Classing Ships for Fleets

[DrTarDIS]

The star spread system currently used in blueprints seems like a good start to a naming system if we could fix some of it's arbitrary values.

I propose that we develop a "tree" like method that "branches" based on some known values every tier of system hp. Below I have some thoughts on what values we could use to branch with.

Power is certainly a major factor in role diffentition, as stated by many others it's the basic metric of what your shields, thrust, weapons, and "dirty tricks" run off of. The total power storage (alpha) and power/second generation (delta) are important "classifiers" I think, with high regen vs high storage ratio pushing ships to either end of a spectrum of roles by weight...but one with a few sub-categories I can see. Alpha, Delta, and post-load-Delta, and after-bust-Alpha.
To find a post-load-Delta the total e/sec of a ship(delta prime) is taken and reduced by the total load of it's "tricks" (sheild regen under fire + momentum/ion/gravity/armor) to give us a Delta available for "intermittant" systems such as maneuvering and dps. Arguably shield regen is also "intermittant" but I leave that up for discussion. P-L-D is is important for refire of high-alpha weponry, and resistance to energy-drain weaponry.
After-burst-alpha, is a simple matter of dividing total capacity by burst weapon usage. Does the ship have more than one shot if you hold the trigger on ALL it's weapons before you consider regen? Herein I think we find the difference between Fighters (high delta) and Bombers(high alpha) name conventions.

The next question is how to scale it, and if hitpoints are actually a viable metric of scale. What's a good HP metric for a fighter, a corvette, a frigate, and the like? Could corvette vs frigate fall more in line with power usage rather than hitpoints? (is it a "role" or a "size" classification?) Shouls the power metric AND structure metric be combined to determine scale?


Hitpoints being a static value of the main entity can have their raw and virtual values determined rather quickly. Another question is how to compare the static "defence"/hitpoints and dynamic regenerating shields to alpha(burst) and/or delta(dps) weaponry. Perhapse a "fixed timescale" metric of 10 or 30 seconds? Should passive effects like piercing and ion apply to the main stat or as some sort of bonus value?

 

[Madman198237]

Here's an idea we've not yet considered: Classification based on thrust ratio.

Your thrust-to-mass ratio determines what you can do, to an extent.
My self-built version of the Charger C-70 refit of the Republic Frigate has very high thrust-to-mass ratio, and can therefore outmaneuver other ships made of a similar number of blocks (just a couple hundred blocks under 50k, actually), and is therefore capable of more than a slugging match with an enemy.
A titan with a .5 TtM ratio is going to have a heck of a time dodging shots however, and so is going to have a different function than my shot-dodging machine.

Just something to consider.


I'll still come up with the role-based classification later, but I'm busy now.

 

[Lecic]

Seriously, guys- block count is the best classification system. With that, you can compare strengths and ratios of various systems easily. Then you can tack on name modifiers, if you please.

Examples:
15k Ion Bomber- a 15k block ship that uses anti-shield alpha missiles.
500k Heavy Anti-Drone Swarmer- a 500k block ship that uses thick armor and focuses on destroying drones with swarmer missiles.
0.5k Stealth Scout- a 500 block ship with cloak, jam, and scanner.

 

[DrTarDIS]

Seriously, guys- block count is the best classification system. With that, you can compare strengths and ratios of various systems easily. Then you can tack on name modifiers, if you please.

Examples:
15k Ion Bomber- a 15k block ship that uses anti-shield alpha missiles.
500k Heavy Anti-Drone Swarmer- a 500k block ship that uses thick armor and focuses on destroying drones with swarmer missiles.
0.5k Stealth Scout- a 500 block ship with cloak, jam, and scanner.

I get that, but it's not exactly a uniform convention in naming there. Take for example anyone looking at a blueprint. "heavy anti-drone swarmer" might refer to a gunboat vs drone swarms rather than a heatseaking missile array ship. And does heavy refer to it's thrust:mass, it's overall density? Conventions step in where "common sense" breaks down.

