Okay, I've been having a lot of thoughts about this guy and I've made my decision. Assuming by looking at the thin-ish horizontal profile and the need for massive turning rudders, I'm going to say this thing moves forward alright but turns like a slug. I really, really, really think the front lower guns should be heavy mounts.
Let me explain:
Two heavy weapons faced forward on the front of this ship and one light weapon will give this thing the same profile as the port-side of a galleon, but the Ray will be able to approach and retreat with this side. This is something that has not been addressed yet in GoI and, if applied, will give the Ray a very important niche in the current meta: addressing the balance issues and fusses posed by heavily dug-in and skilled sniper builds without moving to have those builds nerfed... so as not to piss off the most devoted players =P Keep snipes viable, but throw in a new contender to counter that tactic. Encamped snipers won't want to tangle with a double-heavy front end that's on the approach, forcing them to stay mobile instead of outgun it. This should mix things up a little, and give the paddling a run for their money :9
Two heavies will also give light, mobile ships more of a chance to dodge the fire off the front of this thing. Drop this thing into ambush mode with gat-flak trifecta at the front it's just going to be the same awkward 5-second fight every time you encounter one.
The long reload times of heavy weapons will give gunners a chance to repair connected turn engines since the captain will likely be phoenix clawing *nonstop* with this ship, and new players will be encouraged to hop off the gun for a moment and fix things. Also, wouldn't this thing look ****ing awesome with two hwachas at the front? You bet.
The smaller turn radii of heavy weapons will also keep people dissuaded from going for the awkward and dreaded quadfecta... I mean, come on.
A tunnel connecting all the front guns seems necessary for switching guns between two dedicated gunners and one engi, allowing gunners to slide left or right if well organized in response to ships trying to flank. The ship will have a very interesting meta of "SLIDE STARBOARD" for ships approaching on the right. I would also keep the hull somewhere close to that top gun, where the main engi will likely stay, so he has the same sort of setup as the front man on the junker.
And I'll be honest, I have NO idea where the balloon on this thing would be, but I imagine the hull being within that covered part at the top, with maybe a hatch leading down to it from up there. The balloon seems very well-protected from above (vs lumberjack and carronade) so I imagine the balloon off in no-man's land somewhere. So any ship sneaking underneath to hit the balloon will really catch this guy off-guard and move one of the gunners away from offense, which could be a good balance feature. I imagine this beast having a really strong core hull.
What do you guys think?
