This is an issue of DPM disparity which is exaggerated for some overgunned ships
Hercules mixed gun DPM was 1700 in the old model and 3400 in the new - doubling damage output. This is causing too much importance on first shot, to the point that second shot does not matter.
We are working on balancing this
Here is the rationale
Gun captains used powder to control the penetration power (1/2 1/4 1/3 charge). Ideal charge was that provided enough power to generate as much splinters as possible (just enough to be penetrating the hull), overcharging caused nice accurate holes on both sides (low damage to hull). Undercharging did not penetrate.
Carronades were short and used low powder thus generated a lot of splinters and were easy to reload and maintain.
But their damage was definitely not equal to the long gun damage. As energy was not enough.
As a result
Carronades should not generate so much damage but should generate as much splinters as before. + some tweaks to HP on lower level ships must be applied.
Overall penetration should be lowered across all guns slightly. And HP for some low ships should be rebalanced.
The gap between carronades, mediums and longs should be lower.