Given the prevalance of ice roids, and how cold space is, I had a neat idea for a new type of "weapon". What if you could gather aquaen ore and use it as ammo for a "water cannon"? (Energy usage would be for melting and propelling the water.)

The water cannon wouldn't do actual damage to a target, but would instead add mass as the water freezes on contact with the cold hull of the target ship.

You could even extend this to missiles, rockets, and/or mines that shower the target in water (like a water balloon), and thus add mass.

For added realism, the ice should SLOWLY melt/evaporate off.

This could make for some very interesting new fight dynamics, especially as the mass of the attacker decreases while the target gains mass (if hit). It also provides a non-lethal weapon that could be used to discourage attackers, encourage toll collection, etc.

Okay, but you know the water would freeze immediately upon leaving your ship, right?

Ok, so add impurities to lower the freezing point. Heck, make it translucent lime green space jello that encases the ship and jiggles as you change thrust, and name the weapon the Cosby Device. :)

However you explain it, it would be cool to have a weapon that sticks junk to another ship and thus adds mass.

Not a bad idea, since we don't have shields.

I think plain water would evaporate almost instantaneously in space, since pressure is pretty close to zero. Because the water can't interact with anything in space, it'd do that long before freezing, I guess. So instead of a projectile, you'd get a propellant. You might want to check out EVN's Chainguns, they use the same principle .

If you froze part of the water before using it as a projectile, you'd have a gas/liquid-propelled mass driver system, and you could use the same substance for projectiles as well as propellant.

The jelly gun sounds fun, though...

There are already ice roids in the game. Whatever they are composed of, it doesn't evaporate. That's the stuff that could be heated to melting point, then re-freeze and stick when it hits cold ship hull.

Make it shoot charged iron dust.
Same effect, less confusion regarding pressures and evaporation.

perhaps you could have a human waste weapon... pilots gotta go at some point, especially on long trips, right? A high-fiber diet could yield some awefully 'dense' projectiles. Just an idea... :-P

Just spray the water finely. Crates a "cloud" of evaporated, frozen aquean content. Which will basically be like slamming face-first into a very thick fog of ice, that will loveingly embrace anything that flies slow, and all faster things will just headbutt it like a collision ;)

I like these ideas a lot.

Astronauts have claimed that one of the most beautiful sights to behold in orbit is the sunlight glinting off millions of tiny frozen urine crystals as liquid waste is purged from the waste handler.

Also see: http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/sts107_iceblock_030209.html

I love the idea of a mass adding weapon, don't think it has to be water though. Remember the Sticky Metal projectiles in "The Incredibles" That kind of weapon would be really cool to slow down those Vultures.

I agree with the post right above me.