So you want to make a missile?
First off, missile engine. Unless you're going for BIG RANGE, use maximum power modifier allowed, it'll make your missile more capable of hitting targets and avoiding point defences. Size is up to you, though I'd advice making it 50% of total missile mass.
Next up, designing the missile itself. Assign an engine and allocate however much you want in three parts:
1. Warhead - the part that goes boom, the more the better damage you get.
2. Fuel - the more the farther your missile flies.
3. And agility - it is important too, put points here to increase to-hit chances.
Don't put much in the last two, 0.1-0.5 will be fine.
There are also other things, but they're mostly useless: sensors allow to lock on another target if intended is destroyed, ablative armour protects from hits and ECM reduces to-hit chances of PD systems.
Also, try to keep the total size rounded, there are no fractional launchers (5, but no 5.1, getit?)
Okay, now on to the ship. Take a look at example:
F-Settembrini III class Raketnyy Kreyser 15 000 tons 301 Crew 4400.5 BP TCS 300 TH 4800 EM 0
16000 km/s Armour 6-54 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 12 PPV 66.25
Maint Life 2.97 Years MSP 2200 AFR 150% IFR 2.1% 1YR 372 5YR 5583 Max Repair 800 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 48 months Spare Berths 1
Magazine 1453
Izmaylov Foundation 1600 EP Gas Core AM Drive (3) Power 1600 Fuel Use 13.6% Signature 1600 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1 250 000 Litres Range 110.3 billion km (79 days at full power)
Hit-and-Run ASM System Mk. 3 (53) Missile Size 5 Rate of Fire 1670
Ratters ASM Launcher Assistant R100\Sz1\T5 (1) Range 194.4m km Resolution 100
Ratters AMM Launcher Assistant R1\Sz1\T5 (1) Range 19.4m km Resolution 1
Size 5 Anti-ship Missile-4 (290) Speed: 120 000 km/s End: 5.6m Range: 40.7m km WH: 20 Size: 5 TH: 640/384/192
ExpAI Backup Sensor System-4 (1) GPS 800 Range 32.0m km Resolution 100
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Look at it, there are many parts:
1. Armor. Not as important if you're into hit-and-run, but must have otherwise
2. Maintenance. Never forget it, you don't your ship to spontaneously explode on takeoff.
3. Deployment time is important too. If you overdeploy the ship, it'll get penalties, which hurt in combat.
4. Engines and fuel. Your ship won't move without them. I'd recommend to stick either for 1.0x or 0.5x power modifier for starters. If you're looking for proper range, go for 20-30bkm. Enough to cover two-three systems.
5. Weapons.
5.1. If you go beam route, you need BEAM fire control, reactor and the weapon itself. Laser is all-rounder, particle is good for mid-range, railgun is more damaging than lasers, but range and damage profile suffers, mesons
go right through any armor and shield but deal only 1 point of damage, microwaves
destroy shields and electronics, and plasma carronades are... I dunno, they have better damage per shot at the cost of everything else.
5.2. There is also gauss cannon, good for PD, not so good for anti-ship duties, doesn't require reactors. You can even place them on CIWS to deflect missiles from get-go.
5.3. Missile route. You need MISSILE fire control for that, and missile launcher (either bigger or exact size of your missile) and magazines to store reloads. Bigger launchers reload slower, and bigger magazines
are more efficient nevermind.
6. Sensors. You can leave resolution alone for now, 100 HS does rather good job at spotting ships. You can put small sensor on every ship, or make platform for big sensor, or both just in case.
Oh my god, this post is getting huge.There are, of course, more systems, but they aren't that necessary:
7. Shields. Recharge themselves, but take less hits than same tonnage of armour. Awful early on, gets much better later.
8. Jump drives allow for interstellar travel. Not much use in defense though.
9. Passive sensors. Thermal detects engine emissions, and EM detects active sensor emissions. Not necessary, but you might want to use them, as they won't give your position out like active sensors.
10. Cloaking system reduces cross-section of ship, reducing effective range of hi-res active sensors. Terrible early on.
Last things to note:
1. There are A LOT of designs on bureau, use them as reference, they're rather good.
2. Experiment and learn from your mistakes. Your first ships are very likely either to *just* blow up (for example, when I was starting, I didn't know what maintenance is, so my ships flew pretty well, but I didn't know why they were suddenly exploding?) or get horribly destroyed by enemy.
3. Put only mesons or missile or PDCs, or you will get the "atmosphere stopped damage" when you need enemy destroyed.
4. Don't hesitate to ask?
My wording is terrible, sorry for that.