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

[GaiusC]

If they have no PD ships, that's easy - we've already shown we can destroy 5 ships before they can close to beam range.

For this system, I don't worry about our fast and final success.
On the other hand, I wouldn't be so optimistic if we faced not one, with possibly not full magazine of anti-ship missiles, but 4 or 5 at the same time. If they were alone, I think our fleet would eventually defeat them, but we would still lose some ships.

I only mentioned using our current launchers because that means it could be implemented right now - we just need to design size-1 missile. This way, no need to retool a shipyard and refit a ship, losing 1-2-3 years before going back to clean Wolf 294. Of course, in the long-run, having ships designed with smaller more numerous launchers would be good.
(I won't tell you right now how many launchers my Precursor PDCs have, that'll be fun when we meet them)

EDIT: Thanks. Ok, then Khan is just a big warship, nothing too impressive actually. I've no idea if ammo ships would be that size, or bigger - on the other hand, I don't think a mostly supply-oriented ship would have size-6 missiles, which reinforces my feeling that Quift was right about it having already fought earlier.

 

[Capt. Kiwi]

For this system, I don't worry about our fast and final success.
On the other hand, I wouldn't be so optimistic if we faced not one, with possibly not full magazine of anti-ship missiles, but 4 or 5 at the same time. If they were alone, I think our fleet would eventually defeat them, but we would still lose some ships.

I only mentioned using our current launchers because that means it could be implemented right now - we just need to design size-1 missile. This way, no need to retool a shipyard and refit a ship, losing 1-2-3 years before going back to clean Wolf 294. Of course, in the long-run, having ships designed with smaller more numerous launchers would be good.
(I won't tell you right now how many launchers my Precursor PDCs have, that'll be fun when we meet them)

We currently have size 1 PD launchers on almost every ship, so that's no problem. In fact, most ships have at least 6 and as many as 15 size 1 launchers, with one FC per 3 tubes. It's size 4 tubes that we're short on, we can only get off about 40 ASM missiles every 40 seconds. That won't get through anything.

 

[stamasd]

Don't forget we have more Prix to fight in 82 Eridani. Those should be pristine and not battle-worn... Perfect for testing our tactics.

 

[Mattabesta]

Don't forget we have more Prix to fight in 82 Eridani. Those should be pristine and not battle-worn... Perfect for testing our tactics.

what lol then they are stronger why would we do that??

 

[Quift]

If overloaling pd is of such importance, converting all our ships to machine guns might be the best solution. We will redesign them with more launchers, and set up 2 FC for the launchers with different range. That way the same launchers can be used for ASM and AMM. There should be some wins from that. It does mean however that we would lack some serious punch to get through tougher opponents. So on top of this we have a hammer-class shooting size 6-8 armoured missiles with enough punch to get through all armor. This we use once we have exhausted their pd with huge volleys of size one nukes. Then our tactic starts to look more like this:

Trigger offensive reaction from hostiles. Try to focus ordinance on decoys.
Defend capital ships with interlocking pd.
When offensive missiles are exhausted, close in to range and attack with size one volleys
When pd missiles exhausted, fire big guns.

Resupply missiles from rear-supply ships.

 

[Cromelex]

This is probably the smallest effective fighter that we can develop with our current tech. We can make it smaller when we have command modules researched.

Please don't call it Mosquito! That reminds me of the WW2 british airplane, more than the animal, meaning it would be more suitable for fighter-bomber.
(Not that it matters, but it just sounded so weird to me).

 

[enkhuush]

What is the research status?

 

[GaiusC]

what lol then they are stronger why would we do that??

We know there's a couple of them. It doesn't mean there are 15 more hidden in the shadows, unlike what just happened


Quift: I think we still need fast long-range WH9 missiles. I mean, if we fire only WH1, we will need thousands of missiles to take a whole fleet of Prix down. These guys have armor.

 

[Capt. Kiwi]

Please don't call it Mosquito! That reminds me of the WW2 british airplane, more than the animal, meaning it would be more suitable for fighter-bomber.
(Not that it matters, but it just sounded so weird to me).

Given that the other designs are "Spitfire" and "Hurricane", and that UK is the default theme, I think it's more than safe to say you're meant to be reminded of the WWII fighter bomber It will have picked the name at random from a list that likely also includes "Typhoon", "Tempest" etc.

We know there's a couple of them. It doesn't mean there are 15 more hidden in the shadows, unlike what just happened


Quift: I think we still need fast long-range WH9 missiles. I mean, if we fire only WH1, we will need thousands of missiles to take a whole fleet of Prix down. These guys have armor.

I agree. Unless it were intended purely as a decoy, I wouldn't want to go any less than warhead size 4, and 9 would be preferable. Even a fighter could shrug off several size 1s. So while we should have many dirt cheap and inaccurate warhead size 1 to draw out their PD fire, and maybe use for knockout blows, we still need a more expensive and accurate AMM and a bigger and more damaging ASM.

Once we start getting into late fusion techs we can look at having all missiles size 1.

 

[Ayeshteni]

I'm proud as punch to take command of such a vessel as the ESND Basalt. I wont let you down sir.

 

[CptJoker]

This is probably the smallest effective fighter that we can develop with our current tech. We can make it smaller when we have command modules researched.

