Aurora 4x
C# Aurora => C# Suggestions => Topic started by: 1tallboi on June 23, 2025, 02:15:15 AM
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In-game, a missile will be named "buoy" if it is an engineless, warhead-less missile with some kind of sensor on it.
I think it would be interesting to add an option when designing missile launchers to create a "buoy launcher." A buoy launcher would be smaller than a standard missile launcher, say 35 tons per MSP instead of 50, and don't require missile fire controls (you're basically pushing a button to drop a chunk of metal out of your spaceship at your own location) with the caveat that you cannot use it to launch anything whose first stage has an engine or warhead
Furthermore, a ship won't be labeled a "warship" if it has a Buoy Launcher on it
This'll allow more flexibility in designing ships whose primary role is buoy deployment/minelaying, while also making it easier to add that same capability to other class designs.
Furthermore, as things stand it's pretty simple to just slap a giant engine and a bunch of fuel to a missile stage and use that to deploy mines/buoys, I genuinely don't see much reason not to do so. Thus, the limitation of having a Buoy Launcher only allow for launching missiles without an engine or warhead while being significantly smaller (if I'm correct, at 0.3 size reduction, you're looking at 10.5 tons per MSP on the buoy launcher)
With the space savings on a buoy launcher, the gap between the space efficiency afforded by buoy launchers vs. the flexability offered by long-range missile stages used to deliver buoys and mines closes a little bit
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I don't want to create 'exception' rules unless they add something significant to the game, or add interesting decisions. Besides, you can have a reasonable missile fire control for 5 tons and use a 30% launcher, so a 'buoy launcher' is small anyway. For example, I have the ship below in my current game. If the missile launcher was slightly smaller it wouldn't change any decisions about the design - it would just make it slightly smaller and slightly cheaper.
Oculus Vigil class Buoy Deployment Vessel 2,400 tons 49 Crew 272.7 BP TCS 48 TH 120 EM 0
2500 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-15 Shields 0-0 HTK 17 Sensors 5/8/0/0 DCR 1-4 PPV 3.6
Maint Life 2.44 Years MSP 71 AFR 46% IFR 0.6% 1YR 16 5YR 246 Max Repair 60 MSP
Magazine 216 / 0
Captain Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months CDE 20% Morale Check Required
RM-24 Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 2400 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Ravenor Drive Systems RDS-120-M (1) Power 120 Fuel Use 63.90% Signature 120 Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 384,000 Litres Range 45.1 billion km (208 days at full power)
Buoy Dispenser (1) Missile Size: 12 Rate of Fire 1390
MK I Probe Launcher Fire Control (1) Range 4m km Resolution 1 ECCM-1
Auspex Buoy (18) Speed: 0 km/s End: 0m Range: 0m km WH: 0 Size: 12 TH: 0 / 0 / 0
MK I Commercial Active Augur Array (1) GPS 1920 Range 31.5m km Resolution 120
MK I Electromagnetic Augur Array (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 22.4m km
MK I Thermal Augur Array (1) Sensitivity 5 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 17.7m km