This is sort of an evolution of the Lightning Mine we already have in the game. Instead of a close range instant-hit lightning weapon, this mine is equipped with a Neutron Blaster MkIII. The tradeoff is a weapon that can miss or be dodged for a larger effective range. (~500m radius versus 100m radius)

Name: Neutron Point-Defense Mine Launcher
Damage: 600 per shot, 1800 from self-destruct explosion
Fire delay: 0.5s
Quantity: 6
Mass: 2800kg
Detonation: contact
Lifetime: 900s
Power Cell Energy: 800
Self-destructs when power cell is dead

Could be a bit more useful at deterring Hive bots when mining in bot sectors than the current lightning mines are (the bots shoot the mines before they ever get close enough to be zapped)

+1

+1

Energy per shot for the powercell? Same as the Neut3, or perhaps less?

I like this idea. +1

Not a bad idea. Lots of applications beyond just protecting miners. +1

+1...

+1... however, I believe all mines should be persistent. Only way mines will ever be worth anything isif they are persistent.

"+1... however, I believe all mines should be persistent. Only way mines will ever be worth anything isif they are persistent."

Totally fucking awesome.

+1... however, I believe all mines should be persistent. Only way mines will ever be worth anything isif they are persistent.
I disagree. The only way mines will ever be worth anything is when they become group-aware. That will make them tactically relevant in a multiplayer situation.

This would be a fun new mine though.

Well since that last post, mines have become both group-aware and persistent!

How hard would it be to do this based off the Lightning Mine?

+1

Aye I agree this is an awesome idea now that they won't just attack everyone.

+1

While I like the concept, Incarnate has already stated in the past that even Teradons can cause problems due to the high number of turrets they have and the rate of fire from those turrets. I can only imagine 42+ of these things causing even more problems.

We did some optimization recently to try and reduce that, but yeah, a huge number of shots coming out would be bad.

But, more fundamentally, I can't just make a "mine" that does this. What you're talking about is really a specialized NPC, much like the existing turrets that guard stations and borders. While at first glance a "lightning mine" and a "neutron mine" might seem logically similar, the lightning mines are a specialized codepath that has no actual aiming.. it's just a range check and two endpoints. What you're asking for is something able to track, aim, predict, and fire a projectile on an enemy.. that's real AI, and that's an NPC.

Giving the player the ability to spawn "turrets" (and repair them, and so on) is definitely on our radar, but I wasn't slating it for the immediate future. More of something in-line with defending conquered territory and player-owned stations and stuff.

But, there might be a bit of a fast-path to make it happen. On the flipside, NPCs are inherently persistent.

While at first glance a "lightning mine" and a "neutron mine" might seem logically similar, the lightning mines are a specialized codepath that has no actual aiming.. it's just a range check and two endpoints.

Makes sense.

Any chance of getting the lightning zapper addon as a close-range ship weapon like Parsec's EMP? :)