Are weapons on ships even usable. I tried attacking an enemy ship from in the same block (I guess thats what you call it) and from 1 block away to 4 blocks away.
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The grass may be greener on the other side, but remember, you have to mow the lawn over there too.
All combat, besides player vs. creature combat, is not implemented yet. I recommend getting a personal weapon, flying down to an empty city square (be careful of terrain effects) and finding a creature to attack.
You could always get some high explosives, or better yet, a rocket launcher, and blow some cute defenseless animals up with them. I'm pretty sure there's no PETA in this game.
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It's a known fact that painting a red stripe on an X-wing makes it go faster.