Could I have some details on torpedoes?

AS-5, AS-7 and quintessent hyperspace torpedoes are amongst the strongest weapons in the setting. They pack an enormous punch and are much faster than most of the energy-based weaponry ships carry around.

Let's take, for example, the most commonly used torpedo, the AS-7 Anti-Matter Warhead.

AS-7-1-AM, Type 1 Anti-Matter
Primary Purpose: Anti-Starship
Secondary Purpose: Anti-Planet
Damage: Total Annihilation. Rating of 10.
Blast Radius: 1 mile+ (Directed)
Speed: 17,532c (2 LY/hour)
Range: 1 Light-Year
Note: Shielded, armor piercing, guided/homing.

Here, what we have is a warhead that can blow out a large mile-radi at its impact point, being a threat to even the very large vessels in the setting (whom go from 1.5 to 3.5 kilometers long). The thing dishes out the highest possible amount of damage in the setting. It travels at 17 532 times the speed of light, making it so that under 1 second, it would travel over 35 AU in a second and would travel the length of a solar system quite easily seeing the 1 light year range.

35 AU a second means a nearly instant hit within the distances warships commonly find themselves fighting at. and even if they are fired with a one or two second time to impact, they still have guided/homing systems to insure they have good chances of hitting an evading target (well, one that moves at STL speeds anyways). You'd really need some sort of quick-trigger FTL propulsion and prediction sensors/computer to avoid this one.

The AS-7 Anti-matter warhead has traits such as shielded and armor piercing too. The description on the Nozomi class also mentions they are shield piercing. I'd like some details from Wes to outline what exactly he intends by saying they are shielded - do they actually have shields that resist hits? Does their miniature CDD unit protect them from scalar emissions? How does this warhead actually penetrates armor such as yamataiaum or zesuaium aside from just bashing itself in and exploding with its anti-matter payload?

Could you detail the useage of the two other warheads? I'm under the impression that the transphasic aether torpedoes is meant to affect many targets... but it doesn't have sufficient punch to take out big capital vessels... I've been thinking of this one as a anti-mecha/anti-planet surface weapon. The subspace detonator is pretty much the same as the wormhole killing mini-missilles on the Mindy to me: they explode in a wide area radius and disable shields for a couple of seconds along with engines and such - I also qualify that it probably works on CDD device such as the AS-7 torpedoes, slowing them down and possibly removing the protection they have against scalar emissions too (that being how the SMX Battleship shot them down in Miharu Mission 1).

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WickedArms AS-5a Transphasic Aether
Primary Purpose: Anti-starship
Secondary Purpose: Assault
Damage: Extremely Heavy. Shield-piercing. Rating of 9.
Speed: 2500c (or 500c in interdiction fields)
Range: 59,000,000 miles
Note: Shielded.

The older AS-5 which seems to be the most reliable ship killing weapon the Yui 5-class scout destroyer had. The AS-5 torpedoes aren't packing quite as much ship killing punch as the AS-7 AM. The stat listing lists only shielded in common with the AS-7, though the description on the Yui 5 does mention that they are supposed to be guided and shield penetrating - no mention on armor piercing.

They travel at the significantly slower speed of 2500c, but specifically mention that they can go to 500c within interdiction fields; perhaps the AS-5 were made, unlike the AS-7, to function better under those conditions. 2500c / 500c speed is nothing to sneer at, though: they still allow for hitting at target fairly well at close range (around 1 second at 1 AU for 2500c and 5 seconds at 1 AU - still much better than most beam weapons). They do have a lot less range too.

The AS-5a delivers almost as much damage as the AS-7 AM, at a lesser range/speed and with some of the special features absent... but it does also take two times less space than the large and cumbersome AS-7. It also seems to function better inside interdiction fields too.

Wes, it'd be nice to clear up what I've mentioned above, as well as detail the apparently useless AS-5b (compared to the 5a) seeing that it offers less damage with only a 'persistent shaped charge' advantage.

