Spacecraft classes

[Aegonian]

Spacecraft (or spaceships) are vessels capable of space travel, be it interplanetary or interstellar. Spacecraft can be divided into various classes and subclasses. Standard Naval ship classes are:

FIGHTERS are generally small spacecraft built for spacial VC (Very Close) combat. They are capable of interplanetary travel in smaller systems, but are usually transported en masse by large carrier-class ships. Fighters are highly maneuverable, being capable of evading attacks by most other classes of spaceships, and relying heavily on hit-and-run tactics. Their weapons are powerful enough to destroy other fighters and to weaken armour and shields of larger vessels. In large groups, fighters are capable of bringing down vessels as large as cruisers.

FRIGATES are relatively small spacecraft used for reconnaissance and Close combat. Capable of interstellar travel and advanced cloaking, frigates often follow enemy ships unnoticed for days on end, gathering vital intel on the enemy. Quite maneuverable and very fast, frigates, like fighters, can often evade attacks by larger vessels, but they are easy prey for groups of fighters.

CRUISERS are moderately sized spacecraft capable of interstellar travel. Not well-suited for combat, cruisers feature advanced shields and relatively thick armour, and most notably, out-of-proportion Hyperdrives and engines, allowing for the greatest speeds known to any kind of spacecraft.

CARRIERS are large spacecraft best known as transport vessels for smaller ships, most commonly fighters, and cargo. They feature heavy armour and shields, but only minimal weaponry.

PIONEERS are large spacecraft generally used for colonization: they are designed to carry enormous amounts of people, but only minimal cargo, relying on carriers for food supplies. They feature moderate armour and shields, relying on other ships for protection.

DESTROYERS are large spacecraft designed to destroy as many enemy ships as possible, hence the name. They generally have one main centrally located weapon that is capable of taking down other large vessels in often no more than a single shot, while also sporting heavy armour and shields to make up for their low maneuverability. Generally, a number of heavy cannons is mounted on a destroyer's sides, which are designed to take down smaller vessels attempting attacks on the destroyer's side and rear.

DREADNOUGHTS are kilometer-long capital ships designed for a single purpose: ultimate destruction. Basically enormous guns with heavy armour and shields, dreadnoughts are by far the most feared of all known spacecraft. The Charter of the Alliance strictly limits the amount of dreadnoughts any Alliance member is allowed to own.
Dreadnoughts usually have a gun nearly as long as the ship itself, allowing the projectiles they fire to reach speeds beyond those of any other weapons. Many also have a number of smaller railguns that can be used while the main gun is cooling down. Hundreds of turrets are mounted on most dreadnoughts' sides and rears, to defend against fighters.
Many dreadnoughts feature armour that is so thick that, even if the shields are breached, can stop most projectiles fired by destroyers, thus making dreadnoughts nearly invincible in spacial warfare. To take down a dreadnought, a large group of destroyers must focus their fire on a small area of the dreadnought's hull in an attempt to breach the heavy armour.

JUMPSHIPS are a special kind of spaceships: whereas other ships require jumpstations for instant travel between systems, jumpships carry their own Jumptech Rings. They generally carry people and cargo between worlds, but due to the limited size of jumpships, and the relatively high risks of mobile Jumptech Rings, cruisers are more commonly used.




There also are many non-naval ships:

SHUTTLES are small spacecraft capable of interplanetary travel and landing on planets. They are most commonly used for tourism. For interstellar tourism, shuttles are usually transported by larger vessels.

YACHTS are small to medium sized ships used for recreational purposes. They are generally very luxurious ships, but are lacking in weaponry and defence, and are generally only capable of interplanetary travel.

FERRIES are large ships designed to carry large amounts of people over planetary or stellar distances quickly. They are commonly used in tourism.

VOYAGERS are large ships built for pleasure voyages. They carry people from planet to planet, or from system to system, but their main goal is to provide a pleasant experience.

FREIGHTERS are spaceships of varying sizes, designed explicitly for transport of cargo. Unlike carriers, freighters are not equipped for combat, making them much more vulnerable, but also faster.

TANKERS are ships designed to carry fuel, which they can usually use to refuel other ships. In areas devoid of supply havens, tankers are essential to spacial travel.

DROPSHIPS are ships designed to land on planets and transport people and cargo between a planet's surface and ships orbiting the planet. They are generally incapable of interplanetary travel, relying on Carriers for transportation between planets and planetary systems.



