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[kytuzian]

If you're going to make a missile with that range, why bother with multi-staging? Just make a missile with the range you intend. Is it somehow more efficient?

You could use more efficient engines for the long range stage, and then the higher powered (and less efficient) engines could be use for the close range missle(s).

[forsaken1111]

If you're going to make a missile with that range, why bother with multi-staging? Just make a missile with the range you intend. Is it somehow more efficient?

You could use more efficient engines for the long range stage, and then the higher powered (and less efficient) engines could be use for the close range missle(s).

Is this a significant cost savings though? I'd need to work out the numbers I suppose. What ranges are we talking about?

[kytuzian]

If you're going to make a missile with that range, why bother with multi-staging? Just make a missile with the range you intend. Is it somehow more efficient?

You could use more efficient engines for the long range stage, and then the higher powered (and less efficient) engines could be use for the close range missle(s).

Is this a significant cost savings though? I'd need to work out the numbers I suppose. What ranges are we talking about?

Honestly I don't know. I haven't worked it out myself--I rarely spend the time to optimize my designs myself. However, I could certainly imagine it providing at least SOME savings, the significance of which will probably depend on your situation.

It's also logistically simpler--you only need to produce missiles, rather than both missiles and fighters.

[Lord Shonus]

If you're going to make a missile with that range, why bother with multi-staging? Just make a missile with the range you intend. Is it somehow more efficient?

You could use more efficient engines for the long range stage, and then the higher powered (and less efficient) engines could be use for the close range missle(s).

Is this a significant cost savings though? I'd need to work out the numbers I suppose. What ranges are we talking about?

It isn't just cost savings. Any missile has to balance speed against range - either you have a long-range missile that is easier to hit, or you have a fast missile that has short legs. Using a two-stage missile allows you to have the first stage be a slower, more fuel-efficient "cruise" drive and the second stage be a short-range "sprint" drive.

[forsaken1111]

That makes sense. I'm not very experienced in extreme range combat in this game yet

[EuchreJack]

I guess my real problem with missile swarms is knowing how many enemy ships to target.  Until one blows up, I don't know how many missiles to fire per target, so invariably one enemy vessel gets the whole first strike.  Which tends to be overkill and a waste of resources.

My problem with fighters is what to do with them when they become obsolete.

[Lord Shonus]

That is one of the drawbacks of massive salvos. The last few games I played, I used a mix of reduced-size size 10 launchers with a few full-sized size-5s. I used the 5s (some with a unitary warhead, some loaded with antimissiles to draw heavier fire) to probe the defenses, then pumped out partial salvos from my 10s based on how good the point defense was. Since I always mount a sensor on my shipkillers, the succeeding salvos would have the opportunity to retarget if something blew up easy.

[Flying Dice]

You should be able to scrap them, IIRC.

And as far as judging appropriate fire distribution goes, I like to start out with a single salvo from a single ship at unknown classes. Whether it penetrates is a quick tell as to how thick the armor is, and the degree of internal damage suggests the amount of WH points that got through. Generally I'll try to adjust aim towards having enough throw weight in each target's salvo to break through PD and cripple in one go.

[Rince Wind]

Obsolete fighters go to the colonies. Or just stay where they are, because the new fighters get on the shiny new carriers as well. Usually they still do their jobs rather well (if they are missile fighters) even when obsolete. Just don't put them in the same squadron as the newer, faster ones.

[Flying Dice]

True, it's definitely worth noting that obsolete fighters aren't useless unless they're really low-TL ones. As long as the missile still fits the launchers they're basically good enough.

[Alastar]

Imo, planning for a time when your ships/fighters are past their prime is quite important for an efficient military in a long-running game.

Formerly fast ships that can keep up with the general current-generation fleet remain useful in fleet actions; they may spend most time in reserve or even mothballed in hangars because operating costs tend to be high but they are still nice to have.
Small missile fighters may still slip under the radar to deliver their payload.
Missile pods can have ridiculous service lives, possibly towed by tugboats... little reason to scrap them.
Beam PD ships may orbit colonies to provide PPV and more flexibility than purpose-built PDCs if running costs aren't excessive.

Some other types don't age well, those will only be built when there's an immediate need and may be used as expendable decoys-with-benefits eventually. E.g. obsolescent missile ships will do their thing, then join beam combatants for cleanup to tank some hits.

[Rince Wind]

I might refit them to save up on crew training time, and because I like my ships with a history. Not a single screw might be original, but it is the ship that survived the first battle against the swarm, or some other such thing.

I usually have a main fleet, with vessels that get frequent updates, and some smaller fleets that defend the colonies, frequently outdated ships. Some of the main fleet might join the defence fleets when they are replaced by newer ships.

The most important thing for cohesive fleets is speed. They can have old 15cm infrared lasers, or missile launchers that cycle way slower, if they can keep up it is ok, they can still provide some PD and ablative armor. But if they are too slow they might endanger the whole fleet, because it has to stay in hostile territory longer, because they can't get out of range fast enough, etc.
I think for evasion purposes all ships use their max, unless you manually set the speed of the fleet.

[Flying Dice]

You don't even necessarily have to do that. When I don't decommission old ships I usually use them as system defense forces, which frees up more modern tonnage for offensive action.

[ollobrains]

they make great system defense vessels.

[Detros]

Also, an unrelated question: my scout carrier has found a few wrecks in uninhabited systems. It doesn't seem like there are enemies about, but I'm not sure if I shouldn't approach them with caution...

There is a good chance that "something" is there and is probably hostile. I would suggest sending something very cheap and something that can haul the wreck somewhere safer while keeping in mind that you may be wanting a fleet in the region to recover those goodies from dark forces.

Or just toss some decent sensors on cheap fighter and scout the system more. But yes, some wrecks can be of ancient origin, they don’t mean always a recent battle.