Reactors and Missile design

[USMCe7 (OP)]

Gents -

This is day three - I am seriously hooked.   My sincere respect and appreciation to Steve and his support Team for the top notch game that he has put together.   Aurora is absolutely First Class - and highly addictive.

Am on Newtonian game, restart six.   Read a lot, then play some, moving slowly - but constantly learning.

Question one:  Built my first geological survey ship.   No weapons.   Have added a reactor - even though the design power box reads "zero power required".   Are reactors intended to power laser and other powered weaponry?  If unarmed, then no need for a reactor?

Question two.   Read a "missile design under the new game version" thread.   Could not find it again.   Lots of math on optimal missile design.   May I trouble one of the Big Boys to lay out a missile design for an at start / early game period?  Am playing as the humans.   There are a number of excellent illustrations on beam weapon design, hope to find some pre determined parameters for missile and launcher design.   I understand the concepts, but am not (yet!) up to doing the math part.

Thank you all in advance.   I am very impressed with the quality of the support and forum members.   

It's late (1:30am) and I shall get some snooze time (am on vacation) and back on it.   

Sincerely, Mac Linehan

[Icecoon]

Welcome. 

Yes, reactors are required to power up your beam weapons(laser, railguns, particle guns, mesons, microwaves). They do nothing else, so you do not need them on a ship with no beam weapons. Even gauss cannons and CIWS don't need them.

[Rabid_Cog]

I'll give you a quick rundown on missile design for the early game. You are going to want (at least) two different types of missiles.

1) Anti missile missiles - The best thing to kill missiles with is other, faster missiles. Make the smallest possible missile engine with the highest possible power (ignore fuel use). Set your warhead size so that the missile does exactly 1 damage (minimum to be able to kill a missile), should be a about 0.34 Cram as many of your engines on as you can while still keeping the missile size below 1 msp. Put in enough fuel to give your missile about 3mil km range (should be very little at low tech level). Fill up the rest with agility.

2) Anti ship missiles - The best thing to kill other ships with. First, decide on a square number (1,4,9,16,etc) for damage, for reasons I'm not going into here. 4 is best. Make your warhead the correct size to do 4 damage (should be 1.34). Now make a slightly larger missile engine (0.5 works) and stick a number of them on your missile. Fill up the excess with fuel so that you have at least 100mil km range.

Very good basic start, with the correct sensor packages on your ships (res 1 for missile detectors).

[USMCe7 (OP)]

Icecoon - Thank You for the clarification regarding Reactors and powered weapons.   It makes real life sense - as does everything else in Aurora!

Rabid Cog - I am most appreciative for your basic missile matrix, it will be a good start.   I shall do my best to understand the concepts involved.   While it would be wise to leave the heavy lifting to the Math Guys, the math challenged (me!) can work within preset formulas or parameters.   At lest thats the plan. .  <grin>

My sincere appreciation to you both,

Mac

[Traveler]

I can't seem to find out where to get or design Anti ship or anti missile missiles.  The only thing I can build now is ICBMs.

[Erik L]

I can't seem to find out where to get or design Anti ship or anti missile missiles.  The only thing I can build now is ICBMs.

On the bottom of the economic screen (F2) there is a button labeled "Missiles". Click that. That lets you design missiles.

[USMCe7 (OP)]

Gents -
My Galileo Geographical Survey vessel has an active sensor:

Active Search Sensor MR14-R60 (1)     GPS 1920     Range 14.  9m km     Resolution 60

From the individual unit detail (F6) / combat settings, bottom of menu I inadvertently hit the "All AS Off" button.       There appears to be no similar "On" button.    The "Combat Summary" menu shows "Active Sensors Off".   How would I turn the Search Sensor back on?  I have gone to the F3 map - display active sensor range; no go - even at high magnification.   I do not think that my sensor design is in error - I read the tutorial and wiki pages carefully.   OK - I am obviously missing something.     .     .      No reactor needed to power active search devices, right?

Of course, my search range might be considered so minuscule that it does not register on the F3 map.

Thank you for your help.       

