Storm torpedo launcher

[woeful bone]

I like the missile launcher in the game, practical and easy to use. However, I have always noticed in combat that missiles can be easily intercepted with only two or three point defense turrets, ships that rely on missiles have too big a disadvantage especially AI ships. That's why I want to introduce the Storm Torpedo Launcher.
My thought was a forward facing armored launcher that can launch a volley of missiles on approach. But not normal missiles, but rather a kind of torpedo a missile that is fast but less maneuverable than the normal missile but better armored. So even small ships can pose a great threat to large ships.

I had to make the gif myself because Google had no idea what I wanted from him.

[pastel wraith]

Great idea

less damage than HE missle or more?

[woeful bone]

Thought rather more and heavier

[split harbor]

But . . . the nuke fills that role technically XD If you're willing to strap it to the front of your ship

[pastel wraith]

they are too easy to destroy

about 4 PD is gonna be enough

• this idea gonna give more types of weapons to fighters and big ships

I think it should have well armored launcher that gonna shoot forward, or same with others and little degree of shooting

[woeful bone]

I find the Nuke simply a bad weapon

[pastel wraith]

but big range

[pastel wraith]

because PD can counter it without problems

its was better in old version because of some mechanics as at diagonal ships those flyed at enemy back

[woeful bone]

Too light to intercept and forward facing a weak point especially for small ships

[pastel wraith]

now those are realy nuke torpedos, that have too low amount of HP like its too easy to destroy now

[pastel wraith]

yeah

[split harbor]

The nuke is easy to destroy on one condition. You catch it in its arming phase. If you it arms outside of PD range and flies towards you, even some heavy PD walls struggle to stop it. Ive tested it. A LOT. And it only gets worse as more and more nukes are added to the mix. You combine this with some missiles to follow the nuke and the PD will be so distracted everything will get through.

Flak does WAAAAAAY better at taking down nukes and again, only in their arming phase. As it still takes several hits to break a single nuke [and fire angle on flak is real bad]

[pastel wraith]

but, arent its realy easy to dodge them now?

like before you were need realy good micro control and speed, now you just need to move to side, or I am wrong?

[woeful bone]

That is the point for these weapons it should be practical for small ships that can not carry much

[pastel wraith]

and can be secondary weapon of big sized ships

[split harbor]

That is the downside of nukes is the capability to dodge them. Faster ships can get out of their way pretty well. Slower ships suffer hard.

[split harbor]

Do NOT underestimate a small ship with nukes. >.> I ran a refitted 100k civlian ship armed with two nukes. It does Damage. Lots of it. And if it finds a vulnerable point it will cause even worse damage (like busting open entire ion cores on some ships]

[pastel wraith]

now its realy easy, like you never will shoot down fighter with new nuke, but before its was able to fly good enough to reach enemy even after dodge sometimes

[split harbor]

To be fair using a nuke on a fighter is entirely overkill. Why hit them with nukes when you can just use lasers/cannons/any other weapon. Nukes are meant to be capital killers.

[pastel wraith]

I love those, but they are diying after some cannon shots

[pastel wraith]

it is overkill, sometimes I saw little fighters with shields, they are anonoying but have shield too close, and nukes were easiest and the most fast way to destroy those

[woeful bone]

I wanted the torpedo system for ships that don't have much space and are more likely to hit and run.

[pastel wraith]

hmm, I mean Nukes are made for big ships, but small ships with nukes are always here

[split harbor]

Nukes dont take much space. You can carry like 4 or 5 nukes with a single launcher and a 2x3 storage. Thats a lot of firepower for a small ship. And if its flanking there isnt much a large ship can do about it

[woeful bone]

Nuke are also expensive I also wanted an economical alternative for small ships.

[split harbor]

Not to say a lighter torpedo option couldn't be a thing, but Im not sure how well it would fit into the pace of all the current launchers. Cause the missile launcher already does 10k. Nuke does 20k. If it did like 15k but was easier to use, people would probably just start using it over the nuke, which no one wants a weapon to be made obsolete. Thats already happening with weapons are less effective.

[pastel wraith]

I think that lighter torpedos should have realy low degree of shooting

[split harbor]

Yeah. Making it have a limited flight angle could be a reasonable balance to it to make it not completely outclass the nuke

[pastel wraith]

and instead of nuke mechanic then its spin and after that fly in enemy, its should fly right in enemy at degree

[woeful bone]

A weapon system that you use at the beginning and later as a support system.

[pastel wraith]

like you shooted at enemy and its wont stop to spin and home at enemy, just gonna fly at enemy like HE missle without homing

its kinda hard to tell....

[split harbor]

Yeah no. I could definitely see a more dumb fire missile system firing tanky heavy hitting torpedoes. Could be pretty neat with those sort of limitations.

[pastel wraith]

I just trying to think about balance

[woeful bone]

If the torpedo is a little slower than normal missiles also defend better against ships that race directly at you

[pastel wraith]

if its gonna be nearly same with nukes but for little ships, its gonna be useless

like its shoothing from launcher like blaster

or minigun

[split harbor]

You make it too slow and PD will devour it

[pastel wraith]

so its gonna fly just forward after homing inside of launcher

speed about half of nukes or 1/4

and there it is balanced

[woeful bone]

If the torpedo should be rather faster than the normal missile and it would also be interesting if the Torb penetrates shields but does not do much HE damage.

[pastel wraith]

I think its should have low penetration and bigger damage to shields like "if shield destroed by torpedo and its steal have some damage left, its will continue to fly"

because just ignoring shields gonna be unbalanced

[woeful bone]

Yes that's right that would be too strong

But it would be a good idea if it had a bigger salve than the normal launcher

So directly three rockets and not one after the other

[zenith flare]

What the difference between nukes ?

And railgun ?

[oblique lichen]

Make it fire like a cannon but in salvos. Like you aim , fires a salvo of 8 missiles , reload , and do it again. The rocket doesn’t need to be tanker then an HE missile , you just need to overwhelm their PD. The obvious limitation is that it has no maneuvering thrusters at all , it just speeds up like a nuke

[zenith flare]

Then again whats the difference

Nukes and torpedo

[oblique lichen]

It would be a salvo instead of a single big missile. And I plan to have it be added as a deck turret

[zenith flare]

Deck turret missile would be OP

Also with multiple launcher is the same as torpedo salvo..

[oblique lichen]

https://youtu.be/KYtQugxXFfM

What I am currently thinking of

[peak parcel]

Hey, cool idea, but on a side note. What is that movie clip from?

[zenith flare]

Movie ?

[oblique lichen]

I think he meant the anime

used in the post

[woeful bone]

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin - Advent of the Red Comet

[frozen ravine]

What if we could add segments to launchers, like railguns? Build larger missiles that are more powerful, but less maneuvrable?

[zenith flare]

@frozen ravine use mod for that