Missiles in Capital Command hit hard and can't be dodged. When used correctly, they can have a dramatic effect. Still, they aren't the perfect weapon.
They do have a number of significant advantages over ballistic artillery. First, the warhead on a missile doesn't need to be acceleration-proofed to withstand being shot out of a gun. This, and the usually larger size of missiles, means they are used to deliver the heaviest, most devastating payloads.
Second, since missiles are self-guided and self-propelled, they continuously correct their trajectory, making sure that they hit exactly where they were aimed. This makes them excellent at disabling particular systems on a target.
Finally, missiles are launched from tubes, and it's much easier to put a missile tube on a ship, than an artillery gun. Therefore, ships can usually launch salvos of many missiles at once, to overwhelm the target's defenses.
Almost perfect
However, missiles also have disadvantages, which keep them from being the ultimate weapons.
First, reload speed. A ship with full missile silos can deliver a heavy strike, but afterward it will take quite a while to reload all the tubes. Ballistic artillery, even very heavy guns, reload at a much faster rate.
Second, because missiles are extremely effective, they are also ideal to defend against the enemy's missiles! The same characteristics that make them powerful offensive tools, are even more advantageous when defending. Attacking a prepared target, that has enough interceptors in reserve, means wasting a costly and potentially devastating attack.
In Capital Command, light missiles are specifically designed for point defense, with high acceleration and excellent accuracy and agility, but short range and low damage. They excel as interceptors, as well as for precision strikes against enemies at point-blank range.
In-game, the captain has the option to allow automatic point-defense launches for each silo on the ship. Interceptors can also be launched manually, allowing specific target selection and prioritization. In this mode, missiles can even be launched to intercept artillery strikes, although this will result in quick magazine depletion.
Overall, missiles are a great addition to a ship's arsenal. They are not without flaws, but when used well, they can deal heavy, accurate, concentrated damage that can cripple even the heaviest targets.
That's it for this Tactical Analysis. Next time, we'll bring out the big guns: artillery in spaaace! If you enjoyed this presentation, leave a comment and don't forget to add Capital Command to your wishlist!
Godspeed
The dev