The round itself isn't electromagnetic. Basically a rail weapon uses electromagnets to impel a ferrous metal penetrator (usually something that looks like a small dart or perhaps pellet) at hyper velocities. Basic physics...you can't gain speed and or kinetic force without continued propulsion.

I've done a little bit of work with the applied sciences facet of rail weapons in my day job a while back.

Sorry, MAC...you're losing me with your formula.

The reality is that it just doesn't play out that way in live play.

1) You can't take the weapons at their min / max, i.e. only in the hands of assaults, to get the full picture.

2) There is no clear exchange of DPS loss from Charge to Reload. Reload speed even on a max skilled and proto Cal Assault isn't "zero".

I would be more than happy to squad up and talk through my thoughts on this and I would be interested in hearing you describe your rubric.

Although this is pretty much closed to balance(as per rattati) you still only put a DPS/range model up there. You didn't take into account dispersion, accuracy of each weapon ect. To be honest your evaluation of rifles is limited at best.

The combat rifle(even though the values posted in game state otherwise) can out DPS most other rifles. I have, on numerous occasions, been fighting people sporting combat rifles, while I have switched tactics, using rail rifles or assault, they repeatedly whittle me down....

Yes, but do we really know for certain that the projectile is indeed a solid object when the technology spans 20 thousand years into the future, and in a different galaxy that potentially has different elements and properties? Although rail guns are based of our current technology and concept, it could be vastly different in the future. Hypothetically, our known physics can not apply to this technology. We have clones that transfer their conscience into another body upon death... practical immortality. Everything of which we know and understand could be completely invalid in the concept of this universe, or is vastly shadowed by how little our knowledge is in comparison. For all we know, the 'projectile' could indeed gain velocity and kinetic force from unknown properties far beyond our current understanding.

On another note, what if the projectile had a second fire or function that goes off after a set distance or time to achieve maximum results? Setting it off too early could result in damaging the firing mechanism, rifle, and user.

Regarding the rifles, I think

Assault rifle - close range shredding in gallente style. High ROF in line with assault weapons
Combat rifle - short range burst spraying shards of metal like a Minmatar gun should. Low damage handled by a high ROF balancing it for burst combat.
Scrambler rifle - mid range tactical rifle breaks down enemy shields rapidly as expected of a Minmatar gun. High damage managed by low ROF let's this gun pierce through a lined up target.
Rail rifle - long range breach rifle for caldari hit and run assault. The low ROF on this rifle compared with the high range and damage make this rifle excel as a breach weapon, piercing to and through armor while outdistancing the other rifles.

Here the 4 races, 4 rifles, 4 damage types, and 4 attack types all seem to me to fall into place in a very balanced and somewhat niche way(that's good!)

Instead I would query the pistols(Minmatar pistol is a joke), the classes(still lacking a light class...) Overall weapons parity(Amarr grenades?) Or full racial parity(vehicles... Like Minmatar ones... And MTACs) surely there is good work in all these areas to be done or how about restoring previous vehicles? Crying rifles for hotfix charlie when they've had so much work done and so much else needs so much work is just being a baby. I'm sorry you got hit with a rail rifle; get behind cover.

then my feelings are true. and the rifles are extremely balanced. this just confirms what ive been trying to tell people all along.

Quote stuff:

But you see then are a few things are no lomger taken into account.
1) Damage Profile - if each race only has 1 range what difference does damage profile do other than to marganilse specific weapons? My choice of damage profile should effect my chances as much as my range does.

They don't and shouldn'teach have one range. Differing weapons should and do have different range classes ie the bolt pistol has way way closer effective range than the sniper rifle, and it should although theyre both rail gun and long range for their weapon class. And as far as confining people to ranges by race look at shotgun>mass driver>laser rifle>sniper rifle and those ranges are completely forced with those weapons... Yet it isn't a problem. Outside the shotguns range the ion pistol is powerful moving into the assault rifle range through burst qnd tactical up to breach ar, and for ranges beyond that, there is plasma cannon. Remotes flaylock smg hmg combat rifle mass driver. Assault scrambler pistol, scrambler pistol, burst scrambler pistol, breach scrambler pistol, assault scrambler rifle, scrambler rifle, laser rifle. Bolt pistol magsec swarm launcher rail rifle forge gun sniper rifle... At which ranges exactly does a race not have a damage type represented? However gallente should eat caldari at close range amd gallente should get picked off easier from a distance and pairing shotgun vs bolt pistol or plasma cannon vs sniper rifle reveals this to be true and working well

2) Racial Range Variety - It's all well amd good saying all RR's should have long range, but there are more chareristics that are more important to the rifle, you need to allow each race to have a good variety, otherwise people just won't use specific weapons.
You may be right but thats not even a problem. Sure I don't use a rail rifle more than I use a breach assault rifle, but plenty of others do and they tear up shotgunner from afar or get eaten up by them up close as it should be. I think its too effective at close range, but when I use it I see it handles very poorly up close and when I think to cry about it I button my lip instead and just play

The Assault Combat Rifle has excellent hip fire accuracy, quick reloads, best damage profile and zero recoil.
It's fire rate of 1200RPM also gives it the chainsaw effect, where you can swipe over an enemy and still do a considerable amount of damage, which is very useful in CQC.

There are more values than DPS to consider.

Thanks for the feedback, but we are not touching Rifles in the short term. Our data and forums are in agreement that rifles have never been as balanced as they are currently. If that changes, we will come to the forums for feedback. Right now, there are many things we want to tweak and fix that have higher priority.