Star Wars: Clones of War will add the vehicles and the soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Droid army of the Confederacy of Independant systems to Men of War.
I've seen beams being faked in various game engines. Method that sticks out that'd be useful is instead of a steady beam, a rapid fire weapon with low damage but high penetration, and the projectiles are just long enough that it appears to be a continuous "beam" that does damage over time. Effect is ruined when firing on the move of course.
DAAAAAAAAANG
Pity that beams can't be implemented into the GEM engine.
I always say: If you can't make it, fake it!
I've seen beams being faked in various game engines. Method that sticks out that'd be useful is instead of a steady beam, a rapid fire weapon with low damage but high penetration, and the projectiles are just long enough that it appears to be a continuous "beam" that does damage over time. Effect is ruined when firing on the move of course.