Question about multi-stage missiles

[martinuzz (OP)]

After browsing through the mechanics forum, I cannot find the answer to this:
What is the ratio between size of the first stage of a missile and the second stage?
Or, how many size x missiles can fit in a size y first stage missile?
I read in the fiction, that someone put 4x size 1.25 missiles in a size 8 first stage, so I wondered, why not 4x size 2?

[Brian Neumann]

You actually have to design the 2nd stage first.  Then when you put it into the first stage it uses up that much of the missiles space.  If you have a second stage design that is 1.5 spaces and you put three of them in a 1st stage missile then the first stage will get 4.5 missile space points larger.

A couple of things to be aware of.  The second stage missiles either need their own sensors to allow them to target a ship, or the firing ship needs to have their fire control up and running and in range when the missiles seperate.  If you want to set up a missile for ambush situations where you fire on passives and have the missiles seperate and attack without the firing ship using it's fire control/active sensors then you want to make sure that the 1st stage has a sensor that will detect the targets at the appropriate range when they seperate, and that the 2nd stage also have the sensors to spot the target.  If you have a ship using an active sensor that can spot the targets then only the second stage really needs to have the sensors.  The first stage will fly out to the waypoint set and release the 2nd stage missiles.  This is pretty fancy however, and can run into some real problems.  If you want to try it out my suggestion would be to create a quick game just to figure out the specific commands and how you want to design the missiles, kind of like running a wargame in real life to figure out how a weapon works.

Brian

[Kurt]

After browsing through the mechanics forum, I cannot find the answer to this:
What is the ratio between size of the first stage of a missile and the second stage?
Or, how many size x missiles can fit in a size y first stage missile?
I read in the fiction, that someone put 4x size 1.25 missiles in a size 8 first stage, so I wondered, why not 4x size 2?

I'm not an expert in multi-stage missiles, by any means, but I have dabbled in them occasionally.  There is no set ratio, it is just a matter of what performance you want for your multi-stage missile.  The greater the payload (second and third stage missiles) the lower the overall performance.  

Kurt

[Erik L]

The simplest answer is that your primary stage still needs to have fuel/engines/etc.

[martinuzz (OP)]

Ah. It's all crystal clear now.
Thanks again guys!