Component Information Type Designed Class Military Tech Branch Missiles / Kinetic Weapons Specifications Size (HS) 1 to 100 Size (Tons) 50 to 5000 Production Cost per BP Build Cost 1 Duranium 0.25 Tritanium 0.75





Image source: User Clarinetlover, town hall of Mercato San Severino, via wikipedia Impressive first attempt, but can possibly be improved through research.Image source: User Clarinetlover, town hall of Mercato San Severino, via wikipedia

A Missile Launcher is a designed component that is used to launch Missiles.

Overview

Missile Launchers are used to deploy all kinds of Missiles, including drones and buoys. A launcher can launch missiles up to its maximum size, can store one missile equal to its size. After a launcher fires its missile, it must be reloaded from Magazines before it fires again. Remember, Missiles themselves are the most potent weapon in Aurora, however without ammunition your missile launchers are just expensive targets.

A Launcher rate of fire is given by Launcher Size * ( 30s / Launcher Reload Rate ) . Reduced size launchers can be useful to increase the salvo size for penetrating Point Defense. Box Launchers take this to its extreme, being small, but unable to reload outside a hangar deck or Maintenance Facility, and are a popular choice on fighters and FACs.

Background Technology

Missile Launcher Size controls the size of the missile that may be launched by the launcher. Advanced ICEF fields allow smaller missiles to be launched from larger launchers, but larger missiles will not physically fit in the launcher. Launcher size also determines the base rate of fire, with a base reload rate of 30 seconds per size (Size 1: 30s, Size 2: 60s, etc). The base physical size (in HS) of the launcher is equal to its Missile Launcher Size. The size can be any integer from 1 to 100 HS. Size also influences HTK.

Every increment of size increases the base cost of the launcher by:

Materials Required: 1 unit of Duranium and 3 units of Tritanium.

Cost Per Launcher: 4 BP / Cost.

Development Cost for Project: 40 RP.

Missile Launcher Reload Rate controls the reload rate of the launcher. This tech acts as a divisor for the base reload rate, while linearly increasing each of the costs mentioned under the size segment by 25% of the base cost.

For example, A size 10 rate 1 launcher reloads in 300s, A size 10 rate 2 launcher reloads in 150s, a 50% reduction. A size 10 rate 3 launcher reloads in 100s, a 66% reduction from the original, but only a 33% reduction from the rate 2 launcher. In general, a rate N launcher offers a 1/N improvement in reload time over the previous rate, making the diminishing returns obvious.

Missile Launcher Reload Rate Reload Rate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 RP cost - 2,000 4,000 8,000 15,000 30,000 60,000 125,000 250,000 500,000 1,000,000 2,000,000

Platform Type can be either Ship-based or PDC-based. Ship-based launchers can be used on either ships or PDCs. PDC-based launchers can only be used on PDCs. Because they don't have to meet the same space requirements as ship-based systems, PDC-based launchers can afford to include more reloading machinery, reducing their base reload rate in half compared to an equivalent ship-based system. Launch platform has no effect on module cost.

Reduced Size Launchers allow for decreasing the physical size of a launcher while increasing reload rate. This also influences HTK. Each reduction in size applies the same proportional reduction in part cost to each of the items mentioned in the previous section.

The 0.15 size launcher, the smallest, is better known as the Box Launcher. are not capable of reloads unless the ship is docked at a maintenance facility or hangar deck.

Reduced Size Launchers Size 1 0.75 0.5 0.33 0.25 0.15 (Box) Reload Multiplier 1 2 5 20 100 15 RP cost - 1,000 2,000 3,000 6,000 10,000

Final Cost Formula

Final cost = Base Cost * Size in HS * (1+((Reload Rate-1)*0.25)) * Size Reduction

Base costs:

Materials Required: 1 Duranium, 3 Tritanium

Cost Per Launche: 4 BP

Development Cost for Project: 40 RP

For example, Our size 10, reload 2 launcher mentioned in the Reload section would cost 6.25 Duranium 18.75 Tritanium, 25BP and 250RP at 50% reduction. It's notable that the 0.33 size increment only applies the decimals as shown, so a launcher with costs multiplied by 3 via reload rate 3 and then again multiplied by 0.33 due to the reduction in size would have a final cost 1% lower than the base cost due to the decimal imprecision.