Kinetic weapons come in all sizes, from personal arms to ship mounted cannons. Even an asteroid accelerated by a simple engine could become a kinetic weapon if directed towards to a target. As simple as the concept of a kinetic weapon might be, it remains as a quick and effective means of imparting energy upon a target, while remaining simple and efficient.
The design and functionality of ballistic firearms has changed very little over the past thousand years, only drastically changing through the development of caseless ammunition and magnetic coilguns. Various designs for different weapons have evolved over the years, with hundreds of designs and models available that are just as effective as another.
Most ballistic firearms utilize either caseless ammunition with chemical propellants, or magnetic propellants that use a magnetic superconductive coil. Ammunition that still uses brass casings is a rarity, typically found in societies such as the Deadbeats where only cheaper ammo can be produced. The development of caseless ammunition has led to more efficient gun designs, as they phased out the need for an ejection mechanism in guns; they are almost impossible to jam and they are lighter. Other advancements in ammunition include replacement of lead with rubium as a bullet material, an equally affordable and far more durable material compared to lead.
With advancements in room temperature superconductors and highly compact power sources weapon designs utilizing electromagnetic projectile acceleration, such as coilguns, railguns, and gauss rifles have become extremely viable and often make up a part of personal armories. As for ship cannons, large-scale railguns are by far one of the most used ship-mounted weapons available on the market due to their mass availability and balance of range and damage output.