Torpedo Guidance Systems

posted on October 12th, 2010, 3:15 pm

The torpedo guidance systems are not quite up to par with what they should be.  True, it is harder to maneuver a torpedo in space because of a lack of friction, but it would still be a bit harder to get missed by a torpedo even if the vessel is small in size.  The hit chance would be more realistic if it was increased by around 50%.  And if the target in question is not moving, the chance of a hit should be 100%.  It would be more realistic.

posted on October 12th, 2010, 3:28 pm

even my mobile phone could calculate a torpedo pattern that would not miss a moving target I'm sure the computers of the 24th century are able to do that too.

The problem is not due to the speed of a craft, but through ECM systems, which distort the actual readings of vessels. The smaller a starship, the higher the chance to distort a higher percentage of sensor beams, hence the increased avoidance for smaller ships.

Take it this way. imagine ECM creates 2 copies of your ship on an enemy targetting screen, one 100 meter left and one 100 meter right. If your ship is a d'deridex, there is a large overlapping area where the torpedo would hit all 3 readings and land a sure hit, while, if your ship is a saber class, the overlapping area is much smaller

posted on October 12th, 2010, 3:36 pm

lol Optec.

'Need to destroy that annoying Steamrunner?  There's an app for that.'

posted on October 12th, 2010, 3:40 pm

You will find a similar explanation (Optec's as well) in the guide as well

Damage System - The Hitchhiker's Guide to Fleet Operations

posted on October 12th, 2010, 3:44 pm

whee, next time i should quote myself, ha!

posted on October 12th, 2010, 3:54 pm

You also have to take into consideration deflectors.

With destroyers and small craft, speed as well as ECM are key. When you have several copies on your sensor system, some might pick one and fire. There of course is at least a 50% chance of hit since the sensor copies are not too far off from the original. If you were to bring speed into account. Sure, a torpedo can home in on its target, but of course getting a direct hit on a moving target is always less likely than a stationary one regardless how advanced the targeting system is. More experienced tactical officers can likely compensate for the ECM, which would also demand more advanced ECM packages.

There is also the factor in Deflector systems, in DS9: Jem'Hadar, O'Brian could not establish a lock on the Dominion Destroyer because of an unfamiliar deflector system that was deflecting their scans. This would act differently than ECM but can have a similar effect. If you were to have a Dominion ship with a strong deflector system that most do not know how to compensate for, you can really spike the hit chance downward, however more experienced officers can have increased shot chance because of using a possible compensation method against it.

And finally there is gravity. A rather common issue but can be a problem at times. If an enemy ship were to create a gravity well in the middle of space, it can really mess up the torpedo vectors. Which of course if fortunate enough, the torpedo would not be able to recalculate its path in time to get a hit.

You have to understand there is numerous things that can cause people to miss, even the tactical officer not having his morning coffee. Especially in a place like outer space where anything can happen, it is necessary to take into account that anybody will miss their target sometimes.

EDIT: Dang, Ninja'ed twice!

posted on October 12th, 2010, 3:54 pm

whee, next time i should quote myself, ha!

Yup

posted on October 12th, 2010, 4:02 pm

Not to mention that the torpedo miss rate and pulse damage reduction vs large vessels is an integrated component of FO balancing.  The game would be a lot less interesting without this.

posted on October 12th, 2010, 4:17 pm

Even if the torpedo misses, it could have been programmed to come about in the event of a miss and end up hitting anyways.  Plus, those computers can be confused easily.  By not using them on a static target, you're guaranteed to hit.  Unless the torpedo is knocked off course or gets intercepted.  Plus, there are a number of ways to counter systems that disrupt the lock.

posted on October 12th, 2010, 6:32 pm

As this is in the game balancing section then it seems best to consider game balance as a couple of posters have already suggested.

Put it this way, increase hit chance of torpedoes then vessels with torps become more valuable (this would make Feds even stronger than they are now considering the high percentage of ships they have with torps). 

To compensate for this then all torps would either have to become weaker, reduce their fire rate, or increase the cost of vessels with torps making torp ships less attractive to build, especially for some races whose torp ships are relatively weak....

Whatever is done its all going to have to then be rebalanced and tested.  Perhaps better if the devss instead focus on fine tuning and new features?

posted on October 12th, 2010, 6:41 pm

Also, consider this...

The Borg use a lot of torps.  High damage output torps.  Shield-cracking torps.  50% more accurate would make the Adaptor, Assimilator, Cube, and several sphere, pyramid, and diamond variants much more deadly.

posted on October 12th, 2010, 6:54 pm

As I remember someone saying before, ECM makes the torp think it hit the ship, when it really missed. There would be no reason for it to turn around and try to re-hit a ship it already hit.

posted on October 12th, 2010, 7:04 pm

Here's an example.  Start around 9:16 and you'll see that the torpedoes not only miss, but don't come back around.



The torpedo miss rate is primarily for game balance, but backed up with reasoning that is plausible in Trek.

posted on October 12th, 2010, 8:18 pm

besides, we have homing torpedoes on the excelsior II as a special, so all should be fine

posted on October 12th, 2010, 8:54 pm

lol hudson missed with all 5 torps.

then he switched to phasers and missed 4 out of 6 shots with them

he needs glasses