Nuclear Torpedo Damage

[Dracous]

The Nuclear Torpedo has the same damage as the Standard Torpedo. This appears to be the same for single warhead and multi-warhead torpedoes. Since nuclear Missiles do more damage than standard missiles, I would expect the same behavior from standard vs nuclear torps.

Additionally, nuclear torpedoes at 8D damage, are only slightly better than nuclear missiles (which have 7D).

I think consideration should be given to making a nuclear torpedo a 1DD damage weapon as opposed to 8D.

 

[Nerhesi]

Good catch.

I would be wary of over-correction for missile and torpedo damage though, and going way too far.

I'd be in favour of lowering nuclear missile damage down and keeping nuclear torp at 8DD. As it stands, 8d is a massive amount of damage as is.

 

[Dracous]

OK, so to keep the damage for the nuclear torp below the DD scale how about the following

Standard Missile - 4D
Nuclear Missile - 6D
Standard Torpedo - 7D
Nuclear Torpedo - 9D

Multi-Warhead Standard Torpedo - 7D
Multi-Warhead Nuclear Torpedo - 9D

 

[Nerhesi]

I'm getting more concerned - heh.

Personally, I would:

Standard Missile - 3D
Nuclear Missile - 5D
Standard Torpedo - 6D
Nuclear Torpedo - 7D

I have this uneasy feeling with missile/torp damage going up, especially with the sheer amount being launched. I know in MGT1 missiles were ignored by 12+ armour but...

If you were to look at MGT1, a Heavy Torpedo bay, could potentially launch 6, 6d6 (max) torpedoes - MGT2 they do between 8D and 1DD each.

Missile bays are becoming death blossoms... from 24x2D6 Missiles to 24x7D nuclear missiles?

Or perhaps, we should have point defense work at all ranges. No reason you can't hit a missile/torp 50,000kms out...

 

[Dracous]

Point defense (with a skilled player backed up by fire control) cut those 6 missiles down to a more manageable number fairly quickly (the looks of disappointment on players faces when their killer attack was eliminated was always priceless).

Also, I have always played it so that missiles can be attacked with the normal gunnery rules like any other target before they get into point defense range. It's not as effective as point defense, but over a long flight time it does cut the numbers.

I can handle standard missiles starting at 3D (I like 4D better), but I'd like to move the upper end to 8D. Those torpedoes are large (~0.33 displacement tons, a little less, ~4 cubic metres), and are a lot easier to shoot down than you think.
So...
Standard Missile - 4D
Nuclear Missile - 5D
Standard Torpedo - 6D
Nuclear Torpedo - 8D

 

[Condottiere]

There's nothing stopping a Navy placing a strategic strength warhead in their torpedoes, which would flatten the centre of any metropolis.

 

[Nerhesi]

Yeah I don't mi 4/5/6/8, that's fine too. Maybe matt can weigh in on this soon

 

[phavoc]

There's nothing stopping a Navy placing a strategic strength warhead in their torpedoes, which would flatten the centre of any metropolis.

Your mean like an ortillery round? You wouldn't need a torpedo to do that. A few smaller objects dropped from orbit would do quite nicely, and all without nuclear fallout. The old US Air Force Project Thor was all about "rods from gods". Renegade Legion had incorporated orbital kinetic energy killers designed to take out grav tanks and such. Even the Bolo novels discussed this in some detail (though I'm not sure if something as massive as the Bolo would be able to outmaneuver orbital strikes).

 

[Condottiere]

More in the sense that having knocked out the nuclear dampers, they'd launch torpedoes to finish off a warship conclusively.

Or just launch anyway and trust in the dice gods.

 

[cliffbates65]

Point defense (with a skilled player backed up by fire control) cut those 6 missiles down to a more manageable number fairly quickly (the looks of disappointment on players faces when their killer attack was eliminated was always priceless).

Also, I have always played it so that missiles can be attacked with the normal gunnery rules like any other target before they get into point defense range. It's not as effective as point defense, but over a long flight time it does cut the numbers.

I can handle standard missiles starting at 3D (I like 4D better), but I'd like to move the upper end to 8D. Those torpedoes are large (~0.33 displacement tons, a little less, ~4 cubic metres), and are a lot easier to shoot down than you think.
So...
Standard Missile - 4D
Nuclear Missile - 5D
Standard Torpedo - 6D
Nuclear Torpedo - 8D

The difference between a torpedo and a missile is both size, speed and the need to hit at a longer distance with more punch. So although there would be a difference between standard/HEandHEAP sizes carried by a missile vs a torpedo so the 4 for standard missile and 6 for a standard torpedo makes sense. But nukes are nukes and there needs to be a realization that in nukes bigger doesn't mean better (the marginal utility problem with yield loads) so give them the same damage around 8D (although CT high guard gave a +6modifer to armor pen so nukes could even give a smallish missile a chance at a critical hits at smaller ships and escorts).