Nova Cannons Compared: Infinite Space vs. Warhammer 40,000
Throughout the Infinite Space trilogy of sci-fi roguelikes, there has never been a weapon more feared than the infamous Nova Cannon. It is a standard fitment on the Yellow Kawangi Dreadnought, and is normally unattainable during normal gameplay, unless the player acquires a Timeless Bauble and uses it to create said cannon. When fitted to a capital ship, it becomes the most useful weapon in the game bar none - a single direct hit can destroy any ship outright unless it has enough armor and shielding. It also has a high muzzle velocity and a very long range that is exceeded only by the Cobalt Torpedo Tube and Multi-Missile Launcher, neither of which are as expensive or powerful.
Its only drawbacks are its lack of homing capabilities, a slow fire rate and immense cost (750 Terran credits), although the first two of these can be mitigated somewhat by combining the cannon with an advanced targeting computer such as the Sardion Optimizer. Also, the game does not treat it as a dedicated anti-capital ship weapon, and can therefore automatically target fighters - this is actually a hindrance for the cannon, given that this was not a role for which the weapon has been designed. As a workaround, you can target capital ships manually to prevent this from happening.
Behold the almighty Nova Cannon - a slow-firing and expensive but extremely powerful anti-capital ship weapon.
If the Nova Cannon seems familiar to you, that's because the popular tabletop game Warhammer 40,000 has a weapon with the exact same name. According to W40K lore, it is one of the most powerful capital ship weapons ever to have been conceived by the Imperium of Man. However, like its Infinite Space counterpart, it is inaccurate and must be aimed carefully to ensure a successful hit. Nevertheless, it can still destroy weaker ships with a single direct hit.
Unlike its namesake from the Infinite Space trilogy, the W40K Nova Cannon comes in three major variants. The Mars Pattern is the simplest; it fires what is basically a very large high-explosive shell. The Ryza Pattern replaces the standard warhead with a an even more powerful (and unstable) plasma warhead of immense size. Finally, the Jovian Pattern utilizes exotic vortex warheads that open a rift into the Warp, capable of splitting even the largest vessels in two; however, such ammunition is even more volatile than that which is found in other Nova Cannon variants, thus making the weapon more susceptible to battle damage. It is worth noting that unlike in earlier games (or W40K, for that matter), it is impossible to completely destroy a Nova Cannon in Sea of Stars, although it can be temporarily disabled, thereby preventing it from firing.
On the subject of ammunition, Nova Cannons in W40K can also be loaded with electromagnetic shells that jam enemy communications upon detonation, gravitic shells that implode to create miniature black holes that suck in anything and everything in the vicinity, or Doppler shells that expose the locations of enemy ships by releasing gravimetric waves. The Infinite Space counterpart, on the other hand, carries only one type of ammunition and is mainly an anti-capital ship weapon - one that is far more useful in that role than anything else the entire series has ever had to offer.
Infinite Space lore shows that any capital ship (i.e. any vessel larger than a fighter) can be fitted with a Nova Cannon as long as it has one non-structural turret capable of mounting a heavy weapon - the only capital ships incompatible with this immense weapon belong to the Calatians, Tchorak or Ravians. The former simply do not field any capital ships with large hardpoints; the latter two use integral weapons (which are built into their ships' superstructures) that cannot be replaced. In Warhammer 40,000, however, only six of the Imperium of Man's ship classes are fitted with Nova Cannons: the Victory and Apocalypse class battleships, Mars and Mercury class battlecruisers, Dominator class cruisers, and the Adeptus Mechanicus' Arks Mechanicus.
Above, left to right: A Terran destroyer, frigate, corvette and scout each armed with a Nova Cannon. Below: A Terran frigate just after destroying one Tan Ru Decimator with its Nova Cannon, and is now attacking the other Decimator with its dual Tachyon Ray Guns.
Just to avoid a potential point of confusion, the Nova Cannon is not the same as the Nova Bomb from X-Com: Interceptor, which is a highly specialized (and enormously expensive) missile capable of destroying a star system with a single direct hit - something that neither of the Nova Cannons can do (the Yellow Kawangi have a different, unnamed device for that purpose, but there is no way for the player to obtain or use it). The Nova Bomb even shares its name (and capability) with a superweapon from the Halo franchise - but a detailed discussion of Nova Bombs is best left for another time and post, if I ever choose to delve any deeper into that matter.
Having compared the Nova Cannons of Infinite Space and Warhammer 40K, there is one question left to answer: which version of the W40K weapon is most similar to its namesake? Judging by the characteristics of the Infinite Space version, it most closely resembles W40K's plasma-based Ryza Pattern Nova Cannon. This is evident in the flavor text, which states that it fires a highly powerful neutronium pod which detonates on impact with an extremely high yield equivalent to a thermonuclear warhead - in fact, earlier games stated that the yield was much larger, similar to thousands of such warheads going off at once. This also provides an explanation of why it is utterly unmatched for damage per shot, as I have stated earlier here - in fact, a direct hit against a small ship with little or no shielding tends to be overkill.
Above, from top: In an epic battle sequence worthy of Warhammer 40,000, a relatively tiny Terran Scout, armed with a Nova Cannon and turned into a dedicated anti-capital ship artillery platform, repeatedly bombards a gigantic and well-protected Yellow Kawangi dreadnought until it is completely destroyed, leaving behind an enormous explosion.
In short, there is little in the Infinite Space trilogy that can match the destructive potential of a Nova Cannon. The only items that are more powerful (as far as I am aware) are the Chromium Gong and Limited Vacuum Collapser, but the former can only be used between one and three times before shattering and becoming unusable, and the latter cannot be used more than once (as well as carrying the additional risk of annihilating its user upon detonation unless he/she is out of range). A Nova Cannon, on the other hand, can be fired as many times in combat as its user wants as long as it remains functional, just like any other ship-mounted weapon. Combine the sheer brute force it can deliver with the stealth factor of a Plasma Coil Cloaker, and you have the cheesiest (but most effective) battle strategy on your hands.
Above, from top: The Nova Cannon is not without its disadvantages, but it can quickly turn the tide of a battle if used correctly.
