Hello everyone! Welcome back to Blueprints, where I explain some of the design decisions of Aerostrike. In this issue, I return to the Armory to go a little further in-depth with the Aerostrike's weapons.

Most things in Aerostrike are designed with a tangible purpose in mind. The weapons scattered around the base are no exception. They each have a general use in mind, something they will excel at and foes they will be strong against. Additionally, they also have a varying set of behaviors that separate them from each other. Each one has a specific effective distance, firing rate, accuracy rating, and some even behave in an entirely unique way. So let's see how some of them work.

Let's take a look at the first weapon in the game, the 23mm Cannon. Its main purpose is to deal with ship hulls and armor, specializing in the latter. It also fires fairly quickly, and its projectiles are accurate and fast. This makes it pretty easy to use at medium range, where most battles will take place, allowing newer players to familiarize themselves with combat. However, it is ineffective against shields, so another weapon will be required for that job. That weapon is the Energy Cannon. This one is uniquely designed to remove these protective barriers from foes. However, its large projectiles are also slow. It struggles to hit agile opponents at a distance, requiring better aim or getting closer.

Now for an entirely different kind of weapon, the Laser Beam. Unlike the previous two projectile-based cannons, the Laser Beam works as a hit-scan weapon. This means it hits anything in front of it instantly, only requiring pointing at whatever should be destroyed, making it effective at longer distances. It also has a unique mechanic of increasing its own damage after sustained fire, rewarding careful timing and precision. It is extremely deadly to smaller foes, but it has a harder time with shields, and is highly ineffective against armor.  It has to be combined with the Energy Cannon and the 23mm Cannon to deal with those threats.

Through this distribution of strengths and weaknesses, a system that rewards pilots for learning what their equipment can do and exploiting it in the field of battle is created. However, some of these weapons do more than just shooting other ships, right? What about non-combat uses? Join me next issue to find out. Stay safe, Pilots!

As an extra note, I wanted to thank a friend that helped me get the balance of weapons right. I only knew him as Xatheon, and he gave me... rather harshly-worded feedback on the general feel of the combat. Needless to say, the game wouldn't quite be where it is now if it wasn't for him, so thank you, wherever you may be now.