So I'm going to try again to get into this game, things always arise that get in the way and then I have to relearn the whole thing, which is what I'm doing now. So I have a few questions before I get started (again, for the third or fourth time)
1. Do dedicated sensor ships work in combat? For example, if I have a few ships in my fleet handling enemy and missle detection can my warships use this information to shoot stuff? I imagine this will be the case but would it be effective? Is there a delay in relaying the information to the warship from the sensor ship? A delay that the enemy missles could take advantage of?
Basic breakdown of sensors, You have active, thermal and EM, Thinking active as a targeting sensor, this allows you to use your targeting fire control to fire at an enemy with a weapon. Thermal and EM are passive sensors each with it flaws and qualities, most people use thermal.
Now with active sensors you will probably need two types ones to pick up ships and one to pick up missiles, they are different based on range and the type of size the sensor is suppose to pick up. Make sure you understand fire control that in effect also apart of the range when dealing with weapons.
2. What is the average ship size, both for the enemy and for what the enemy's sensors are usually set to detect, or is there an average size? The plan I've drawn up involves making ships 4/5ths the size of the average vessel (4k tons if 5k tons is the average, which I think it is, though I am probably wrong), this should give me a bit of an edge, since I can get closer before they detect me.
There is no hard or fast rule here, it is more about speed then size, but the optimum I have found for military vessels is around 7-10K having said that i have played a game where the vessels are in the 20-30K bracket and are slower but more heavily defended and armed
3. The no overhauls setting means you don't have to worry about failure % and engineering spaces, correct?
Correct
EDIT:: 4. Is it just me or do Mesons seem really OP? This seems to be the case, atleast early on where most components are one hit to kill.
What do you mean by OP? overpowered, they can be but the range is very small so if you vessel is slower you never get close enough to use them
EDIT2:: 5. The wiki seems to indicate that a dedicated point defense ship will also work, 1 or more protection the fleet from incoming missles, but I've read some posts that say that point defenses only work for the ships they're mounted on. Can I make dedicated point defense ships?
In a your ships are inter connected they can share each other sensor data, and they can also protect each other ships with either a turreted gauss/laser/meson canon if you set that type in the fire control options. However the CIWS point defence is only for the ship it is on. Having said this unturret weapons can be used as well but due to the limitations based on the sped of the ship v incoming missiles they rarely work.
EDIT3:: Ive read some more posts, lots about dedicated point defense ships, I am really confused now.
Wiki is your friend