unit-gamma

Gamma is a light aerial combat unit that continues the series of letter‑named flying ships alongside Alpha and Beta. It was introduced in Version 6.0 and is armed with a rapid dual‑barrel weapon that fires homing projectiles. The Gamma fills a hit‑and‑run harassment role: it has fast, short‑range bullets that home onto targets, making it effective against mobile enemies and lightly armored units but poor for prolonged long‑range engagements due to its limited projectile travel distance.

The Gamma's primary weapon fires two shots per burst (2x 4 shots/sec total as listed), each dealing 11 base damage with about 3 degrees inaccuracy and a homing property. Bullets have a building damage multiplier of 1% (so the effective damage to structures is very low, e.g. 11 → 0.11) and are configured to despawn after traveling 30 tiles, which enforces its short‑reach behavior. The weapon's bullet speed and behavior have seen multiple engine changes across updates: early conversions adjusted reported speed units to tiles/second, and changes in Version 8.0 toggled whether bullet velocity was affected by the unit's own movement; current behavior restores some influence from unit velocity while ensuring bullets despawn after traveling the 30‑tile limit.

Gameplay notes and practical usage:

• Use the Gamma to chase and finish off isolated or fleeing enemies; homing rounds help land shots even with modest aiming.
• Avoid relying on the Gamma for base‑breaking tasks because its building damage is negligible. Instead pair it with heavier units or ground turrets for structure assault.
• The fixed 30‑tile travel limit means damage drops off strongly beyond that range; engage inside that envelope for consistent DPS.
• Because bullets can be affected by the unit's movement in current builds, strafing or reversing while firing may slightly alter projectile trajectories and lifetime in some cases—players reported subtle differences across versions.
• In player‑controlled mode (since Build 129) Gamma can mine sand if the "Double‑tap/click to mine" option is enabled, expanding utility in certain scenarios.
• The Gamma’s visual design echoes earlier discontinued player ship sprites (notably the Glaive from Version 4.0), and like Alpha and Beta it is one of the few units whose projectiles have a fixed maximum travel distance.

Balance and historical notes: range and speed values have been tweaked across updates (range reduced from 31 to 30 blocks in 7.0, speed repointed to tiles/second in later builds), and command limits that once affected it were removed. These changes reflect ongoing adjustments to keep the Gamma’s short‑ranged harassment role distinct from other aerial units.