Phaser Array Firing Range
- Thread starter N1N
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To vaporize Rock planet side and to destroy a probe.
But when VFX budget allowed, it can fire more than one beam at a time!
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When destroying the probe the dialogue and FX point to a single beam at "full power" and still a single beam for max or "above full power" settings.
As I also pointed out earlier, Galaxy-class ships can fire up to 3 beams at once in combat which in all likelihood add up to the "above full power" example with each beam equaling a "full power" shot. To think of it another way:
"Full Power" Phaser beam = 100 units of phaser energy (eps)
"Above Full Power" Phaser beam = 300 units of phaser energy (eps)
So you can fire 3 "Full Power" beams at a time. If you could fire more than that at full power at the same time we would've seen a Galaxy-class do it during the Dominion War or on Picard, no?
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The only other time we see the Galaxy Class or any other ship fire more than 3x at one time to my recollection is when it faces The Massive Borg Cube hiding in Jupiter or the Borgified StarFleet armada.
I believe it's more than capable of doing so, but the issue are targets available that warrants that many beams.
The Titan-A definitely fired more than 3x beams simultaneously at various targets.
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You can slow-mo through the E-D vs Borg hiding in Jupiter battle and see the E-D never fires more than 3 beams at once. It looks more like in this case they fire a max of 2 beams at once...
The Titan-A's strafing run seem to show 3 beams at once as a max. Do you have any video or screenshot of 4 or more beams at once?
I've only seen 2x at once in that scene.
In the Titan-A strafing run, it shows that it fires 4 beams simultaneously while flying through the swarm of StarFleet ships, just go frame by frame, you'll see it.
There is one part where it looks a beam is coming from the top of the engineering hull but if you watch it a while it is actually a background beam from something else. Do you have a rough range in time where you see the 4x?
Edit: Found it...at 15s there are at least 4 from the saucer's dorsal emitters and 2 from the ventral emitters... That is a record 6 simultaneous beams!
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Realistically, the # of Beams is mostly limited by:
1) VFX Time / Budget
2) # of targets available that can be hit by one of the Phaser Array's / Turrets. (It was also a "Target Rich" environment where they want to disable as many ships as possible)
3) Power available at the moment to use.
There are power limits, but given that the Titan-A wasn't going at Warp Speeds, there should be "Plenty of Energy" available to shunt to Shields/Weapons/Impulse Drive.
I really want future Star Trek Productions to create a "With-In UnReal Engine" or some other high end Graphical Engine; a Updated StarShip Combat/Scenario Simulator that can manage everything in real time so that VFX battles can be largely automated w/o much work from the Artists.
Ergo no more "Future VFX Artist Mistakes" and perfectly accurate/realistic space battles where the only job of the Artists is picking out the Camera Angles and compositing Side-By-Side shots or jump cuts from Source to Target.
Also Realistic Ship Scale & Distances with Electronically enhanced Zoom shots so you can see the speck on screen & zoom in a floating Picture-In-Picture window to show what does your target look like at long range & zoomed in.
This Digital Simulator Production by the VFX / Engine team can make assets that can be re-used in games and other shows. This would save on long term production costs.
Kind of like how Babylon 5 was ahead of it's time, it's time for Star Trek to have it's own updated Space Sim Engine.
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I find this discussion fascinating, but I do have a bit of a tangential question: Why haven't we seen anyone other than the Federation using phaser strips? It can't be a technology level thing, because they've encountered many species/groups that are more advanced than them. I'd imagine because [tech reasons] that disruptors can't be used in such a way, but that doesn't explain everyone.
It's probably more of a "PITA (Pain in the Ass)" to maintain / repair compared to other weapon systems.
Phaser Arrays are embedded into the hull and mounted on the outside of the ship, that requires small worker droids, a person in EV Suit, or WorkBees to go outside to service.
Most Disruptor Based system seems simpler to maintain or are easier to access with much of the equipment mounted inside the hull or easily service-able hanging outside.
Phaser Arrays seems more complicated in terms of technological design, and seems more deeply integrated into the core structure of the ship.
If you look at the schematics in the ST:TNG Technical Manual, each Phaser Array Emitter Unit is "Highly Complex" in design and deeply integrated with a complicated EPS Manifold that passes by it.
A simple Plasma Disruptor like the ones we see on a Klingon Bird of Prey looks like a "Far Simpler" Weapons Platform than the Phaser Array system in terms of Maintenance & Servicing.
