Types of launchers. The main difference between missiles and torpedoes lies in their size. Torpedoes have higher D-V and range, while missiles have the advantages of higher firing rate and larger capacity.
Type of warhead carried by the combat unit. Explosive, Fragmentation, Penetrator, Nuclear&Antimatter warheads have different armor-piercing capabilities, causing 80%, 25%, 60%, 100% damage respectively.
Type of engine, which affects acceleration and exhaust D-V.
Specific model of the launcher.
Chance of unlocking the project when all preconditions are met; (Due to the game mechanics, the probability of players actually obtaining it will be higher)
Amount of Delta-Velocity change that the fuel in the missile body can provide, affecting cruise speed and range.
Missile's acceleration in terms of multiples of gravitational acceleration.
Number of missiles in a launcher. Each additional magazine utility module increases the load capacity by 50%.

Assuming enemy ship's acceleration is at maximum of 4G and has a tangential velocity of 1 kps, the maximum distance at which your missile will definitely hit.
Assuming enemy ship's acceleration is 2G and has no tangential velocity, the maximum distance at which your missile will definitely hit.
How many launchers should be used in a salvo to penetrate an alien laser point defense.
How many alien point defenses a single launcher can penetrate.
How many alien point defenses a single launcher can penetrate when equipped with 2 magazines.

How much damage does a single warhead deal (in 20MJ units);
Cooldown time between 2 salvoes or individual launches;
How long a salvo lasts (if applicable);
How many missiles are fired in a single salvo;
Time required to empty ammunition store;
Theoretical damage per second;

Damage when bombing enemy ground bases;
Damage radius of area-of-effect launchers, calculated from the position with 1 damage and squared attenuation in other areas;
Some special missiles have defense modes and can perform anti-missile tasks;
Maximum firing distance of the launcher (regardless of whether it can hit or not);

In terms of advantages, missiles can easily overload alien point defenses due to their large ammunition capacity. However, due to limited fuel, missiles have lower D-V and flight speed. If alienships are far away, they can easily use the time of the missile's flight for maneuvering and evasion. Therefore, although missiles have a maximum range of 800km (previously 1000km), you must launch at a closer distance to effectively hit enemies.
Personally, I don't recommend missiles: aliens have a massive number of highly maneuverable small ships that can easily shake off all of your missiles; Close range shooting carries too much risk, as you may be shot down by alien lasers before you run out of ammunition. But if you have to choose, the Viper missile may be a good option, as it has an effective range of over 1000km and a penetration value of over 0.5 (which indicates that 2 launchers can penetrate 1 alien point defense)
The Racer is relatively special among missiles, as its aiming distance and effective range are quite low. In terms of positioning, it's suitable as an anti-missile weapon and not for attack.
High D-V of torpedoes guarantees a high cruise speed and enables them to reach their target in a short amount of time. This gives torpedoes a huge effective range - enemy ships cannot shake them off just by maneuvering. In terms of drawbacks, the torpedo's magazine is very small, and the alien point defense can quickly shoot them all down, so the penetration value is not outstanding enough. In torpedoes, Artemis can be used in the early stages, and advanced missiles can be developed to switch to Athena, Ares, or Poseidon after the war.
Nuclear weapon version of missiles has the same drawbacks and is not highly recommended.
Nuclear version of torpedoes comes at the cost of smaller magazines for their immense power. Recommend mixing with coilguns or torpedoes to assist in penetrating alien point defenses.
A more powerful 'nuclear' torpedo, but requires antimatter to produce. In 0.4.x, antimatter torpedo costs only 1 hull hardpoint instead of 2, which is a major buff.