Ad Astra! ... an Aurora Forum Game, run by blue emu

[trajan]

I remind my Captains that we are still playing to WIN!

We certainly are. I merely meant that once we've shot off all our ordnance, it's better to have the option to turn around and go get more than to have to build another ship!

[Velko]

How many ASMs do we have left? Obviously we don't want to waste all our ammo on a few targets, but on the other hand I doubt we are much of a match for them at close range (do we even have beam weapons?).

IIRC we have one beam-equipped cruiser? We're going to be shredded into tiny fragments of various alloys if we ever get to beam range.

Edit: Oh. Reverse emu'd. No beam cruisers.

[blue emu]

How many ASMs do we have left? Obviously we don't want to waste all our ammo on a few targets, but on the other hand I doubt we are much of a match for them at close range (do we even have beam weapons?).

We have no Beam weapons at all. Still teching up in that area. We have crap-loads of ASMs, because the six Carriers were carrying enough ordinance to reload sixty Fighters multiple times with three ASMs each... and we only have eleven Fighters left. That means that our Cruisers and Destroyers can share out the ordinance originally intended for the forty-nine destroyed Fighters, each of which has almost as many missile tubes (3) as a Destroyer (4) or Light Cruiser (4).

[Lord Strange]

Launch more missiles! It's just like that time with the killbots! We fire so many missiles we clog up their systems! On these suicide missions, everyone is a suicide!

And remember men, you're lucky men. Soon, you'll all be fighting for your planet. many of you will be dying for your planet. A few of you will be put through a fine mesh screen for your planet. They will be the luckiest of all.

[Iche_Bins]

kill the retreaing ship before it can get out of range!

[blue emu]

kill the retreaing ship before it can get out of range!

Bandits 3 and 4 are over 25 million km away. Our firing range (considering the Prix's 40 ECM rating) is about 9 m-km. The retreating ship has never been within 15 m-km of our firing range. Also, it moves more than twice as fast as us... there's little point in trying to chase it.

[Lord Martin]

How far away are our missiles from the target now?

[FelisSilvestris]

Khan was in Bandit-3, over 25 million km away. If he has enough tech advantage to see my 450-ton Fighters and target them from that distance with freakin' PD weaponry, why aren't we dead already?

In my current game I am way behind precursors (of my game) in sensor tech, tho its 2051. Still I only need a FC of size 2 HS to target a HS 8 ship on 28m km. Given it doesnt need to ping us, it's not completely unthinkable.

[blue emu]

This tactical map might help you stay abreast of what's going on:



Bandit-1 is closing in on us with five ships... a bit less than eight m-km away. They seem to be steering for our Rocks, which are heading off at a tangent towards the bottom right part of the screen, in an attempt to draw them away from our battle-fleet.

All the other enemy groups are much further away... 25 m-km or so. Our own firing range is barely 9 m-km. We cannot shoot at anyone but Bandit-1.

Out Battle-Fleet (Cruisers and Destroyers) has merged with the Carrier group in order to replenish missiles from the stocks that were originally intended for our destroyed Fighters. The Fighters will be landing on the Carriers within a few seconds.

The whole fleet (Cruisers, Destroyers, Carriers, Fighters... but not the Rocks) will be withdrawing towards the Mine-Layers, in order to prolong the period when we can fire at him but he cannot fire back (because we are out of range of his beam weapons, and he has already expended his missiles). This withdrawal will also move the scene of battle closer to our Mine-Layers, eventually allowing them to open fire with their long-range size-36 missile tubes.

[GaiusC]

Is the Khan retreating towards a planet, apparently?

[Forgiven]

Hmm, wait, where about are our poor pilots floating now? Some of them survived right? How about we split either rock off to go pick them up, I'm sure they'd love to be shot at some more...

[blue emu]

How far away are our missiles from the target now?

Less than 2 m-km. Even WE would have spotted them by now.

[blue emu]

Hmm, wait, where about are our poor pilots floating now? Some of them survived right? How about we split either rock off to go pick them up, I'm sure they'd love to be shot at some more...

Every time we issue new movement orders to a fleet while engaged with the enemy, it takes up to a minute for them to acknowledge and act on the order. There are several life-pods, and considering the order delay it would take perhaps 15 minutes to pick them all up during the battle. We simply cannot afford the time, not with the enemy fleet already about 7.5 m-km away and closing on us at 9600 km/s. We will rescue any survivors AFTER the battle.

[Count Lake]

We will rescue any survivors AFTER the battle.

Until then, I'm quite happy playing Parcheesi with the other crewmembers that got out in my lifepod.

[Guillaume HJ]

Agreed. We will rescue them when we win the battle.

If we don't, then I doubt they particularly care which ship's escape pod they're on when they die in the cold waste of space.

[Edzako]

Every time we issue new movement orders to a fleet while engaged with the enemy, it takes up to a minute for them to acknowledge and act on the order. There are several life-pods, and considering the order delay it would take perhaps 15 minutes to pick them all up during the battle. We simply cannot afford the time, not with the enemy fleet already about 7.5 m-km away and closing on us at 9600 km/s. We will rescue any survivors AFTER the battle.

After our glorious Victory!

[Väinö I]

Do I recall correctly that your carriers had 4-5 spare salvos for each fighter? If so I don't need to see any reason to hold back our fire. It will take quite a while for our fleet to launch all of those and we need to deal with bandit-1 as quickly as possible, before their buddies in the back can join them.

[Nabobalis]

Is the Khan retreating towards a planet, apparently?

If we assume he is taking a straight path to rearm we could identity a potential location of their base.

[billy bob]

Sir,

Despite only minimal damage to the ship there were several casualties. Request to fulfill their last wish and strap them to the next wave of missiles so we can blow these Prix back to hell?

[Xz2]

doesnt fighters have some 500~ men crew?
If so this have to be one of the bloodiest battles of mankind when you look at deaths/hour