How to load missiles in conventional start PDCs?

[Michael Sandy (OP)]

Aha!  I figured out the issue, thanks to Detros.  First, I have to double click on the ICBM missile in the base, in order to transfer that missile to the population.  THEN there will be room to load it into the ICBM base.

Or I would, but my missile base is now apparently suffering from the effects of transit.  Or more likely, ICBMs take a while to load.

(edit)  12 days later, still suffering the effects of 'transit'.  Now the 'missile launch' button SAYS that it is what you use when you are launching without using a fire control, but I seem to be missing something to get it to work.

[Detros]

(edit)  12 days later, still suffering the effects of 'transit'.  Now the 'missile launch' button SAYS that it is what you use when you are launching without using a fire control, but I seem to be missing something to get it to work.

IIRC there should be hard wired 5 or 15 min interval for PDC firing at he same body, so that other races there have time to respond to "nuclear war". This simulates the time the ICBM needs to fly through upper atmosphere to any other colony on the same body. Otherwise it would be instant (5s), with target distance of 0 km. Maybe that's also why it is showing you that "transit effect".

[MarcAFK]

Try using the ordnance transfer window in future to move the ordinance to the pdc.

[Michael Sandy (OP)]

Well, I did get the missiles to load in the PDC, that part works.  But the sticking point is still firing them.

And the next sticking point is figuring out a good way to make recon drones in general more easy to use.  Also, I will want to see if when you use more than one, the points stack.  Because then you could just build LOTS of small buoys, and just use multiples on planets and big moons to get the survey done in a reasonable amount of time.

[Michael Sandy (OP)]

Okay, I am still stumped.  How do you fire missiles from conventional start ICBMs? I am still getting the transit effects warning.  I can load the missiles, but I can't fire them.  Should I just give up on using them?

If you have managed to fire missiles from conventional ICBMs, please provide a step by step, because obviously I am missing something.

And I mean every step, including how to target a planet, moon or asteroid with the missile bases.

[MarcAFK]

I swear I have done it in the past. I'll load up my test game and have a poke around.
Edit:
Well this is weird. I Can load and fire missiles from the PDC's fine. However the geo survey points just refuse to go down.
Process was this:
 Create new conventional game, spacemaster transnewtonian research, and geo survey sensors, space master a size 1 conventional engine.
Design a missile with 10 MSP of geo survey sensor, 6.8 fuel capacty, and 7 engines (also contains .2 reactor for the sensors). Create the missile then spacemaster the design.
Open the missile base design, change ordnance to the new missiles.
Open up one of the missile bases, click "standard" reload.
Open the system map and create a waypoint at the moon. use the SB waypoint button which puts a waypoint on the body which moves with the body.
Then select and fire at the waypoint, watch the missile slowly crawl at 100km/s towards the moon, eventually it gets there, but the body stays at 173 survey points.

[Michael Sandy (OP)]

Okay, something new weird.  I got my probe missiles built, and a probe launcher on a scouting pinnace.  And I can fire a missile, (I accidentally built the buoys instead of the missiles)... but I can only fire once.  Then I get the transit warning.

So... I transit out, transit back, I can use the launch missile option... once.

Yay, I will be able to launch probe missiles and find out more about the (spoilers) without risking ships... but I still can't launch them reliably, I can't launch recon drones from a ship that hasn't just transited.  Do I need a fire control?  I am just trying to hit a waypoint.  Oh well, more experimentation some other time.

[Michael Sandy (OP)]

Yes, you absolutely need a fire control to fire missiles at waypoints.  Fortunately, a .1 HS fire control is sufficient.

I have to say, using missiles to scout systems is a bit of a mixed bag.

I am experimenting with both single stage missiles and 2-stage ones.  The advantage of the 2-stage ones is that the sensor will stay on location indefinitely, but you pay the research cost twice.

So far, EM missiles seem to work better than active sensor missiles in detecting enemies at range.  I am waiting on the next level of Thermal Sensors to build thermal sensor probes.

The problem is that scouting a whole system is rather expensive.  Both in terms of missiles, and in the fact that my probe ship has to keep flying back to base to get more missiles.  So I think I will reserve missile scouting for systems in which I actually detected a hostile ship, in order to localize them, find out how many and what type of ship they have, and information on the range of their AMMs.

My MSP 3 active sensor missile was detected and destroyed at 2.3 times the range of the sensor.  That suggests that an MSP 6 missile, (at least once I get better sensors or even power plants) would be able to detect the enemy ships that shoot it down.  So if I am trying for real information, as distinct from detecting the mere presence of the enemy, designing a missile that can identity number and class of the enemy before being destroyed might be worth it.  Above 6 MSP, the enemy's detection range of my probes is going to increase faster than the range of the sensors on my probes increases.

I wonder if it is worth making a 2-stage missile, where the separation range is greater than the enemy's apparent AMM range, possibly with a very efficient 100 km/s engine on the 2nd stage.

I am trying to figure out what useful information I can get from missiles, and how to make use of it.  I am pretty sure I could use them to detect when the enemy moves out, which would give an idea as to what range their planetary or other passive sensors had.