Viewing the 3x3 3D tetris from the side, in the middle there is a vertical tower of 6-way connectors. In lieu of that, here is an attempt at an explanation. Images of each setup may be added at some point prior to the heat death of the universe. 7x7 has 4 connector stacks and can therefore do a dual or quadruple setup, while the 9x9 has 9 stacks and should almost always be for a triple turret. Due to the number of connector stacks, 3x3 turrets can really only use 1 firing piece, 5x5 turrets can use 2 with the 2D tetris, but the 3D tetris works best with just 1 barrel. For a 3m or 5m wide turret area, a 3D tetris reigns supreme, but for anything larger a 2D tetris works just fine. There is an ideal tetris for each interior diameter. Broadside cannons work well on traditional sailing ship designs and as a supplement to larger ships, though turrets are usually superior. Bombs and mortars typically benefit the most from an altitude fuse, while it is better for conventional cannons to use a timed fuse instead. The setups which work best for hard-mounts are CRAM bombs (using the bomb chute and mounted to an aircraft, facing down), mortars (use the high firing angle setting and probably add a limit to speed, facing upward), and either broadside or forward-mounted (works best on an aircraft or other forward-broadsider). hard-mounted guns have the advantage of being easier to armor and harder to destroy, though they suffer greatly due to the fact they are harder to bring to bear on an enemy. For this it is recommended to forgo the elevation barrel as that limits horizontal traverse. Few faction designs have deck guns, with most that do being DWG ships with the deck guns as small broadside weapons.ĬRAM cannons can also be hard-mounted (not on a turret). The fact that the entire system is exposed means that more armor is needed. Deck guns are necessarily smaller than their in-hull counterparts, and are typically viewed as worse due to how large they must get to fit many components. For multiple barrel turrets, make sure that 6-way connectors and gauge increasers (and ideally ammo boxes, too) from different firing pieces don't touch (you can use the 4-connection gauge corners to help you prevent unintended connections), otherwise one piece can end up with all the parts.įor deck guns (turrets which don't extend below the deck) you may disregard everything but the last sentence above. The gauge components are often in the cap because they are more durable than pellets, and the irregular shape of the cap can be more easily filled with them. Most cannons should at least have an inertial fuse and timed fuse. The fusing box and laser targeter can go anywhere (if you choose to use them), but near the firing piece is typical.
For the barrel, a good setup is half motor driven barrels, around a quarter recoil absorbing, and about a quarter normal (depends on ship size and CRAM gauge normal + recoil should be equal to motor driven), then an elevation barrel on the end (or beginning). The final part is the turret cap, where the firing pieces, barrels, and typically most of the gauge increasers are. The connector columns are then joined together before going into the neck, where spare space can be filled with armor and gauge increasers.
Multiple of these columns can be arranged so that each pellet has 4 connections, the most without a more advanced 3D "tetris". This section is typically composed of horizontal "slices", where vertical columns of 6-way connectors are surrounded by autoloaders, which in turn are surrounded with pellets and ammo boxes. Most of the components, especially auto loaders, pellets, and ammo boxes, are stored in the underneath section. Typical CRAM cannons (not deck guns, see next paragraph) are designed with a large cylindrical section under the deck, connected through a narrower neck to a turret cap / gunhouse.