic fire. Its versatility is unmatched - accept no substitutes.
| Name | Price(k) | Peak Power Draw(MW) | Ammo Consumption(kg) | Velocity(m/s) | RoF(pps) | Penetration | Estimated Kinetic Damage (MJ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPI Railgun | 20 | 800 | 2 | 5000 | 10 | 2 | 112.5 |
AEMD-14 mass driver
“This semi-autonomous variant of the EMD-14 uses sensors to automatically adjust targeting within a narrow arc, to more accurately hit distant targets.”
A modification to the EMD-14, utilizing gimbals to target objects in a manner similar to the CL-200AP Pulse Mining Laser. A useful upgrade to the EMD-14 with minimal downsides, especially when without an autopilot which provides firing solutions.
| Name | Price(k) | Peak Power Draw(MW) | Ammo Consumption(kg) | Velocity(m/s) | RoF(pps) | Penetration | Estimated Kinetic Damage (MJ) | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEMD-14 | 32 | 750 | 10 | 4500 | 2 | 1 | 101.25 | Gimbaled(36 deg/s) |
ERFMD-17 mass driver
“The Mk17 Electromagnetic Rapid Fire Mass Driver rapidly fires 10 kg projectiles of iron-vanadium alloy at 3000m/s. Its slugs are shaped for ice fracturing, designed to impart shock without overpenetration. Reduced peak power allows rapid delivery of new projectiles.”
A modification to the EMD-14 which fires less powerfully, but at a higher rate of fire. Its ammunition consumption is thus considerably higher than typical mass drivers, but remains manageable with increased magazine sizes. Similarly to the Railgun, its high rate of fire makes it effective at quickly breaking large ringroids into ore, but more accurately and at a lower power cost.
| Name | Price(k) | Peak Power Draw(MW) | Ammo Consumption(kg) | Velocity(m/s) | RoF(pps) | Penetration | Estimated Kinetic Damage (MJ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERFMD-17 | 30 | 500 | 10 | 3000 | 5 | 1 | 45 |
Tetsuo HMX-2000I
“The Tetsuo Engineering HMX-2000I Mass Driver is an industrial iron delivery system with unmatched thoroughput. Leveraging proven magnetoplasmadynamic power generation technology from rocket thrusters and combining it with superconducting acceleration coils, it accelerates iron particles up to 2000 m/s, easily delivering over 500kg of material per second. A compatible industrial ammunition delivery system can supplement direct access to processed cargo storage. Unlike traditional mass drivers, the Tetsuo HMX-2000I is powered directly by converting the energy from plasma drawn from the ship’s reactor.”
The Tetsuo is impractical for mining as well as being overkill for most combat purposes. However, its preference for processed iron as ammunition makes it useful for removing low-value iron from the cargo of variable storage ships such as the OCP-209. Consumes less power than typical mass drivers, and projectiles deal mild thermal damage.
| Name | Price(k) | Effective Range(m) | Ammo Consumption(kg) | Velocity (m/s) | RoF(pps) | Power Consumption (MW) | Thermal Consumption (GW) | Estimated Kinetic Damage (MJ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tetsuo HMX-2000I | 160 | 1000 | 10 | 2000 | 50 | 200 | 17.0 | 20 |
NDPT-4205 Point Defense
“A small semi-autonomous ship and station defence railgun capable of fracturing both incoming asteroids and hostile ships. The governing AI will pick targets, adjust aim, coordinate firing solutions across multiple systems and prime the rails. However, humans are still required to pull the trigger and fire, thus circumventing the Sofia Treaty on Sentient and Semi-sentient weaponry provisions.”
Unlocked by working with the Obonto Habitats, this railgun turret can target in an approximately 100 degree cone. Although it’s less powerful than its fixed counterpart, it remains useful as both a mining and combat implement, especially on unwieldy ships, and can be considered a longer range alternative to the PDMWG.
Targeting criteria can be extensively tuned.
| Name | Price(k) | Peak Power Draw(MW) | Ammo Consumption(kg) | Velocity(m/s) | RoF(pps) | Penetration | Estimated Kinetic Damage (MJ) | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NDPT-4205 | 135 | 400 | 2 | 3750 | 5 | 2 | 28.125 | Hidden unlock, point defense targeting (but requires manual firing) |
Notes
- Penetration is a hidden stat that multiplies the damage of a projectile. Because of it, Railgun deals twice the damage expected from its projectile mass and muzzle velocity,