Missile Launchers on Ships
- Thread starter phavoc
- Start date
Patron Zero
Mongoose
SSWarlock said:
Can't argue the value of the ever reliable and infinitely heroic FOs and their continued contributions to military engagements past, present and future.
*silent moment of remembrance and respect well due those individuals who guarantee our liberties and prosperity by their acts of service and sacrifice on this day in particular and all the other three hundred and sixty-four in general*
Patron Zero said:
IMTU, mines (i.e. unpowered missiles) have limited use only because space is so big. They pretty much must be placed in an area guaranteed to be passed through by a hostile force to be of any use.
However, linking a number of missiles to a probe drone with the whole group coasting along on the same vector can be fun if the drone can hand off a sensor lock to the missiles and activate said missiles when an enemy vessel comes into range. Not sure probe drones can do that though.
Equally fun is maintaining one's vector and performing a cold launch of a missile barrage each turn an approaching enemy doesn't detect you then lighting up the entire gaggle at once upon being detected. This can dramatically increase one's "throw weight" and, if the enemy hasn't detected the cold launches, will likely making his eyes get really big.
Of course, lighting them all up even before being your own ship has been detected is down right hilarious and a wonderful way to reach out and touch someone. :twisted:
Patron Zero
Mongoose
I tend to interpret space mines as coming in varieties as wide and broad as the tech levels that produce such items, that said let me present what I'll refer to as a 'commonly' encountered device found IMTU.
Again size and complexity may vary but such ordnance is essentially an area denial weapon that operates much like a modern day cluster bomb capable of three dimensional 'control' rather than two.
A self-contained device that can dispense sub-munitions as an intrusion threat is detected or if mission specific by load or programing, the mine may lay in wait for a specific target. Such targeting parameters established by perhaps a set volume-mass of an enemy vessel or if 'radio' silence is broken and the point of transmission then homed in on.
My personal favorite flavor of mine was referred to as a Lamprey, the device would await an unsuspecting ship to 'swim' by then the mine would pursue said target and fuse itself to the hull.
The extraction process was generally very involved and unpleasant but necessary if a vessel wished to utilize their jump drives, as Lampreys were designed to detonate once a j-drive was detected powering up. Their mission simply was to cut a starship's legs off below the knees and limit the travel of it's victims to 'local' space all the while 'shrieking' it's head off for it's master's to come capture it's prey.
As said, a pretty unpleasant encounter but then a low tech Punji stick has no redeeming social graces either.
Again size and complexity may vary but such ordnance is essentially an area denial weapon that operates much like a modern day cluster bomb capable of three dimensional 'control' rather than two.
A self-contained device that can dispense sub-munitions as an intrusion threat is detected or if mission specific by load or programing, the mine may lay in wait for a specific target. Such targeting parameters established by perhaps a set volume-mass of an enemy vessel or if 'radio' silence is broken and the point of transmission then homed in on.
My personal favorite flavor of mine was referred to as a Lamprey, the device would await an unsuspecting ship to 'swim' by then the mine would pursue said target and fuse itself to the hull.
The extraction process was generally very involved and unpleasant but necessary if a vessel wished to utilize their jump drives, as Lampreys were designed to detonate once a j-drive was detected powering up. Their mission simply was to cut a starship's legs off below the knees and limit the travel of it's victims to 'local' space all the while 'shrieking' it's head off for it's master's to come capture it's prey.
As said, a pretty unpleasant encounter but then a low tech Punji stick has no redeeming social graces either.
One thing I've noticed about torpedoes..given that their tonnage severely limits the size of a salvo from even a 100 ton bay, there's really no point in mounting torp launchers on anything other than a fighter or a capital ship.
Only capital ships can mount enough launchers to ensure there's enough torps in a salvo to have a decent chance to get through laser-based point defense. And fighters can join together to form a virtual battery large enough to accomplish the same thing.
Anyone else see this?
Only capital ships can mount enough launchers to ensure there's enough torps in a salvo to have a decent chance to get through laser-based point defense. And fighters can join together to form a virtual battery large enough to accomplish the same thing.
Anyone else see this?
Rikki Tikki Traveller
Cosmic Mongoose
SSWarlock said:
I think you are right about this. Torpedoes are Capital Ship Killers, but only in large quantities. So Fighters and other Capital ships will mount them. The smaller ships won't because the ship can't mount enough and is not as expendable as a fighter.
However, a couple of Torpedoes on a SDB might ruin a Pirate's day. Even a single Bay could mount enough in a salvo to ruin a PC sized ships day.
Patron Zero
Mongoose
You can come up with some very evil things..I like that in a gamer. :twisted: [/quote]
I fully bow to the guidance of the yellow clad gremlin that's been perched on my shoulder since birth.
"I like him, he's silly!"
I fully bow to the guidance of the yellow clad gremlin that's been perched on my shoulder since birth.
"I like him, he's silly!"
Rikki Tikki Traveller said:
I thought the same but then threw a couple torps at a pirate with laser turrets and Gunner 2. The torps didn't have a chance.
The point defense rules that allow a gunner to keep shooting until a miss occurs really makes a minimum salvo of 3 missiles per laser turret almost a requirement, at least IMO.
