I've figured that making financial centers is a poor idea.
Each financial center produces wealth equal to 1 million population.
This is very very small.
My standard game opening policy now is to research 3 or 4 levels of Expand Civilian Economy. (I don't start with any)
- Not only does this give you more free infrastructure (which always runs out), it also gives you, indirectly, a bigger private sector fleet which will mean you can reduce the number of government freighters.
- In fact, RP for RP, the free infrastructure from a 1billion pop planet is worth more in bp per year than the equivalent CF build rate increase.
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Just fought my first battle against ships that shot back.
A perfect victory at that, they didn't even scratch the paint. XD
- Although I had 150ktons to their 81.95ktons (111.4ktons if you count their defensive bases)
Get ECCM and keep getting it. Even if you can't afford ECM, ECCM will save your ships.
They had ECM 40, I had neither.
In fact, I will now put more sensor tech into ECCM than any other sensor tech.
Our missile ranges were similar (~60mkm), but I could only fire at 38mkm. Futhermore, their ships outpace mine by a mere 300km/s, small but enough to keep the range open. I can't approach to shoot them and I can't run away.
For a long while I thought I was going to lose my fleet, until they ran out of missiles and started to close. Which turned out to be fatal for them. (my fleet did out-weigh them by... alot. )
Too bad for them, my AMM frigates had enough ammo. I had a 45% hitrate (AMMs being 25% faster than their missiles) and used 2v1 interception which resulted in 0 getting through (I have no point blank defence). Actually, 1 missile got through out of roughly 200 to 300 shot at me but it somehow just disappeared when it reached my ships, presumably it somehow missed (although I don't know how at 40kkm/s missile can miss a 5750km/s ship).
Observation: You get a number of interception chances for each missile salvo...
First intercept occurs at your AMM launch range * your AMM speed / their missile speed. Following intercepts follow a similar formula except you substitute AMM launch range for the previous intercept position.
This meant that interceptions happened more often as missiles approached my ships. And with a 6mkm AMM launch, with roughly similar missile speeds, this is around 4-5 interception chances.
With 45% hit rate and 2v1, this means with 4 interceptions only 1 missile in 120 gets through. With 5 interceptions, only 1 in 395 gets through.
Therefore, AMM range is actually very very important and is absolutely critical if you're solely relying on AMMs for defence (like I am). Each interception chance drastically decreases the number of leakers and even a 5% increase in hitrate would result in needing far less AMMs as well as even fewer leakers. (+5% hitrate on my missiles would mean in the 4 interception case, only 1 in 256 gets through!)
As for the ratio of missile defence needed, 20 missiles per wave at roughly 20 to 30 seconds between waves was totally blocked, with some additional room.
My setup was 5 ships each with 10 size 1 missile launchers (10s reload) to 2 firecontrols. 6.1mkm range, 45% hitrate.
Ammunition aside, I could have laid down 3v1 AMM fire and my launchers would reload fast enough to cope with the salvoes. Initially I used 3v1, as my calculated hitrate was 28%. Apparently crew grade bonus applies to interception chance! Which then means that you want your highest grade bonuses on your AMM ships.
My AS missiles had hitrates around 110 to 130% or so and needed no help. Massive overkill in every launch, to the point that my "test" salvo meant to gauge their anti-missile defences actually wiped out their fleet.
Summary of conclusions:
1. Get ECCM. I needed it last year.
1b. Get better engines. This is often infeasible, but engine speed = life. Overclocking engines is definitely worth the explosion chance and fuel use. (I suspect their engine tech was actually 1 full level higher than mine, but I have +25% engine power)
2. AMM range and crew grade bonus is critical to maintaining impenetrable AMM defence.
3. Bring a coiller full of AMMs if I can at all manage it. I started with 2150 AMMs, I now have 945. Way too close for comfort. Especially since that is ALL the missile defence I have.
4. I need to bring up my laser frigate design. AMM defence will leak.
