Mostly want this idea out of my head.
Basically...thinking of a heavy chaingun....and well, the Hotchkiss fits the role if you were to ask me. These were 42mm guns (though there were some that went to 76mm, but I think those were more of a field cannon), long range (Up to 1,800m), five barrels, and fired at roughly 47 rounds per minute.
What I am thinking is something to support the Typhoon, a lot like how the chaingun supports the Flak. As for balance issues, I do have a few ideas. These are just balance issue Ideas that can be used, not all the cons of what I have in mind...basically I have in mind a pairing of the two following:
Spread: Frankly, I don't think it should spread much, but if needed, at least 60% of rounds fired should hit at max range.
Fire rate: Rather slow...maybe a tad faster than the typhoon...or even the original 47 rounds per minute.
Falloff Damage: Basically, a reverse arming rate. In other words, the farther it goes, the weaker it is. Enough to kinda have the typhoons deal damage, but not enough so you can just sit on the Hotchkiss with heavy clips and cripple them quickly. This is also a pro as the closer they are, the Hotchkiss helps the now weakened Typhoon / Lumberjack. This way, on a Typhoon + Hotchkiss + Mercury broadside of the Galleon...it would still be hard pressed to snipe and destroy...but not impossible.
Reload time: I would like to see something like this fully support the Typhoon...as in the reload time should be a bit faster than how long it takes to fire off and reload the Typhoon....but slow enough that if on a Galleon, the two gunners should be in communication to support each other when to fire the Typhoon or Hotchkiss.
As for the pros, it's basically a stronger, more accurate chaingun. The range I see is as far as the Typhoon.
Damage is not something I can calculate...I play Engineer most of the time and when I'm a gunner...I basically shoot until they explode...so what I have in mind are the following (but not all, again)
Range: Shoots just as far as the Typhoon.
Rotation: Since it's a support-type (or at least in my mind,) it should have some decent rotation for when ships get too close.
Damage: Probably a tad stronger than the chaingun. Enough to help the weaked Typhoon / Lumberjack for close range combat, but not enough for it to make these combos over powered. What I have in mind is that if they get too close for the Typhoon, the full Hotchkiss clip + Typhoon should be enough to take out the armour, and deal roughly 10% to the hull...maybe more, but not enough to replace the close range heavy guns.
Frankly, my ideas aren't set in stone, and I know anyone who has read this probably knows more than me in design, balance, engineering (Iunno,) and so on...and we could come up with something....
