DN missiles pack

Missiles in Dark Nova are very, very advanced, having task-oriented pseudo-AIs that give the missile substantial intelligence. They therefore have a TAC based on a combination of their speed in flight, and the AI’s ability to predict incoming fire patterns and evade them. Missiles are pure fire-and-forget weapons, meaning that once fired, they will lock onto and repeatedly attempt to hit their target until they are destroyed, run out of fuel, or are successful. They rarely miss, and if unsuccessful, it is usually due to having been destroyed by anti-missile systems and point-defense weapons. However, on the rare occasion when they DO miss, the onboard AI will attempt to re-acquire the target and try again. Each missile type has a Tar bonus based on its AI (usually +6), and rolls re-acquisition attacks on its own. Munchkin Spoiler: the pseudo-AI of a missile cannot be used for any other purpose. They are, for lack of a better term, psychotic and bent on the destruction of the target assigned, and are so single-minded in this purpose that they will do anything to accomplish that goal. They are also- operating as a missile aside- rather stupid. Think of a rabid pit-bull wearing up to 40 gigatons of warhead for a hat that has been kicked in the dangly bits, and that just happens to have a knack for calculating incoming arcs of fire and predicting point defense weapon fire spreads, and you have a pretty good idea.
Missiles come in a variety of types, but the core types are as follows:

SRM- Short Range Missiles are the most common missiles found due to their combination of low cost and small size. SRMs come in three classifications- Heavy Weapons, Vehicular and Naval. The Heavy Weapons variants are the ordnance loads found in man-portable missile launchers and powered armour. Vehicular SRMs are designed for fighters, vehicles, and small craft. These are significantly larger and more potent than the man-portable versions, and are designed to be used against vehicles and smaller vessels. Naval SRMs are the largest of the SRM family, but still far smaller than any other naval missile. These are loaded into ships’ missile batteries as close-quarters anti-fighter or massive-volley attack weapons.

LRM- Long Range Missiles- as the name implies- are larger than SRMs and have far greater range. They also carry larger warheads, allowing them to do significantly greater damage. Like SRMs, LRMs come in Heavy Weapons, Vehicular and Naval varieties as well. LRMs are used in very much the same way in each of those categories as their SRM counterparts, but due to their larger size the batteries generally can carry less of them. LRMs are far faster than SRMs, giving them greater effective range, making them most effective as an offensive weapon as opposed to largely defensive SRMs.

SSM- Ship-to-Ship Missiles come in two varieties, Vehicular and Naval. SSMs are designed to damage vessels of all sizes, though Naval-class SSMs are designed to combat capital ships more than the Vehicular ones. Unfortunately, small craft and fighters cannot carry Naval versions easily, as they are nearly as large as most fighters. SSMs can carry any number of warheads available, but the standard load is a 110lb antimatter charge with an effective yield of 2 gigatons.

ASM- Anti-Ship Missiles are part of planetary defense grids,
orbital defense platforms, and larger naval vessels’ arsenals. These missiles are designed to do significant damage to capital ships, and can often devastate smaller vessels in a single shot. Unlike SSM and smaller missiles, ASMs are so large that they require silos instead of batteries. Likewise, they cannot be carried by small craft or fighters due to their size and relative bulk. Like SSMs, ASMs can carry any available warhead, but the standard payload is a 550lb antimatter charge with an effective yield of 10 gigatons. Used against a planet, this would have a blast radius of over 150km and destroy any non-hardened structures within 50km of ground zero unless shielded.

Cruise Missiles- Cruise missiles are specialized ASMs designed to operate independently for long periods of time. Cruise missiles are often deployed at the edge of a star system where they cloak (Cloaking Field Generator rating 6), and then spend the next several days working their way into the system to their target. Intelligent, with an advanced and dedicated AI (rating of IV), these are some of the deadliest missiles in known space due to their stealth and cunning. They carry the same warheads as an SSM, though their range- 12 AU before having to decloak and recharge- is significantly greater.

APM- Anti-Planetary Missiles are one of the most devastating conventional weapons in a naval arsenal. Due to their power and purpose- planetary bombardment- they are classified as a Weapon of Mass Destruction and sales are restricted to TAN signatory nations only. That being said, many Freespace manufacturers have managed to acquire the virtual blueprints and nanite programming matrices to produce them. APMs are massive, the size of a corvette or large shuttle, and as a result only Large or Cruiser class vessels can carry them effectively. The warhead on an APM is the largest conventional payload in any known military arsenal, a five ton antimatter warhead with a yield of nearly 200 gigatons. When used against a planet, the blast radius is over 500km wide, and all non-hardened structures within 300km are destroyed instantly. Hardened structures within 50km of ground zero are obliterated, and hardened structures outside of that range take the listed damage. Only planetary defense shields- with ARs in the tens of millions of Hull Points- can withstand the devastating firepower of an APM.



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