GTW Morning Star

The GTW ML-70 Morning Star is an unusual weapon, described as a long-range tactical weapon. The long-range aspect is undeniable: at 2km, it outranges ever other gun except the Maxim cannon, and even most missiles. Its high projectile speed and blistering rate of fire allow hits even at its maximum range.

The most interesting part of the Morning Star however, is its kinetic properties. When a target ship is hit by the weapon, it is shaken slightly; with repeated hits, the target can be driven completely off course and will tumble out of control. This can make them easy prey for a follow-up volley of GTM Harpoon or GTM Tornado missiles.

It also has other excelllent properties. Given its range and accuracy, as well as its rate of fire, it makes an ideal weapon to intercept bombers and their warheads. The weapon does high shield damage, but minimal hull damage, making it relatively "safe" to fire at outbound torpedoes even if your shots are being backstopped by a friendly target. It also works well as the opening weapon in a dogfight: if you start hitting your target at the weapon's maximum range, their shields should be badly drained by the time you close to range with other guns or missiles and chew up their armor.

Because the Morning Star does extremely minimal hull damage, it is not a good choice if your craft has only one weapon mount. Pilots should also be aware that this gun has fairly high energy requirements. If your ship has more than two firing cannons for one its mounts, the Morning Star should be mounted on the mount that has fewer firing points. Its already substantial advantages are not increased by firing more than two at once. In theory the Morning Star and Maxim gun perfectly complement eachother, but in practice the energy demand is simply too high to make this a viable tactic.

Weapons in Descent: FreeSpace

Primaries Secondaries Turrets Weapon Comparison Table, FS1

Weapons in FreeSpace 2

Primaries Secondaries Turrets Weapon Comparison Table, FS2

File:Morning Star 320x240.jpg
The GTW ML-70 Morning Star

Tech Room Data

The GTW ML-70 Morning Star improves upon the performance of the Flail gun, which was developed during the Great War. The original Flail was too expensive to mass produce, because of its limited usage/effectiveness profile. Recent advances in high-temperature optics enable the main focusing chamber of the Morning Star to produce a much more coherent beam, increasing its range and damage levels. This comes at the expense of somewhat higher energy requirements, however.

Veteran Comments

The Morning Star is a totally tactical weapon, unlike the GTW Flail, which had a useful shield-damage value in addition to its knock-around capablities. Use it to push folks around, but beyond that, forget it exists.

Use it with a Herc Mk. II. Knock someone around to make them easier for missiles to hit.

I've never found this weapon of much use except where the mission is designed arround its effect (IE: Proving Grounds) in practice while it is an annoying to be hit by (and if under missile fire at the same time, potentialy dangerous), its usually better to mount a more conventional primary, although I could see it being of use in "policing" situations

Performance

Statistics

Range	2000 m
Rate of Fire	6.67 / s
Velocity	1000 mps
Damage	9
Against Hullplating	Poor
Against Shields	Excellent
Against Subsystems	Minimal

Statistics - Morning Star D

Range	2000 m
Rate of Fire	5.88 / s
Velocity	1000 mps
Damage	7
Against Hullplating	Average
Against Shields	Excellent
Against Subsystems	Very Poor