Laser range and power

[Astrobe]

I see a lot of discussion about laser ranges and power in the Re-scaling experiment thread.

I believe the damage should be a function of the hit distance (as a consequence the effective range would be a function of the basic power). AFAIK, IRL the effectiveness of lasers is limited by atmospheric scattering (replace with dusts and other debris in space) and defocusing. Both increase with the distance.

I believe it would be beneficial in three ways:

- winning by targeting a 2X2 pixels surface ain't that fun. According to the opinions in the thread I mention, people do prefer dogfights and CQC. One can better see the beautiful ships and liveries, for one thing.
- lasers with greater ranges won't give a ridiculous advantage any more (I mean, my Elite rating instantly doubled up the day I equipped a military laser).
- it increases survivability in the early game, when they have real lasers and you have a flashlight.

[Norby]

the damage should be a function of the hit distance

I made a laser weapon one month ago which is disspating: the Sapper.
I still would like core support for this as I suggested in this post.