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SMX Destroyer said:

Quintessent Hyperspace Torpedoes (9 launchers): Launched from the ship, these torpedoes are manned by a small brain-like genetically-engineered suicide bomber which dutifully pilots the craft into an enemy ship, emerging through hyperspace near the target and smashing into it. The heavy shield systems on the torpedo allow it to pierce most ship shielding systems to get to the enemy hull. Once attached, the torpedo will quickly thrust through the armor using its positron tunneling device, and then detonate inside the enemy craft. Some torpedoes detonate with biological weapons, or even lay Mishhuvurthyar eggs.

• Primary Purpose: Anti-starship
  Secondary Purpose: Assault
  Damage: Extremely Heavy. Piercing.
  Range: 50 light-years
  Rate of Fire: Once per three seconds per launcher.
  Payload: 56 torpedoes each for a total of 504.

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The Mishhuvurthyar torpedo is a fearsome weapon indeed - by far the most lethal the Mishhu have. It packs everybit as much punch as the AS-5a. It apparently happens to be shield piercing and can make its way through a ships hull. It is not propelled with CFS-like technology, but rather apparently folds in the same manner a Mindy with a fold booster can, only to appear right next to the target and then ram itself against it - I suspect this means a combination of extremely precise and rapid hyperspace fold and STL propulsion.

The range is staggering. 50 light years. This would allow mishhuvurthyar vessels at the other side of the star map to fire a volley and hit, provided their guidance system could track a target from this far off. What it doesn't mention is the actual speed of the hyperspace torpedo as well as any resistances or capability to function inside an anti-FTL field (suchas those generated through interdiction technology).

Some detail would be nice here too Wes.

do they actually have shields that resist hits?

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Yes.

Does their miniature CDD unit protect them from scalar emissions?

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Yes.

How does this warhead actually penetrates armor such as yamataiaum or zesuaium aside from just bashing itself in and exploding with its anti-matter payload?

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It uses an advance shaped charge of anti-matter to try and create a hole for the main explosive.

I'm under the impression that the transphasic aether torpedoes is meant to affect many targets... but it doesn't have sufficient punch to take out big capital vessels... I've been thinking of this one as a anti-mecha/anti-planet surface weapon.

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The aether torpedo is like a miniature version of a Sakura main gun, or an overloading aether generator. It's designed for anti-ship usage and is the Star Army's most effective anti-ship munition, especially against Zesuaium armored ships.

Mishhu torpedoes travel through hyperspace at about 1 LY/min.

So, when isn't it a good idea to use one of these torpedoes?

Unless there is some reason you don't want to utterly devastate everything in its blast radius, it seems like every ship to ship engagement should be nothing but torpedoes. Although, if this was the case I'd wager many of the current plotships wouldn't have lived as long as they have, and although I haven't read all of them completely, I'd guess that torpedo deaths (at least towards Plotships) are few and far between.

This probably passes into one of those realism vs. sake of RP conflicts, and maybe into the technology issue, and after reading a few of those debates, I'd rather not turn the thread into one. Still, if there is a clear answer, I'd love to hear it and clear this fuddle I got in my noggin.

Umm so where do they keep these "I win" torpeedos?

The move to fast to track and hit, what's their propultion system?

Honestly if a weapon like that exists why use anything else? Unless theres some ban on useing antimatter simaler to current non nuclear agreements.

... As near as I can tell, torpedoes have been underutilized in the SARP because the Sakura was the main plotship and was most commonly getting into combat. It doesn't have torpedo launchers, or it didn't, last I checked. The Mikomi hadn't been in any fights recently, as it was stuck on Bowhordia. The Akuro wasn't getting into any fights that didn't require aether beams. The Valiant was a Sakura gunship ... etc., etc.

Basically, we haven't had a lot of ship-to-ship combat that's utilized the torpedoes because no plotships had them. Now that the Miharu exists, they're back in style somewhat.

I would say that the torpedoes are not used ICly, they way that could/should be used considering thier abilities. If they were it would basicly be a cold war setup until someone shot off volleys at all thier enemies, since you could destroy all of your enemy's planets, suns, bases,...ect from halfway across known space in an instant.

Not much use for plot ships it that were true, and lets not even think about what that means for power armour.

Capitol ships are usually protected by a large number of escort ships and smaller crafts. Torpedoes are not used exclusively because you only carry a finite number of them, however large that number may be, and you don't want to waste all of them taking out power armors and smaller crafts.

Just my two cents.