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Suggestion/question: Missiles, and their fire arcs. |
Gejaheline
Fleet Admiral
Galactic Navy
Joined: March 19, 2005
Posts: 1127
From: UGTO MUNIN HQ, Mars
|  Posted: 2007-07-07 04:18
Reading the changes being made to the UGTO missile destroyer made me think about missile fire arcs. I don't know if this has already been considered by anyone, but I thought I'd throw it out and see what people thought.
As it is, missile launchers on ships fire in a fixed direction, and their fire arcs simply reflect the general direction the missiles can be fired in: The missiles make their own course corrections to face the target.
But that's important: The missile will turn to face its target. They are guided weapons, so why can they not fire regardless of arc? No matter what direction the launcher fires in, the missile will be able to turn to face during flight.
Admittedly, I am looking at this from a realism point of view, and not a balance view: If missiles could fire everywhere, they become more dangerous. On the downside, their effective lifetime is shortened and they will have to describe a wide arc to perfom over-the-shoulder attacks, increasing their time-to-target and might hit something other than the intended target.
Obviously, if there's some critical balance reason for giving missile launchers arbitrary fire arcs, please do enlighten me.
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Fattierob
Vice Admiral
Joined: April 25, 2003
Posts: 4059
| Posted: 2007-07-07 16:47
Quote:
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On 2007-07-07 04:18, Gejaheline wrote:
Obviously, if there's some critical balance reason for giving missile launchers arbitrary fire arcs, please do enlighten me.
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Because, their has to be a *physical* place to place the launcer on a hull.
Meaning, even though missiles are guided weapons, they still have to be ejected from the ship. The little device that does it is bolted on the hull somewhere and can only turn a certain degrees. Think of it like a Cruise Missile Launcher in your mind.
So, from a realistic standpoint, it doesn't really work like that. I mean, sure, if you bolt it to the spine fo your ship, it's possible, but I would put more important things up there (point defence)
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Drafell
Grand Admiral
Mythica
Joined: May 30, 2003
Posts: 2449
From: United Kingdom
| Posted: 2007-07-08 06:19
Unfortunately, this is an area where game play > realism. It would require a major change to missile balance if we were to consider implementing them on full arcs, and it ideally also requires a much more advanced electronic warfare system to mitigate some of the major balance issues that would result.
It might be something we will consider in future though.
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Gejaheline
Fleet Admiral
Galactic Navy
Joined: March 19, 2005
Posts: 1127
From: UGTO MUNIN HQ, Mars
| Posted: 2007-07-08 12:31
Fattie, I think you've missed my point.
Missiles have and probably always will fire in a fixed direction. They do not use the autoaiming that cannons and lasers enjoy.
Currently, fire arcs assigned to missile launchers are fairly arbitrary and vaguely escribe the direction the launcher faces; if you fire the rear/left/right PCM launcher on an UGTO missile cruiser, the missile is always fired backwards and upwards and is left to guide itself towards the target.
Now, since missiles are both entirely autonomous and are sufficiently long-lived to make sustained pursuits, they could concievably be fired in any direction, including directly away from the target, and still eventually end up pointing in the right direction.
A lot like, in fact, the way that fighters are launched from bays that face in a specific direction and yet can attack in all directions, although in-game currently their firing logic appears to allow them to just launch in any direction regardless of intervening hull. Probably something else that should be looked at, if only for pure cosmetic effect.
And yes, Draf, I was thinking essentially the same thing: They would be more powerful. I'd propose at least making them slower to fire to compensate for the larger volley size, and perhaps increasing their minimum range. Missile ships would be deadly at long range, but very poor at close range.
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YIIMM
Grand Admiral
Joined: June 16, 2005
Posts: 851
From: Barcino, Hispania Tarraconensis
| Posted: 2007-07-08 13:12
I suppose from an "in-universe" perspective you could say that each launcher needs to aquire the target for the missile before it is launched and from then on it's autonomous and therefore the launcher's targeting systems limit the fire arcs.
In terms of actual gameplay, while I understand your point entirely, if the game were to adhere to it, what you'd have is missile ships able to fire all their ordnance from any direction. Assuming that missiles are as effective as cannons (ok, pretending) and apply it to something like a Torpedo Cruiser, and you have a problem, because while the TC has huge frontal firepower, it's useless in the aft arcs. Give it all arc weaponry and you have....well, you have an ED.
That's an extreme example, of course.
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Gejaheline
Fleet Admiral
Galactic Navy
Joined: March 19, 2005
Posts: 1127
From: UGTO MUNIN HQ, Mars
| Posted: 2007-07-08 14:47
Well, presumably you could simply use a system that feeds data from the ship's main radar/sensors to the missile. Speculation, of course. The limitations would be determined in-game first, followed by an in-character rationalisation for why it is so.
As for the insanely-powerful thing... yes, that is an issue. If it was implemented, it would probably be part of a change to make missile ships very powerful at a distance, but virtually useless at close range. Huge minimum ranges?
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Supertrooper
Marshal
Pitch Black
Joined: March 18, 2004
Posts: 1895
From: Maryland, U.S.A
| Posted: 2007-07-08 21:29
Quote:
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On 2007-07-08 06:19, Drafell wrote:
Unfortunately, this is an area where game play > realism. It would require a major change to missile balance if we were to consider implementing them on full arcs, and it ideally also requires a much more advanced electronic warfare system to mitigate some of the major balance issues that would result.
It might be something we will consider in future though.
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Not really, actualy.
Could just say that the missles have to have a certain area/zone (Arc) that they need to be able to lock onto a target, and thus fire on it..
Or something lame like that =P
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Gejaheline
Fleet Admiral
Galactic Navy
Joined: March 19, 2005
Posts: 1127
From: UGTO MUNIN HQ, Mars
| Posted: 2007-07-09 12:05
Quote:
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On 2007-07-08 21:29, Crim wrote:
...Could just say that the missles have to have a certain area/zone (Arc) that they need to be able to lock onto a target, and thus fire on it..
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Rebalancing all-arc missiles by changing them to limited arcs would indeed make them just as balanced as they are now.
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