rabidfox wrote:A friend of mine is designing his own naval combat game setting using Starmada rules
So, you want help designing something to compete with Starmada... ?
No no...using the Starmada ruleset, just his own background story. 
I think I understand what you're saying, and I think you might be off in one area...
You cannot disregard the increased effectiveness of the special guns just because the targets might have organic hull, armor plating, or other special defenses -- those defenses will reduce the effectiveness of your 'standard' batteries as well. (Also, I note that your standard battery is range 18, but your special guns are range 15.)
Good point. I hadn't thought of that.
The special abilities for weapons are all determined by their "expected damage" compared to a normal weapon. For example, hull damage occurs 1/2 the time, meaning that it takes two penetrating hits to damage one hull point. Thus, Extra Hull Damage is the equivalent of two extra weapons firing, resulting in a modifier of x3 (technically, that slightly over-values the ability; since a weapon with Extra Hull Damage can only inflict a maximum of 2 hits, it's not quite as effective as a weapon with DMG 3, which would cost the same).
That kinda answers my question a bit.
Note that all these factors are independent of the target -- if the target's shields increase from 4 to 5, that will reduce the damage potential of all weapons by 1/2, regardless of range, to-hit value, or specials.
That only partially true. Specials like Ignores Shields, Halves Shields, and Shield Resonant would be different, but I see what you're saying. I guess my question is a lot more complicated than just a simple yes/no. It's going to be heavily dependent upon what the target is and has.
So, if your chart says Gun 3 does 12 times the hull damage of a standard battery, that will remain true whether the target has Organic Hull or not.
Well the reason I brought up the OH issue, was that if a ship isn't killed outright, there is the potential for hull damage to be repaired. I see that as a loss of effectiveness vs. cost. Sorta like buying 'ignores shields', when you know most people will be running ships with ionic shielding.
Thanks for replying though. Given me a bit more to think about.