Long-range artillery rockets?

[eliakon]

SO the SDR-04-Mk.XII
Phalanx (page 22 of the Macross Saga)
can fire LRMs or "long-range artillery rockets". These are supposed to let 'bombard a target with tons of ordinance at ranges approaching 100 miles.
Okay... but LRMs have ranges of 500miles

However the WHR-00-MK.II Monster has a 40cm Artillery Cannon
This shoots artillery shells, 100 miles and the HEAT shell does damage similar to that of a HE LRM. This makes me wonder if the LRARs are supposed to basically replicate the shells of the Monster?
This would give it 'artillery' that has a range of 100 miles that is worth while to trade the loss of guidance and range for.

Thoughts? Comments? artillery rockets that I missed someplace?

[Seto Kaiba]

SO the SDR-04-Mk.XII
Phalanx (page 22 of the Macross Saga)
can fire LRMs or "long-range artillery rockets". These are supposed to let 'bombard a target with tons of ordinance at ranges approaching 100 miles.
Okay... but LRMs have ranges of 500miles

This appears to be a discrepency between the flavor text and the actual game stats for the mecha, since the RPG's stats block for the launchers on page 40 (manga ed.) says "usually around 500 miles" for either option and the RPG itself makes no differentiation between missiles and rockets for stats.

[ShadowLogan]

LRMs may have ranges in the 100s of miles, but what type of trajectory (or flight path) is assumed? A surface to air trajectory is going to be more linear, where a surface to surface trajectory is more of an arc. The arc trajectory then can have an LRM travel 100s of miles in its flight path (section of the circumference of a circle/ellipse, in this case 1/2), but the actual distance between targets will be much less.

Ex. if two participants are 100miles apart, and the missile follows a highly elliptical path with a high point 250miles up, the distance the missile covers will be ~500miles even though they are only 100miles apart. (A circular path would have a high point 50miles up and travel ~107miles). This assumes basic geometry math formula for calculating the perimeter of an ellipse, not actual ballistic equations.

[Warshield73]

SO the SDR-04-Mk.XII
Phalanx (page 22 of the Macross Saga)
can fire LRMs or "long-range artillery rockets". These are supposed to let 'bombard a target with tons of ordinance at ranges approaching 100 miles.
Okay... but LRMs have ranges of 500miles

This appears to be a discrepency between the flavor text and the actual game stats for the mecha, since the RPG's stats block for the launchers on page 40 (manga ed.) says "usually around 500 miles" for either option and the RPG itself makes no differentiation between missiles and rockets for stats.

I basically agree with this but I did end up creating a LRM that is basically an artillery rocket with a 100 mile range, similar damage to standard missile, and greater blast radius but much cheaper than actual LRM. I have no basis in the books for this but I wanted to limit the effectiveness of things like the Phalanx or the Mark IX missile launcher in Rifts. I also felt that any military that fields something like the Phalanx would have to have a simple, cheap missile to supplement the more expensive guided and smart missiles.

[Seto Kaiba]

I basically agree with this but I did end up creating a LRM that is basically an artillery rocket with a 100 mile range, similar damage to standard missile, and greater blast radius but much cheaper than actual LRM. I have no basis in the books for this but I wanted to limit the effectiveness of things like the Phalanx or the Mark IX missile launcher in Rifts. I also felt that any military that fields something like the Phalanx would have to have a simple, cheap missile to supplement the more expensive guided and smart missiles.

Being something of a stickler for OSM accuracy, I solved the dual problems of the undefined rocket and disproportionately high effectiveness by restoring the original spec... so it has SRMs instead of LRMs, given that it was meant to be a close-range anti-aircraft defense unit.

[drewkitty ~..~]

For those who are sticklers for wording... Artilery Rockets (not "shells") are limited to ground to ground attacks. And would tend to be less smart but will hit an immobile target area and (like the heavy hitters from that other setting) have a heavyer warhead. (or just the same LRM but without any bonus to strike because they are balistic weapons without any smart guidance systems.

I think they were not published because they do not fit into the individual play style the PM game system uses.

[Jefffar]

File this one with how many licks to get to the center of the tootsie pop - the world may never know.

Also, I want to point out that we have begun to see precision guidance kits applied to ground and air launched rockets to improve their accuracy. Kits for rockets as small as 70mm and 57mm have been developed. Does thsi then make them missiles? not sure. Adding similar kits to bombs made them precision weapons, but not missiles.

[Peacebringer]

File this one with how many licks to get to the center of the tootsie pop - the world may never know

Purdue University did a study: Average was 364 licks.

[Jefffar]

File this one with how many licks to get to the center of the tootsie pop - the world may never know

Purdue University did a study: Average was 364 licks.

Yes, we may never know...