Other than manned spacecraft, unmanned spacecraft are also commonly used:

PROBES are relatively simple and small spacecraft, built to gather information on various celestial bodies. Probes can be sent to investigate stars, planets, asteroids or any other spacial phenomenon. They are generally guided by on-board adaptive systems, which ensure that the probe follows the set trajectory. A probe's destination can usually be altered during flight.

COMM BUOYS are spacecraft built to ensure easy communication between ships. Their on-board computers are highly advanced, being capable of calculating and tracking the exact coordinates of thousands of ships at a time, while also forwarding messages to the right ships.
Other comm buoys are designed to regulate information traffic on planets. Weather and GPS satellites are also generally categorized as comm buoys.

DRONES are unmanned military spacecraft, capable of identifying, tracking, and attacking hostile ships autonomously. They generally have minimal armour, but their weapons can be as powerful as those of advanced fighters.

JUMP STATIONS are spacecraft equipped with one or more Jumptech Rings of a very high energy capacity, allowing very far travel distances. They allow other ships to quickly travel between Jump Stations. They are largely stationary, and must be transported using carriers or other ships.




Though technically not spacecraft (as they are incapable of interplanetary or interstellar travel), spacestations, which are far more varied and far harder to categorize, will also be briefly categorized below.
Spacestations are spacial constructions capable of generating artificial gravity, which are unable to perform any kind of spatial travel on their own. Generally large in size, spacestations are most commonly used as either orbital housing facilities or military bases, though many more functions exist.

SANCTUARIES are spacestations designed to house people. They are often large stations with luxurious housing sectors, and sometimes commercial centers and entertainment facilities. Some sanctuaries also have agricultural areas for self-sufficiency, but most stations rely on nearby colonies for supplies.

HAVENS are large docking stations, which are generally used as a location at which spacecraft can resupply. Some havens also feature housing sectors, commercial centers or entertainment facilities, often blurring the lines between havens and sanctuaries. Like most sanctuaries, havens rely on nearby colonies for supplies.

OBSERVATORIES are spacestations dedicated to scientific research: some are simply testing facilities, while others are 'true' observatories, built as a safe location from which to observe a celestial body. Most observatories rely on nearby colonies for supplies. Usually, Gas Extraction Facilities (spacestations built in close orbit of gas giants, which extract gas that can be refined into fuel) are also denoted as observatories.

BASES are military spacestations: they can be used to house soldiers, store cargo, munitions, spacecraft or any other supplies, to serve as a base of operations for military actions, and can even be used as orbital prisons: chances of successful escape are nearly zero when imprisoned in space.

[thunderpants]

Yay finally a standardised chart!

What about Escorts though? They're kinda like a cross between Frigates and Destroyers. (I.E lots of fire power but little maneuverability so they tend act as added firepower and protection for larger ships.)

I guess my current fleet is, 1 Carrier and 1 Pioneer.

[Aegonian]

Any armed vessel can act as an escort: the lines between classes can blend, and any ship can be given any occupation if necessary. In the Thelean Armada, dreadnoughts are often used as escorts for even larger vessels, as defenders of significant locations (like Thelea or Regulus), or even as scouts: their long-range scanners can often detect enemy forces many lightyears before detection by the enemy.

The Prevox is a cross-over between a frigate and a cruiser, for example.

I also added spacestations to the OP.

And I'm glad you like the list! I plan on making many more of these background information threads. Perhaps one day, I'll actually be able to use them in an official Elithian Alliance game (yes, I am planning to building one if I get into the gaming industry, and yes, I am also planning to include the members of this forum in the credits (under a special category, of course!), if the game is ever made)!

[thunderpants]

I would love to one day if I get better at game developing I would also love to make/help make one.


Not that crappy thing I had planned earlier That was a little too, erm not THEA enough.


A space sim could be cool.

[JorgasElite]

That would be weird having me in the credits... IF any of my schoolmates gets the game, and they see Jorgas there, they may either hate me more, or I'll be the really cool guy.

EDIT: The post-T.A. Fleet was mostly frigates, carriers and fighters. There was 3 dreadnaughts, but 2 got turned into museams later. Later on with the Great War of Scii-Aeroix, the fleet built many more ships, including dreadnaughts.

The Cylarne is a frigate ship that was used as a research vessel and warship.

[Aegonian]

3 Dreadnoughts, and even more during that war? Of all Alliance Races, only the High Council members, and the Hyvon, were allowed that many dreadnoughts. The Aegi had only three finished dreadnoughts (M-ASA Avalon, Excalibur and Camelot), and were designing a fourth. Not one of their dreadnoughts ever fell, and in not a single battle did they use more than one dreadnought.
Also note that dreadnoughts usually take many years to design, and many more to build.

