SparqBeam Sidearm
System Shock's first energy gun, and the weapon that teaches you about heat.
The SparqBeam Sidearm is the first energy weapon the Hacker finds in System Shock. It never needs ammunition: it is recharged from the energy supply, any number of times, which makes it valuable in the early game.
Quick Facts
- Game
- System Shock (1994); remake version TB-05
- Type
- Energy sidearm
- Power
- Rechargeable; no ammunition
- Mechanic
- Heat builds with power setting; overheats and shuts down to cool
- Inspired by
- Star Trek phasers
Facts from the source article.
Background
Its power output is set in a multi-function display, and the same rules apply to every later energy weapon: low settings do little damage but build up little heat, high settings the reverse, and when enough heat builds up the weapon shuts down to cool, which can leave the player stuck mid-fight. The Overload setting fires a single massive blast that instantly maxes out the heat meter and must be re-enabled after each shot. Set to its lowest output it can also clear away corpses and robot wrecks for almost no energy. Its design was inspired by the phasers of Star Trek, and the remake's version is the TB-05 SparqBeam, whose cooling mod shortens the overcharge cool-down.
Source
Text adapted from SparqBeam Sidearm on the System Shock Wiki (Fandom, CC BY-SA 3.0). Page history: contributors. Codexery summarised the page, and this entry is shared under the same licence.
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