Box Launchers?

[Mormota (OP)]

I'd have a few question about box launchers. Firstly, can a size 8 box launcher fire 2 size 4 missiles at once? Can a size 8 normal missile launcher do it? What does MF Reload mean and lastly, how does one make a box launcher? I can't find it anywhere.

[Vynadan]

You can fire only one missile per launcher, regardless of whether it's boxed or not. It may be smaller than the tube size.

MF Reload describes the time the launcher requires to reload while it's in orbit of a colony with (working) maintenance facilities.

Box launchers are the end of the missile launcher reduction tech line in the kinetic & missile section. First, you'll have to research it and can then apply miniaturisation as a dropdown menu (just like everything else) to missile launcher tubes in the component designer / research project screen.

[Mormota (OP)]

So how are box launchers better than normal ones?

[Vynadan]

They take up less HS for their tube. Arguably, they're not better (nor worse) as it depends on what you want to do.

You can fit much larger salvoes into the same tonnage if you use box launchers - however, you'll only be able to reload in hangars or around colonies. A larger alpha strike can help you penetrate PD or wipe out an enemy flotilla that would otherwise be impregnable for your usual amounts of missiles.

Missile reduction is a tech usually employed on fighters or FACs, as they are very limited in their available HS and smaller usually means better. In a 500 ton fighter with mid-game technology you can easily put 40+ boxed tubes (can you say bomber?). This is probably the area box launchers are used in the most, but if you browse the fiction subforums you'll see some stories where a larger ships would pack immense apha strikes.
Other than that, you can just use some other reduction rate (25%, 50%, ...) which reduces your reload times, but still compresses the tubes into a form that doesn't require hangars or maintenance facilities yet.

[Mormota (OP)]

Ah, I see. Thanks a lot!

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Box launchers are kind of necessary for small craft, and are way better than goin beam. But it's a pretty hefty research investment for the early game.  They're also great for launching larger missiles because the reload penalty makes them kinda noncompetitive in the salvo game anyway.

[Girlinhat]

Box launchers (to me) serve three main roles.

1: Salvo Saturation - Link your boxes to the same firecon as your normal launchers, and get a lot more firepower, but only once.  This can be useful to overwhelm a heavy defense, such as if the enemy has heavy shields or good point-defense, then a massive salvo can overcome it.  Or if you simply want the joy of overkill~

2: Fighters - Being tiny, you might get a size 1 engine, another ~2 hull for life support and fuel and firecon, and have 7 HS remaining for missiles.  You could fit a size 1 launcher and 6 HS of magazine, which might give you, let's say, 7 missiles total.  Comparatively, if you mounted box launchers, you could fit like 50 size 1 box launchers into 7 HS (Unless my math is off, which does happen).  At .15 HS each, that's a lot of tiny missiles, and makes for some fair point-defense platforms as long as you have enough fighters to support the incoming fire.  Or sandblast the enemy's armor.  Or mount like a size 50 single launcher and use a fighter to deliver a massive payload.  Just return to hangar to reload.

3: Specialty Ordinance - Namely minefields, planetkillers, and sensor drones.  You can very easily mount a few box launchers to have a minelayer toss a dozen buoys somewhere.  Or mount a box launcher for a 0 fuel missile (1 second lifespan makes it an orbital bomb) so you can load a huge warhead to drop on a planet and wipe out the population.  Since you probably don't need more than one of these, they're nice to box mount.  Or, my favorite, design a drone and make the second stage into a buoy with a sensor.  Fire the drone at a waypoint, and when it arrives it deploys into a sensor buoy, very useful for putting a thermal sensor where you think the enemy is, so you can tell if there's enemies there or not and some idea of the size.  Or an active sensor, but chances are you'll get that buoy shot down.  These "special ordinance" are usually, well, special, and don't need to be used very often, so reload is often not worth the time.

Sometimes a .25 size launcher will suffice, but sometimes boxes just fit better.

Also note that you should have no reload on your box launcher.  Since reload tech doesn't effect boxes, you can increase the research and resource cost of your missile tube without gaining anything.  Default is "best tech" so you need to set it to 1 reload to avoid overspending.

[Erik L]

Something I've been contemplating...

A ship with a tractor in addition to its normal complement of armaments/defenses/etc. Towing a ship with nothing more than a crapton of box launchers. Half dozen of these, flush the "pods" and detach them, then engage normally.

[Girlinhat]

Even better: put the tractor beam on the box launcher ship.  It functions identically, but engine craft is 10HS lighter.  A very valid design, especially if you can spare a cloak on the box launcher section then it can be very small and very small signature, increasing their survival rate and safe pickup.