Re: Real Space Combat Help: railguns

> This is not to say the rail guns are a
>bad idea, just far more effective at close range.

Well, that goes for just about any weapon operating in Space.;-)
As far as Stealth vs. Cloaking the RAM on the Rail rounds serve to 
minimize the radar return until it's too late to effectively maneuver 
away. Also, if my understanding of railguns in a non-atmospheric 
setting is correct, There is little if any IR flare at 
launch(probably less waste heat than the launching vessel) There is 
no such thing as a perfect weapon (sob!) With lasers you spritz 
aerosol and roll ship to spread the heat energy, with Particle beams 
you use Sandcasters and ablative armor, with missiles you shoot 'em 
down and Jam-Jam-Jam. nukes lose their Shockwave in space so their 
effectiveness is severely hampered (after all even now almost every 
bit of sophisticated military equipment is EMP hardened) Bomb pumped 
laser missiles are nifty but can suffer from the drawbacks of 
Missiles AND lasers. I think the reason I like the "stealthy thrown 
rock" weapon boils down to personal taste. I like a hard kill. An 
impact from a fractional C penetrator would be measured in miilions 
of Joules of energy. Even a graze would impart a staggering amount of 
structural damage to a target-possibly distorting the hull bracings 
(assuming you aren't using cast hulls;-)) and causing shock damage to 
secondary systems throughout the target vessel as well as slapping 
them off course. 
An interesting read on space combat can be read in 
Larry Niven's "Protector" book where Brennan duels the Pak scouts. 
He actually kills the scouts with copper jacketed slugs from a rifle. 
(OK a Slight stretch but well worth the read) Lasers figure 
prominently in the battle and take days and days to be effective (it 
is an STL battle over the course of several months)
Mike Wikan
Game Design\Conceptual Art
n-Space, Inc.
A Producer of 3D Entertainment Products