[quote author=Jorgen_CAB link=topic=10640.msg149258#msg149258 date=1613823736
I also would not say that missiles are OP... it is the box-launcher mechanic that is OP and it is on the player if they abuse it until Steve decide to change things. I have already outlined in other threads why using massed box launchers on big ships are unrealistic in the first place.
Even reduced size spam is very powerful thanks to how little fire rate matters on ASM launchers. On the other hand, AMM launchers can't take advantage of reduced size as much which gives somewhat of an advantage to missiles.
I do somewhat understand why missiles are tactically OP though as they are the only weapon type that creates a logistical and strategic burden on the user. But beam fleets have always felt weak compared to their missile counterparts as the missile ships can fire without fear of retaliation.
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For what it's worth, Steve has gone on record saying that he feels missiles are underpowered if anything right now...granted I'm not certain how much he accounts for the box launcher spam in that assessment, which I certainly agree is ridiculous if a player chooses to exploit it.
I've said before, a significant issue with missile vs. beam balance is that they do not scale with each other across all tech levels. Discounting ECM vs. ECCM, missiles have really only one way to improve their ability to avoid PD which is to increase speed. This can be done principally by improving the engine tech as well as the maximum boost tech, with side-effect gains from improved agility and warhead techs. However, the boost tech line ends fairly early with the 3.0x modifier tech capping out at I believe 15k RP. So for a race that invests into missiles, speed increases roughly quadratically* with tech up until around MP drive tech, and then only linearly* after that. Given that most players seem to start with ion drives this is quite early in the game.
*Disclaimer: "quadratic" and "linear" here are simplifications, since the actual tech levels do not themselves increase linearly, but for the sake of argument this should be clear enough.On the other hand point defense tech improves at more or less the same kind of rate throughout the game. AMMs for example gain the same benefits of any other missiles, plus improved hit chances due to agility tech and so they will consistently improve relative to ASMs at every tech level. For beam PD the question is more complicated, at a basic level of course capability increase is linear* due to improvements in ship/BC/turret speeds, but generally there are ancillary boosts which give beam PD an increasing edge as tech level increases. All beam PD benefits from the missile tracking bonus which is tied to active sensor tech. Gauss PD also benefits hugely from increases in ROF tech which is probably the largest cause of missile effectiveness drop-off at late-game tech levels.
There's not really an easy solution to this - if one even considers it a problem, which it might not be as having a progressive shift of technology over time is more interesting than a static balance at every tech level. Most any solution would require changing the core mechanics, which Steve generally doesn't like to do it seems.