Just ran into the Spoilers. Please advise.

[Llamatoesl (OP)]

I sent a survey ship into Ross 248.  it seems the Star Swarm are in this system.  Will they spread? This system is only 4 jumps from Sol.  is it worth assaulting the system? I'm currently using laminate Armour and internal fusion drives.  I'm largely missile based, but I don't have actives powerful enough to detect the buggers.

Should I attempt an assault with my six destroyers and three cruisers?
Should I pray to high heaven they don't come knocking?
Should I leave the system be and use it as a nature reserve/proving ground?

[PSI]

I don't know the answers to those questions, but I do know what weapons they use...spoilered just in case you don't know and you'd like to find out by yourself.

They use mesons. Mesons go through armor and shields and directly cause internal damage.

However, I think it might be the most fun if you figure out for yourself what the space bugs are gonna do.

[Iranon]

They can reach scary numbers, and I would advise against a "fair" fight.
Fortunately, it's relatively easy to build vessels that counter them hard.

[Panopticon]

They have pretty easy counters yeah, if the rest of your tech is at the level of your armor and engines, you shouldn't have a problem with them.

As to if they spread, the answer to that is maybe. I have never seen them spread in my games, but there are quite a few other people who report otherwise, including Steve in some of his AARs. It is unpredictable basically. At the very least you want to picket that JP though.

[Llamatoesl (OP)]

I don't know the answers to those questions, but I do know what weapons they use. . . spoilered just in case you don't know and you'd like to find out by yourself.

They use mesons.  Mesons go through armor and shields and directly cause internal damage.

However, I think it might be the most fun if you figure out for yourself what the space bugs are gonna do.

I will use your advice.  With Mesons, It is advisable to take the buggers out at long range.  I shall design some cruisers with high speed, low yield, mid range missiles and massive sensors. 
But do they come out of their systems?

[Llamatoesl (OP)]

This is proposed missile design for taking out the Swarm. 
Missile Size: 4 MSP  (0.  2 HS)     Warhead: 6    Armour: 0     Manoeuvre Rating: 38
Speed: 19200 km/s    Engine Endurance: 21 minutes   Range: 24.  5m km
Cost Per Missile: 4.  7
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 729.  6%   3k km/s 228%   5k km/s 145.  9%   10k km/s 73%
Materials Required:    1.  5x Tritanium   3.  2x Gallicite   Fuel x1600

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Size 4 Anti-ship Missile "Flyswat"
I've got a design for an anti-bug frigate.   I intend to have it weigh in at under 6000 tonnes.   I'm eschewing Armour and shields for tough magazines, speed and sensors. 
The vessel will carry those missiles and my more powerful size 8  missiles, (two launchers to fire them as well) for dealing with mother-ships. 
I want to some Macross style fireworks from this

Hopefully the femtosecond these boys turn up, they won't get curb stomped by everything .
EDIT: I'm having to change my entire combat doctrine from heavily armored warships slugging it out to smaller and faster vessels speedboats who will tear me to shreds the second they get close.

[Panopticon]

Missiles are... not ideal for taking out motherships, unless you can get seriously large or rapid firing salvos, you are likely to run dry before accomplishing much.

[Llamatoesl (OP)]

Missiles are. . .  not ideal for taking out motherships, unless you can get seriously large or rapid firing salvos, you are likely to run dry before accomplishing much.

Well then what is? Do i have to murder all of the soldiers and then wait until all my regular destroyers and cruisers? can get out and launch every single missile in my arsenal at the target?

[Iranon]

The problem with missiles is that the Swarm uses powerful shields, making this very expensive.. My favoured tool against them is a "Fisher's Follies" type cruiser... big guns, ludicrous speed, flimsy.
Depending on my tech level it my be just a big gun with engines and a ridiculously short service life.

If I can afford to make it a reasonably balanced ship, I like having something fast with big (spinal?) lasers and small railguns anyway:
Put all weapons that benefit from speed on the fastest reasonable hull, make some missiles packs if I need speed and standoff range, have the rest of my fleet be relatively slow and armed with missiles/turreted beams.

[Panopticon]

For motherships you only need something fast enough to not get caught by them, and with a beam weapon of some variety that outranges their guns, it is generally pretty easy to do, although some experimenting might be needed to find the right range. Missiles for the little guys, beams for the big one.

[Llamatoesl (OP)]

The problem with missiles is that the Swarm uses powerful shields, making this very expensive. .  My favoured tool against them is a "Fisher's Follies" type cruiser. . .  big guns, ludicrous speed, flimsy.
Depending on my tech level it my be just a big gun with engines and a ridiculously short service life.

If I can afford to make it a reasonably balanced ship, I like having something fast with big (spinal?) lasers and small railguns anyway:
Put all weapons that benefit from speed on the fastest reasonable hull, make some missiles packs if I need speed and standoff range, have the rest of my fleet be relatively slow and armed with missiles/turreted beams.

Okay.  i shall take that advice and build myself a series of cruisers that take hits badly, and consist of a large meson cannon, some engines and nothing else.
All of this stuff is highly situational. 
Fun.

[SteelChicken]

The fun of the game is going out there and fighting them with what you got and see what happens.   If you get your butt kicked, that can be fun too.

[sneer]

no matter mothership shield strenght you can still go with big salvos
it is sad but is is remedy on everything in game
just big enough salvos 

[Llamatoesl (OP)]

no matter mothership shield strenght you can still go with big salvos
it is sad but is is remedy on everything in game
just big enough salvos 

Some of us don't have the sort of missile stockpiles that you have, buster.

[NihilRex]

If you build dedicated Countermissile ships, they work real well against the mamas.