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Needle

>> Because of updates, this blueprint is "misbehaving". It will twist violently when pasted. I will wait for a more stable build before attempting to fix it <<

Needle is a submarine-like long range mobile grav-gun. Its intended targets are carriers, supply bases and other large objects. Some of the Needle’s advanced smart-ammo can pierce grav shields and cut through flak to deliver massive damage.

Although this is a large-small ship combo, it can be built in survival by constructing the gravity generator with an advanced rotor first and attaching the small grid part next. Ammo pellets are built around space balls so they don't require reactors and uranium, and they impact with a cool 5-ton hit + the explosives.

Grav-based projectiles can normally be countered with a screen of gatling fire or gravity shields but the Needle delivers a salvo of 4 different types of ammo – starting with decoys to draw out the fire and special grav-shield piercing ammo, along with regular and high explosive pellets.

It also has rocket-launchers for taking out defenseless targets of opportunity. To make it less powerful, it is relatively slow and handles like a larger ship (which I think adds to the immersion).

Continuing with the small, yet somewhat complicated builds I’ve come up with this miniature gravity-gun. I hope some of the solutions will inspire your future builds.

Needle’s pilot manual:

Press 1 to deploy the “arms”. Green light will blink in the cockpit when all the rotors are safely locked.
Aim with the zooming camera.

Press 2 to release a complete salvo of projectiles. You can slightly adjust the trajectory of the pellets in the first 150 meters. Make sure you have a lot of distance from the target, as the Needle will accelerate to release the projectiles at maximum speed.

To re-arm it, spawn fresh rotor heads and build whatever kind of ammo you want.

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“She nodded, tired but obviously satisfied: “Anything inside a thousand meter radius will be ignored, but everything beyond that will be targeted by automated turrets from a shared defense network. We have two volunteer patrols beyond the perimeter, searching for new probes sent this way. There will be no more sucker-punches. We just need to watch out for long range kinetic torpedoes. That’s why I suggested regularly altering our course, despite the fuel cost.”

“But aren’t kinetic torpedoes banned by all conventions of war?”

She gave him a cold smile: “Conventions are set by wars, not the other way around.”

From the novel: “Janitors of the Late Space Age”


I’ve written a science fiction novel titled: "Janitors of the Late Space Age" inspired by Space Engineers. This here would be one of the new, high-tech Ceran bathyscaphes that I’ve re-created. If you are looking for something to read - you can get it from Amazon as an electronic book or paperback.

www.amazon.com/Janitors-Late-Space-Age-Engineers-ebook/dp/B072RJKXNX/