A Few questions on casemates and missiles

[dzlockhead]

Firstly, I am curious how the ships like the Thyr have casemates that rotate only in the horizontal but the cannons inside them can rotate both vertically and with the casemate.

Secondly, I have a vertical takeoff missile that i want to use in an AntiShip role and antiAir role, but it doesent seem to target ships or aircraft properly. Here is its configuration tail to nose - Short range thruster - fuel tank - fuel tank - fins - target prediction guidance - fins - one turn - explosive warhead - explosive warhead - IR seeker.

This leads to my final question - What roles are the explosive warhead useful for and what roles would the fragmentation warhead be better suited? Ive used explosives so far exclusively.

[ZANZIBAR]

By casemate I'd take it you mean the gunhouses/turrets. Since my idea of a casemate is more in line with casemate ironclads like the CSS Virginia/Merimmack and the CSS Albemarle.

If it's that then that's usually made with the turret using either a 360 azi (azimuth) only unit or a precision one. And having the guns mounted on them to run with motor and/or elevation barrels.

As for warheads the fragmentation one is best used with a small cone angle to act like an armour piercing warhead, a cone angle of less than 10 degress would mean that the 50 fragments will try to hit a focused spot and try to poke holes in the target, their usefulness beyond that is meager at best since once too spread out each fragment deals negligible damage to blocks.

Explosive warheads are good for general damage to multiple blocks near the surface of where the missile hits. A good setup is to have one fragmentation warhead arranged as described and an explosive warhead.

As for your missile you'd have to be more specific on it's behaviour because I don't see anything wrong with your missile design. Although I have heard that where one places fins on the missile does affect it I've not confirmed it, apparently fins work better if near the ends of the missile than the middle (which makes sense, but I'm not sure if that's modeled in the game at the moment).

[xPhantom G]

Your missile setup should work nicely. Perhaps it might have trouble turning so you may wanna add an extra set of fins or two.

As for explosive warheads, they are useful for external/consistent and localised damage against ships.
Fragmentation warheads, being made to send shrapnel everwhere isn't consistent when it comes to damage, having a full wide 180 cone will allow it to shred light targets such as wooden ships, but do nothing but scratch stronger rmaterial such as metal. But if you narrow to cone all the way to 0, you can penetrate the armor and do massive internal damage, but that's only when you hit armor flat on, if you hit at an angle, most of the shrapnel will just harmlessly bounce off.

[Chrozayis]

against slow airships I find the prediction guidance does more harm than good, try removing it and see it it improves, also consider using laser guidance

[dzlockhead]

When targeting aircraft, it shows some random coordinates instead of the target i want. It also lauches really high in the air, I swapped the fuel tanks with the fins as well.

[dzlockhead]

Even when it tries to target an aircraft, it just seems to completely overshoot it.

[spooky skeleton]

only use laser missiles for vertical missile launchers
and if they keep missing maybe make the missile launcher and add more fins

[rditto48801]

My VLS IR Seeker missiles seem to not work right if I use the target prediction guidance. Half the time the missiles seem eager to just fly off in the wrong direction, even with One Turn.
IR Seekers with Cameras set for Random Blocks are handy, because all that Heat Decoys do is ensure whatever has them is about to have a bad day.

I like to have my frag warheads set for 5 degree angle.
I agree with using explosive and frag warheads. Some of my larger missiles and torpedoes use both kinds of warheads.

[ZANZIBAR]

Target prediction guidance is very good for hitting really fast things that turn really well like the White Flayer aircraft and hydrofoils. For that the Target Prediction system with high finnage works well. Otherwise it's not strictly necessary for the missile to have it.

[dzlockhead]

I think thats what did it. Using the target prediction guidance doesen't seem to work well with slower targets.. What's up with that? I did get the casemated cannons working though. I also adjusted my torpedoes to use varying frag angles and it now decimates wooden bottoms and some iron bottoms.

[ZANZIBAR]

I found it to be relative since target prediction on my big slow missiles still work well despite targeting either a fast or slow target, althought I'm talking about big missiles like 10 blocks long and such.

[dzlockhead]

oh wow, mine are only six blocks.

[ZANZIBAR]

Speaking of missiles there's a new variable thruster in the recent update, haven't played with it yet but that should probably help in regulating the speed of missiles other than by just giving them mass.