How about calling it the SIE Fighter? Single ion engine, fragile, expendable, and almost completely defenceless.

Yes, everything is proceeding as you have foreseen...

 

[TheExecuter]

As my minelayer's 'contribution' to the Battle of Wolf 294 was merely to tag along behind and watch the action on our active sensors, and we did not fire a weapon in anger, nor were targetted in turn...

I return my medal to our great leader, Blue Emu...and will continue to serve without recognition until I have properly earned a decoration for valour.

With the greatest respect,
TheExecuter

 

[unmerged(59555)]

If you are so helbent on throwing 100 m-km missles at them, why not add some with sensers in a volley? Offcourse making them virtual indentical if possible to the others.

 

[blue emu]

What is the research status?

Unchanged. That battle lasted only two hours game-time. Research takes months to years.

OK, dudes... I've focused my Emu-osity on the problem, and I think I've figured out a way to bombard a Planetary Defense Complex from about a hundred million km away WITHOUT needing any purpose-built ships, or even any modifications to our existing ships. All I will need is some purpose-built missiles, which I am designing now. Missiles are very cheap in research, and if I temporarily interrupt another project, I should be ready to start manufacturing them in a month or so. Then I'll take the prototypes over into the Ross 248 system, and test them out against some empty, non-colonizable planets.

As my minelayer's 'contribution' to the Battle of Wolf 294 was merely to tag along behind and watch the action on our active sensors, and we did not fire a weapon in anger, nor were targetted in turn...

Your minelayer's contribution was to have the only ship-killing tubes that actually had full magazines left, during the week that the fleet spent withdrawing from the battle-area to the jump point out. The rest of the fleet... destroyers, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, carriers... had in total less than three full salvos left. If that big bastard had come back, only the mine-layers and their size-36 boomers could have killed it.

Surely I was supposed to save something to cover our withdrawal? It would have been irresponsible, not to.

"They also serve, who only stand and wait".

 

[blue emu]

OK... here's what I've done:

I've figured out that you really OUGHT TO be able to place a way-point on a moving planet (in orbit around the star) and have that way-point "stick" to the planet and move with it. What I'm going to try is selecting the planet by clicking on it, then placing a way-point on "Previous". Hopefully, that will give me a way-point that sticks to the planet.

Then I'll back off 100 m-km and see if I can shoot missiles at it without the missile self-destructing as it leaves FC range.

If THAT works, the rest is easy. I've designed two different versions of a size-36 MIRV-ed Cruise Missile... slow, but very long range and packing a formidable punch: TWO 36-damage homing warheads on each missile, released at 3000 km range from the target and given active sensors and enough fuel to home in about four times that far.

So in theory, the missile arrives 3000 km from the way-point, breaks up into two 36-damage "smart bombs", which then home in the rest of the way and hit the PDC.

 

[unmerged(141369)]

OK, dudes... I've focused my Emu-osity on the problem, and I think I've figured out a way to bombard a Planetary Defense Complex from about a hundred million km away WITHOUT needing any purpose-built ships, or even any modifications to our existing ships. All I will need is some purpose-built missiles, which I am designing now.

Ratite fire shall hail from the sky!

Wanted to use the term "ratite" for quite a while.

 

[Mattabesta]

that plan would be awesome if they had no PD at all, which I doubt wuite a lot, I don't see a realistic way of attacking the planet without a ridculus number of tubes and missiles.
Better take the ones close to the JP and then use that to advance our tech and see if anything very useful pops up.

 

[blue emu]

that plan would be awesome if they had no PD at all, which I doubt wuite a lot, I don't see a realistic way of attacking the planet without a ridculus number of tubes and missiles.
Better take the ones close to the JP and then use that to advance our tech and see if anything very useful pops up.

We can exhaust their PD missiles by FIRST firing single-shot, 100 m-km range size-1 missiles at the way-point on the planet. I thought that particular point was already settled, sorry.

 

[blue emu]

Rebbecca Stephenson, one of our back-burner scientists who has just been puttering along on one research lab, has actually managed to finish a project: Command Module! This allows us to design much smaller Fighters. In fact, our "minimalist" Fighter with a single missile tube and a command module instead of a bridge+crew quarters(small) comes in at only 191 tons... less than HALF the size of our earlier fighters, and a speed of 9424 kps.

Gnat class Fighter 191 tons 5 Crew 29.98 BP TCS 3.82 TH 36 EM 0
9424 km/s Armour 1-2 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 1.32
Annual Failure Rate: 2% IFR: 0% Maint Capacity 10 MSP Max Repair 10 MSP Est Time: 7.78 Years
Magazine 4

FTR Ion Engine E800 (1) Power 36 Fuel Use 8000% Signature 36 Armour 0 Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres Range 0.6 billion km (17 hours at full power)

Size 4 Missile Launcher (33% Reduction) (1) Missile Size 4 Rate of Fire 2400
Missile Fire Control FC27-R140 (1) Range 27.2m km Resolution 140

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

Perhaps we should load a couple of Carriers with these puppies, before embarking for "Earth vs Prix, round 2".

 

[Cromelex]

The speed increase is great.. now that's proper speed.

Go ahead and load up the ESN Tambora with a squad of these new puppies


(And being smaller, how many of them can fit in a single carrier? If they're less than half the size, does that mean we will be able to carry twice as much firepower? Holy EMU! )