Cricket Mac

[Erik L]

Gents -
My Galileo Geographical Survey vessel has an active sensor:

Active Search Sensor MR14-R60 (1)     GPS 1920     Range 14.  9m km     Resolution 60

From the individual unit detail (F6) / combat settings, bottom of menu I inadvertently hit the "All AS Off" button.       There appears to be no similar "On" button.    The "Combat Summary" menu shows "Active Sensors Off".   How would I turn the Search Sensor back on?  I have gone to the F3 map - display active sensor range; no go - even at high magnification.   I do not think that my sensor design is in error - I read the tutorial and wiki pages carefully.   OK - I am obviously missing something.     .     .      No reactor needed to power active search devices, right?

Of course, my search range might be considered so minuscule that it does not register on the F3 map.

Thank you for your help.       

Cricket Mac

F12. Select your fleet, and a convenient location, then issue the order "Turn sensors on".

[madpraxis]

Just a slight question for you USMCe7...why exactly do you have an active sensor on your GeoSurvey ship? Let alone such a short range one

[strych90]

USMCe7-- It's generally not worth putting actives on a geosurvey ship.    They are classified civilian (as long as the engines are civilian) which saves a lot of headaches in maintenance life and overhauls *EDIT* Since you're new I should probably tell you that civilian ships don't require maintenance while military ships require maintenance parts and periodic overhauls.   
Also, a size-1 res60 sensor at low tech is basically useless.    Even later game its only good for super emergency close range "OH MY GOD THEY'RE RIGHT IN MY FACE AND MY SENSOR SHIPS IS GONE!" type situations.   

[Traveler]

I'm also quite new.  All the ships I've designed seemed to automatically have one active and one passive sensor on them.  As in: 1/1/0/0.  I guess I must have missed removing them?

[Erik L]

I'm also quite new.  All the ships I've designed seemed to automatically have one active and one passive sensor on them.  As in: 1/1/0/0.  I guess I must have missed removing them?

Those are inherent sensors. Can't be removed. And I believe that is Thermal/EM, not active/passive.

[sloanjh]

And the inherent sensors don't violate the civie status.

John

[Paul M]

Civillian sensors of 1 HS or less don't violate that status either.  Almost all my comerical/exploration ships have a "Navi" active sensor system and "IR Telescope" passive.  I honestly can't think of a reason to not have such a system on a ship.  It isn't any different to why civillian ships today carry radar even if, in military terms, it is worthless.   My Replenishment Ships even have the "Navi"...though that was just due to space limitations and the first size update will replace it with a real missile sensor.  The Science Vessels lack it, but they are even more seriously hit with a space limitation, and if that eases then they will get a better array of sensors since being blind and deaf is no fun.  Call it "role playing" reasons at the end of the day.

[USMCe7 (OP)]

Re - my Galileo GeoSurvey with an active sensor:

Erik - original: F12.  Select your fleet, and a convenient location, then issue the order "Turn sensors on". 
Mac: Thank You for the clarification, Sir.

madpraxis - original: Just a slight question for you USMCe7. . . why exactly do you have an active sensor on your GeoSurvey ship? Let alone such a short range one
Mac: Two reasons, Sir.
1:  I am a newbie newbie
2:  The MR14-60 Sales Team was top notch with really good spin. . .  <grin>

strych90 - original: USMCe7-- It's generally not worth putting actives on a geosurvey ship.     They are classified civilian (as long as the engines are civilian) which saves a lot of headaches in maintenance life and overhauls *EDIT* Since you're new I should probably tell you that civilian ships don't require maintenance while military ships require maintenance parts and periodic overhauls.     
Also, a size-1 res60 sensor at low tech is basically useless.     Even later game its only good for super emergency close range "OH MY GOD THEY'RE RIGHT IN MY FACE AND MY SENSOR SHIPS IS GONE!" type situations.
Mac:  You, Sir, are absolutely correct.   My newbie concept was that the Galileo was a military vessel, and thus had military engines and a sensor.   I am (now!) familiar with the differing maintenance concepts between military and civilian vessels.   Future designs will bear this in mind.   The currently installed short ranged sensor will, in the case of enemy attack, give the Galileo crew several seconds to contemplate the meaning of life - prior to being obliterated.   Thank You for your input.

Gents - I am very appreciative of your immediate help and guidance.

Mac