This is mostly self-evident, but it's nice to have some stats backing this up....
As seen from the graphs I've added to http://bit.ly/GladiabotsAttackChart
Short range
While the shotgun has the speed on its' side, damage wise, the machinegun catches up within 4 seconds (and then falls behind), and an assault bot isn't a slouch either in the first 5 seconds... just don't use a sniper for sure... wrong tool for the job.
Mid range
Mid range, everything remains fairly comparable at 2 seconds, the sniper at 3 second, and at 6 seconds, the machine gun has just started to shoot for the second time, which is why it is ahead by a bit, but really not by that much... Basically, mid range everything is about equal... at 3 and 6 seconds.
Long range
Using anything but a sniper at long range is a waste of time... you do minimal damage at best, and the time spent getting closer into midrange with all of the other bots is more likely to improve the damage you do.
As seen from the graphs I've added to http://bit.ly/GladiabotsAttackChart
Short range
While the shotgun has the speed on its' side, damage wise, the machinegun catches up within 4 seconds (and then falls behind), and an assault bot isn't a slouch either in the first 5 seconds... just don't use a sniper for sure... wrong tool for the job.
Mid range
Mid range, everything remains fairly comparable at 2 seconds, the sniper at 3 second, and at 6 seconds, the machine gun has just started to shoot for the second time, which is why it is ahead by a bit, but really not by that much... Basically, mid range everything is about equal... at 3 and 6 seconds.
Long range
Using anything but a sniper at long range is a waste of time... you do minimal damage at best, and the time spent getting closer into midrange with all of the other bots is more likely to improve the damage you do.