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Post by nerd1000 on Sept 28, 2016 10:04:12 GMT
I forgot to include corrective maneuvering to put the missile back on course. You take the time to reach the target the multiply that by the missiles current speed on the 3 axis to give you the closest passby point. Then you take that point and find the distance on each axis to the target then add that to the estimated target location after the tick. Now that is the actual location the missile should head to. You can actually achieve a collision course (though not necessarily an optimal one) by exploiting a geometry trick: if the bearing to the target is constant while the range is decreasing you are on a collision course. Therefore you can get a hit by watching how the target moves across your field of view- for example if the target moves to the left, you adjust your course left until the target isn't moving across your FoV any more. Similarly if it moves right you turn right. Do the same for the vertical axis and you have a proportional navigation homing system- it works extremely well, and can be implemented with 1950s' vacuum tube electronics (this is how the original AIM-9B sidewinder worked).
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Post by nerd1000 on Sept 28, 2016 0:52:02 GMT
What are you using for point defense? I have found lasers near-useless (multiple optimized 13MW lasers usually getting 1-2 kills before flak missiles enter their danger space), and the only kinetic weapons I have made with an effective range usefully greater than the danger space abused the integrator bug. I agree that the guidance needs help; I was referring to the missile/decoy balance. (I have had decent results from lining up precise interceptions and reserving a large DV for the terminal phase, but it should not be that hard.) It is not hard to make a 5km/s, 8G missile at much lower mass than a 100MW flare. Missiles (especially those controlled by the AI) don't use evasive maneuvers, so you can tell your guns to ignore range and they'll be able to hit the missiles anyway.
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Post by nerd1000 on Sept 27, 2016 1:32:43 GMT
I'm pretty sure that the main factors in resisting lower velocity projectiles are strength, hardness and toughness. The material needs to be strong to withstand the high forces involved, hard to deform or shatter projectiles (distributing the force across a wider area) and tough enough to avoid shattering itself.
Most of the stock ships use reinforced carbon-carbon armour, which is fairly strong and lightweight but isn't particularly hard or tough. On the plus side it is an excellent material for resisting lasers and nukes due to its high heat resistance. I've been experimenting with making the RCC much thinner and adding a layer of Aramid fiber (which is very tough) behind it, which seems to perform slightly better. Maybe the hardness side of things could be helped by a layer of very hard ceramic (Silicon carbide or boron carbide) over the RCC. So far I think my results have been messed up by the fact that I've been testing against a squad of 15 stinger drones- the huge number of rounds hitting the ship probably causes cumulative damage to the armour until it fails, even when it is thick enough to resist the individual rounds.
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Post by nerd1000 on Sept 24, 2016 13:19:08 GMT
IIRC you have a support carrier on that level, which has a small number of beam drones. Send them out to intercept the incoming enemy stingers: 2 beam drones can defeat an entire squadron of stinger drones if you get the approach angle right.
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