Posted by: Silvarelion
« on: December 17, 2018, 11:12:25 PM »my biggest question is this: with the (lack of) operational range of the parasites, can you dependably keep the carriers out of missile range?
it also seems like you have a very high minimum investment in Gallicite before your fleet can endure the usual npr levels of AMM spam. maybe it would work for your flak ships to be based on the assassin chassis instead of the killer?
You are right that it would be a lot cheaper to build slower ships that don't have stealth capabilities. Gallicite isn't a problem at the moment, but it very well could be later on down the road. The expense of the engines is also why I haven't planned to upgrade the corvettes speed over time. The engine is over half of their cost, so there really isn't too much point in changing it out, instead of making a whole new ship. Especially when they should have a speed advantage over the vast majority of the ships they will find, even ones which are several generations more advanced. I should run the numbers, though, and see if I can find a more cost efficient frame for my flak corvettes.
Dealing with AMM and massed box launchers will be a problem. In my test fights while developing the idea, they didn't really stand much of a chance against either missile build. However, that is a problem that the vast majority of designs are weak against. But I feel like it can be overcome with good scouting, maneuverability, and the micromanagement of knowing where their ranges are. My plan, which still needs to be tested against actual NPR spam, is to scout out where the AMMs are able to reach, then ride that line with my main ships, and bait out several salvos of AMMs. If I know how fast they are going, then I can duck back across the line and hopefully have the missiles burn out in flight trying to catch me.
I feel like good scouting is also the answer to keeping the carriers safe from missile attack. If they are caught out, then the operational ranges of the corvettes doesn't give me much wiggle room. However, jump scouts should make sure that there isn't anything within striking distance of the jump point, and after that, they just need to be able to retreat back out of sensor range. So far, nothing has come anywhere near to finding out there the carriers are, and as long as they don't get surprised, they should be able to lie doggo and let the decoy fighters draw the enemy away.
Thanks for the input!