StarFleet & the Federation prefers a flexible programmable tool like the Phaser.
Klingons wants simple, reliable, proven weapon systems that do high damage.
Plasma based Disruptors are tried & true. Ain't broke, don't fix it.
Hell, we saw Farmers on Earth with Plasma Long Guns in ST:ENT in the first episode of the series, so I'm sure civilians on Earth still use Plasma based Disruptor weapons, but it might not be the only option in terms of DEW's (Directed Energy Weapons) given how many types seem to exist.
Wholeheartedly agree with this. The technology is available now to the point you could simulate the battle and look good enough to air in an episode. Of course that could open up a whole can of worms regarding all the technobabble exploits that have appeared over the years and shorten battles to just a few minutes instead of lasting a good chunk of an episode
It could be due to some limitations with phaser strips that are not apparent in other designs. If you look at the Titan-A from Picard she has both the phaser ball turrets as well as phaser strips. Why she has both is anyone's guess.
The other possibility is that the Federation never licensed the usage of phaser array technology to others
Don't worry bro, I've got that solved.
The StarFleet in my 26th Century has Multi-Layer Regenerative Shields, Ablative Hull Armor, & Ablative Hull Armor Generator with Quick Shield Regen on each of the many Shields
When a Shield layer is turned off and allowed to quick recharge, it can be back up to 100% in ~1 minute. While the other independent shield systemss are activated to take it's place.
You can thank the Nova Class from ST:VOY for that feature.
And yes, we have "Multiple Reactors" to power each StarShip.
I'll basically turn StarShip battles with "Neer Peer" adversaries into a Pro Wrestling like Long match with Naruto like StarShip Ninjitsu where you see StarShips teleporting locally thanks to "Automated Spore Drives".
And doing quick programmable Micro Warp Jumps that allows superior FTL movement in the Battle Field to allow quick repositioning.
Space Battles will be "All Ranges" with a focus on "Long Range" and Maximizing Damage & Minimizing Loss on our side.
Even 1x basic StarFleet StarShip would be able to handle the swarm that we see in "ST: Beyond" w/o much issue if given time to prepare and have a running battle where they kite the swarm and whittle them down.
And every StarShip will carry Shuttles, StarFighters, Attack Bits, and Droids & Drones.
It's going to be a glorious Sci-Fi Smorgasbord of stuff.
If it was me, I think the age of StarFighters / Attack Shuttles are becoming more dominant in the "Post Dominion War" era.
Lots of small ships can easily swarm a bigger ship, Ball Turrets might be "Enough Fire Power" to take down StarFighters, Shuttles, Remote Controlled Drones.
The main Phaser Strips can be focused on taking out larger more important targets like opposing StarShips.
In my Head Cannon, a single Ball Turret has more Energy Output than one single Emitter in the Phaser Sarray, but combined, the Phaser Array can easily scale past the Ball Turret.
The nice thing about the Ball Turret is that they do more than enough DPS to make taking out Small Craft a "Huge Priority" and make sure they don't get too close or survive long enough to be a threat.
Once either the Ball Turret or Phaser Array's are done with their primary targets, they can join the other weapon systems to help.
In my head cannon, StarFleet designed weaponry isn't allowed for Civilian Use.
That doesn't mean that Civilians aren't equally armed, they just have to use Commercially made equipment while StarFleet designs in-house their own equipment.
StarFleet has a "Eternal Patent / Copy Right" on their tech while civilians have to use their own civilian designed equipment
Ergo, Civilian StarShips will use their own equivalent weaponry that has their own design language and tech.
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Remember that Starfleet is an organisation that mainly uses its technology as a tool whose primary mission is exploration, discovery and defence of the Federation.
Disruptors, etc. are more straightforward (and potentially a bit more powerful), so they also make sense to be used by more aggressive species like the Klingons, Romulans and Cardassians.
So, Starfleet wants versatility when it comes to weapons systems and coverage, and being able to use them as surgical precision tools if need be, while other species would likely be less inclined to do that.
Remember the Phaser Turret that Gul Dukat had setup as a trap in DS9.
Now imagine if every "Hallway" / "Common Room" had the Room Corners + Center Ceiling units filled with these Auto-Turrets the size of a Nintendo Game Cube.
Each one with "Independent Power Sources / Shields / Sensors / Communications" designed to defend the location it's at.
This would make life hell for illegal intruders.
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