[thunderpants]

Yeah I think the Notix had no Dreadnaughts, The Trinks did though. (ALthough they where more giant carriers and pioneers.)

[Aegonian]

The Notix were probably best known for their Snowcloud-series spacestations. Snowcloud 5 was a modified moon or asteroid, right?

[Lunark]

Is there a name for anything larger than a dreadnaught (If that'll even be possible) Or is it just that anything kilometer-long or larger is called a dreadnaught?
What about small spaceships for the public?
Mining spaceships?
And I originally had a picture of spaceship concepts here, but I moved it because I decided it belonged in the art section more than in the Advanced Elithian Database...

[JorgasElite]

Zyfiolos is a Haven/Sanctuary. It's really hard categorizing things like spacestations...

[Aegonian]

The Theleans have Gar-Dreadnoughts (Great Dreadnoughts), like the Darghorok Prime, Creaton's personal starship, and Capital Ship of the entire Thelean Armada. Regulus, the construction capable of converting planets to energy, and use the energy to destroy entire suns, is also a spacecraft capable of interstellar travel, but it is usually defined as a WMD. The largest of all known starships, Altharez (the Centensian WMD), which easily dwarves Elithia, is also classified as a WMD.
Ships the size of the Darghorok Prime (several times the size of 'standard' dreadnoughts) are usually be called Gar-Dreadnoughts, planet-sized ships are usually WMDs (if their goal is to destroy). Not sure what non-combat ships that size should be called, though.

I had completely forgotten about adding the commercial/public ships! I'll add a list soon!

[thunderpants]

Snowcloud 5 was a less destructive death star... It was a small moon, but was also a colony and had a vault of DNA in it, so that it could theoretically save the Elithian Alliance from extinction.

I wonder how much survived, it could be worth a lot to the Trinks if we could get some of the technology working.

[Lunark]

We also need info on satellites and other unmanned spacecraft.

And I want some opinions on this scenario:
A dreadnought travels into a local aeroix. After scanning the area, it sends out all of it's fighters to surround the star. The fighters then unfurl their solar panels to absorb the solar energy and stock up on electricity. Once they're filled up, they begin to fire a continuous laser/microwaves at a fixed point on the dreadnought. The dreadnought then captures said lasers/microwaves and transfers them into electricity, thus filling large batteries inside that will last the dreadnought another five years. The fighters return to the dreadnought and it leaves to explore the rest of the universe.

[Aegonian]

Added some information on probes, comm buoys and drones.

As for your scenario, I think it is plausible. You'll need a hell lot of fighters, but knowing how large some dreadnoughts are (the latest Aeginian dreadnought is 32 kilometers long), that shouldn't be too much of a problem.
I think it would also be possible for the fighters to start firing their beams as soon as they unfurl their solar panels: they channel the collected energy directly towards the dreadnought, so that you can more easily regulate the amount of energy you want to collect before having the fighters retreat (after all, you can simply sign them to stop beaming once the dreadnought's energy reserves have been filled).

[thunderpants]

Question, do Trink fighters equal to drones?

I mean we are AI, or are drones remotely controlled?

[Aegonian]

Trink fighters are 'normal' fighters too, even if the Trink unit would be part of the ship: drones are autonomous, but do not feature a true AI. They are programmed to react to various scenarios in various ways, and are usually unable to adapt to unexpected events.

[Aegonian]

I've added a new class of non-naval spaceships: yachts. They are used for recreational purposes, and generally lack any sort of offence or defence.

[Aegonian]

I've added Jump Stations to the list. Their description will be updated a bit more later.

[thunderpants]

Would Landers or Dropships make a good addition?

The ships designed to drop supplies/citizens off to the planet from Larger Ships or from other planets.

[Aegonian]

I've added Dropships to the list, and slightly expanded upon the descriptions of Shuttles and Jump Stations. Shuttles are, like dropships, capable of landing on planets.

[kingnecromancer]

Here is a thingy I made:

Erixian Destroyer "Monolith" :

Monolith:

The Monolith is designed with defense in mind, allowing several to form a wave of firepower. Each one is packed with multiple gattling guns capable of firing off 600 Rounds per minute each. They are also capable of launching a warhead at a target for massive damage or to create mine fields. Their bulk tends to limit them to slow and jerky movements, allowing them to be picked off by more nimble craft if given the chance.

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