when a weapon is fired, is it still handled by the server untill it hits something?

alternate question that is more complicated:

what different types of things are handled by the server and which by the client?

Weapons fire is indeed handled by the server once it leaves your ship--how else would you see your opponent's shots?

i was just thinking about how the update reduced lag in the cap ship battles and thought, maybe all those ubar cap ship gun rounds were clogging the bandwith/server/whatever

I really think that the hundreds of AGT shots from before would have done more to the server. In any case, either case shouldn't affect the server all that much.

OK. Let's see if I can get this a bit better. Client1 is you. Client2 is anyone else.

EVENT 1: Client1 fires a weapon. (say gauss)
SUBEVENT: Client1 tells server that a weapon was fired (weapon type, location, vector). Also tells ship location.
SUBEVENT: Client1 displays weapons fire to the screen with the appropriate data.
EVENT 2: Server finds all objects capable of observing the weapons fire (Client2).
SUBEVENT: Server gives Client2 the weapon data (type, location, vector).
SUBEVENT: Client2 displays weapon data. Also continuously telling server ship location.
EVENT 3: If Client2's ship location (according to Client2) ever coincides with a weapon's instantaneous location...
SUBEVENT: Server checks with Client2 to see if the Server's ship location data is the same as Client2's. Server always wins.
SUBEVENT: Server reports to Client1 Client2's ship data (that it was hit, health left, smoke amounts).
SUBEVENT: Client2's data appears on Client1's screen.