Really, I would not worry at all about weapons. Charging stuff has been done as has lightning like beam hacks. Just search HLP.
Remember the engine is also "moving" under you while you're building your mod, so what may not be possible today, may work tomorrow.
Assets assets assets.... those take time (blood sweat and tears not included either) to get ready and in game.
Weapons, and ship stats are largely text tables... you can sit a tweak those easily and quickly, or hand it off to someone
else that can't do the modeling or related tasks.
It probably would be worth your while to establish a basic project plan, and a loose timetable for yourself. Figure out what should
be done first so you're not spending time in 30 directions that don't need to be done right away. It's a great way to get unfocused, get bored/depressed/sloppy,
then find yourself in a rut. Aim for just very basic (attainable) goals to start with, even if that's just one fighter flyable in game, then maybe go
to 2 ships, or 1 ship and a weapon.
Making a mod is sort of like a food eating contest. The guys that go in there guzzling everything at once won't last long. The people with staying power
are methodical and take it one piece at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day so to speak, neither was Egypt.
/end old fogie advice
