Ahh nice. It is interesting to think about how they will make the combat because they could do anything. Like you could let everyone have a selection of weapons and it could end up like Quake3 in space. If someone is coming right at you, switch to rail gun and snipe them. If they are flying through asteroids you use a rocket or something to do splash damage. If they are dodging you use a lazer blast type thing or shrapnel to blast the area they are flying into etc.
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ps. I also have my fingers crossed that there is some 'late game' that changes things up. So after you become really rich you can stop being just a pilot and end up with a huge capital ship like the starship Enterprise or Battlestar Galactica or something, and it is too big and slow to get into dogfights but it can launch its own little fights and it can do some big tactical strikes on some targets.
There are currently weapon groups - you can mix your loadout with energy vs ballistic vs disruptor arms. Weapons are currently in a state of balance flux, and this changes almost every patch.
The idea is that big mass drivers that fire slowly will have a very high damage rate to offset their slow firing.
Energy weapons have unlimited ammo (until you overheat / drain ship energy) but have higher rates of fire and generally only damage the hull after you have downed the shields.
Ballistic weapons can penetrate shields to a certain degree and cause hull damage before the shields are down - - but are limited because of ammo storage.
Disruptor weapons don't physically damage the ship, but damage systems in an attempt to disable the vessel (think bounty hunters and pirates here).
There are also certain ships that can be outfitted with e-warfare weapons and defenses. Here's a nice write-up from CIG on their plans:
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14926-Design-Notes-Electronic-Warfare
So yes, as the game moves along, you'll see more tactical components used, and the importance of a crew in big ships controlling shields / energy and even performing repairs as the ship is under attack.
That said, dogfighting with pewpew will always be a big part of the game, especially when using the single-seat fighters designed for just that. A lot of it boils down to what kind of role you want to play.
FWIW...I believe right now the Javelin is the biggest ship available to players. There will be a Bengal carrier (or Bagel carrier, as it is affectionately referred to) that will not be purchasable, but I believe there will be an abandoned one floating around out there that can be discovered and taken over.
Here's a write-up on the Jav:
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/14335-Introducing-The-Javelin-Destroyer
If peace and exploration are more your thing, the Endeavor and Carrack are large vessels that better fit that role, but they aren't nearly capital-ship sized.