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

[Nabobalis]

Can't we try the overload their PD first and if we can hit them that way we could finish the fight faster. Try a single salvo of every missile launcher that can fire a homing missile perhaps.

On the note of other Prix systems, if we can get a good idea of what is left in Wolf 294 we could then see if the fleet could be spilt.

I am also willing to volunteer the ESN Hastings for any close combat if needed!

[Nabobalis]

Edit: Bad news

[GaiusC]

We'll have an easier time finishing off this system than going against unknown number of opponents in other systems, in my opinion.

Outrunning Prix would only be possible in the hyperdrive part of the system - assuming the scout has hyperdrive engine. Prix would be left behind fairly quickly then. Otherwise, it basically means our ship is lost :/

[blue emu]

Can't we try the overload their PD first and if we can hit them that way we could finish the fight faster. Try a single salvo of every missile launcher that can fire a homing missile perhaps.

If we try the overload trick first and it doesn't work, that would leave us rather short of missiles... what's our back-up plan? Trying the single-shot-decoy trick first takes longer, but doesn't use much ammo, so it leaves us lots of options if it doesn't work.

... as you may already have noticed, I'm a rather conservative strategist.

[Guillaume HJ]

Can we refit the scouts with some very long range spy-class-like sensors?

EDIT: lots of posts coming up at once. Answered above.

[Nabobalis]

If we try the overload trick first and it doesn't work, that would leave us rather short of missiles... what's our back-up plan? Trying the single-shot-decoy trick first takes longer, but doesn't use much ammo, so it leaves us lots of options if it doesn't work.

In my head they are the same thing. If we shoot one missile at a time or if we shoot many and they get shot down. Then we are ridding them of their missile stock regardless.

Can we refit the scouts with some very long range spy-class-like sensors?

Sensors would be massive at current tech.

... as you may already have noticed, I'm a rather conservative strategist.

Sometimes a conservative needs to be kicked up the arse :P

[Guillaume HJ]

Yeah, Blue Emu largely addressed that possibility in-between when I started replying and when I finally pressed "post reply"

[Nabobalis]

Yeah, Blue Emu largely addressed that possibility in-between when I started replying and when I finally pressed "post reply"

He is the lord of edits!

[blue emu]

In my head they are the same thing. If we shoot one missile at a time or if we shoot many and they get shot down. Then we are ridding them of their missile stock regardless.

... but our decoy missiles are largely useless for bombardment. They only have a strength-1 warhead. Their best use is to get shot down, which means that each individual decoy missile uses up three Prix PD missiles. For that purpose, we don't WANT to overload their PD and slip some of the decoys through... they accomplish almost nothing if they get through without being shot down! I'm not interested in scoring strength-1 hits on these Prix ships. I want to break their PD defenses so that our Monitor can start scoring strength-9 hits in salvos of 40.

Naturally, I will save half of our decoys to provide "chaff" distractions for our overload salvos, if it looks like we can't run the Prix out of PD missiles.

[Nabobalis]

... but our decoy missiles are largely useless for bombardment. They only have a strength-1 warhead. Their best use is to get shot down, which means that each individual decoy missile uses up three Prix PD missiles. For that purpose, we don't WANT to overload their PD and slip some of the decoys through... they accomplish almost nothing if they get through without being shot down! I'm not interested in scoring strength-1 hits on these Prix ships. I want to break their PD defenses so that our Monitor can start scoring strength-9 hits in salvos of 40.

Naturally, I will save half of our decoys to provide "chaff" distractions for our overload salvos, if it looks like we can't run the Prix out of PD missiles.

Fine :P You and your good English win this round.

IT would be pointless to overload PD with decoy missiles but if we can figure out how many tubes and their reload time we could intersperse the two salvos of missile types. (Probably a lot of work)

[blue emu]

It would be pointless to overload PD with decoy missiles but if we can figure out how many tubes and their reload time we could intersperse the two salvos of missile types. (Probably a lot of work)

That's the phase 2 plan, yes, if phase 1 doesn't work. I will save half of our decoys for that.

EDIT: with our Freighter force expanded to two dozen ships, I have called a halt to new Freighter construction and have started refitting our old, slow Mule class Freighters up to Mule-II standards. The first five Mules are in refit now.

[blue emu]

I am bringing the Combined Fleet in for overhaul, preparatory to launching the third De-Prixification Operation scheduled for about three months from now.

[Dewirix]

I've been reading some of Steve's AARs on the Aurora forums and a couple of times he's used a trick where he fires missiles at a waypoint and has them hold there, then reloads and fires more and before the first missiles are out of fuel sends them all off against the target. If you've got sufficient range on your missiles (and if this trick still works), you could use it to send one massive salvo against the Prix rather than several waves.

It's probably better explained here:

http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php/topic,1323.0.html

Therefore she decided to launch several waves of Kaga-3s and two hundred Rapiers at a waypoint just outside the orbit of the Moon, and also outside the range at which the Asian sensors could detect missiles. Once the later waves had caught up, the entire missile wave would be released to attack the Asian Federation.

Also a cracking good read.

[Lord Martin]

It´s a bit disturbing that the common link for those system (from our knowledge) are the Nexus.

[Iche_Bins]

Our fourth Battle class Heavy Cruiser, ESN Hastings, has been launched. Commodore Nabobalis has been assigned to command it. Captain Iche Bins has been transferred from his Fighter squadron to command of the Mountain-II class Light Carrier ESN Etna.

Yay, Safety

[blue emu]

I've been reading some of Steve's AARs on the Aurora forums and a couple of times he's used a trick where he fires missiles at a waypoint and has them hold there, then reloads and fires more and before the first missiles are out of fuel sends them all off against the target.

He doesn't say how that trick is done, though... by using homing missiles and removing the waypoint to release them?

[blue emu]

Chix detected in the Nexus system. Looks (and behaves) like a Gate Constructor.

[Boris ze Spider]

Chix detected in the Nexus system. Looks (and behaves) like a Gate Constructor.

Blast them

[blue emu]

The slower vessels have been dispatched ahead to the Sigma Draconis system, to prepare for the operation. We are now only waiting for the Monitor, which is 98% complete.

[TheLoneGunman]

The slower vessels have been dispatched ahead to the Sigma Draconis system, to prepare for the operation. We are now only waiting for the Monitor, which is 98% complete.

Sounds good!

Can't wait for the action to kick off!