 

[Lecic]

I get that, but it's not exactly a uniform convention in naming there. Take for example anyone looking at a blueprint. "heavy anti-drone swarmer" might refer to a gunboat vs drone swarms rather than a heatseaking missile array ship. And does heavy refer to it's thrust:mass, it's overall density? Conventions step in where "common sense" breaks down.

There's not a uniform convention in naming there because it's just a loose, context-required system for people to use without heavy restrictions. The name goes along with a description, obviously.

 

[DrTarDIS]

There's not a uniform convention in naming there because it's just a loose, context-required system for people to use without heavy restrictions. The name goes along with a description, obviously.

Bit too loose for use outside close-knit people IMHO.
Another thing about block count: 50k of hull vs 50k of advanced vs 50k shield blocks (regen or cap) vs 50k red dirt...Block count alone seems less useful than SHP and AHP values to me. 95k referring to structure HP tells me more than a 30k block count.

 

[Madman198237]

Yeah, block count is rough and useless.
It also can be fooled by interior space.

Though, of course, ships with large interiors are often ID'd as RP ships.


I am gonna look into a thrust + descriptive term system that is simple and informative. Might just be interesting.

 

[Lecic]

Bit too loose for use outside close-knit people IMHO.
Another thing about block count: 50k of hull vs 50k of advanced vs 50k shield blocks (regen or cap) vs 50k red dirt...Block count alone seems less useful than SHP and AHP values to me. 95k referring to structure HP tells me more than a 30k block count.

What? Being able to compare systems between two ships of the same or similar ship, or compare ratios of blocks between difference sized ships, is the main advantage of a block count based system.

If I compare two 200k block ships, and one has 50k of advanced while the other has 25k of standard, it's immediately obvious which one is the armor tanker and how effective the armor it has is. You line up the stats of two different ships by eachother, and you see which ones are worse, the better, or the same between them.

Yeah, block count is rough and useless.
It also can be fooled by interior space.

Though, of course, ships with large interiors are often ID'd as RP ships.


I am gonna look into a thrust + descriptive term system that is simple and informative. Might just be interesting.

Interior space is empty space that holds no systems. How is it getting "fooled" by it?

 

[Madman198237]

A larger ship with interior can have the same block count as a much smaller ship (Smaller target, thus more effective in battle).

Block count requires additional information. Really, in such a diverse game, everything is going to be subjective and subjected to change.

Nobody's following anyone else's plans, so everyone ends up with their own crazy killing machine. And it's all great.

I'll have lots of free time tomorrow, I'll probably draft up those ideas then.

 

[Gasboy]

There's only one reason to have such a ship classification system in the first place, and that is to compare ship capabilities. The only places where a ship classification system works well is on a server that enforces one. Where competitive natures ensure a constant one-up-manship.

It's that competitive nature in humanity that caused the naval arms race at the beginning of the 20th century, and led to the Washington naval treaty. That treaty is where we got specific tonnage and gun sizes assigned to a specific ship class: cruisers max 10k tons, up to 6.1in guns are light cruisers, 6.2 to 8in guns are heavy cruisers, and so on.

Since StarMade doesn't, and shouldn't, impose a ship classification, it's left to the individual to work out.

Someone mentioned expanding the graph seen in the catalogue when you click on a specific ship. That is likely the best option for comparing ships. The numbers there will have quite a bit of math behind them. For most people, the graph will be enough, and those willing to look at the equations will work out how to minmax their ships to get the numbers they want.

Once you can compare ships that way, a class system would be rendered moot.

 

[Bladeriker]

The issue I see with block count is that it does not take into account docked rails. Thus a 200K block count ship with 100K of extra docked rail turrets...ect will not be the same ship as 200k block count ship base. Also, once the primary ship overheats all the docked rails un-dock and just float there.

There is another issue that came to mind given the differing discussions being debated in this thread. When talking about fleets against larger ships there are several issues.

The first being that the A.I. does not act like a player pilot and thus will not strive for survival until X% of Structure is gone. So 50 player piloted ships should be able to take down a much larger ship, but 50 A.I. piloted craft of comparable size may not be able to.

The second thing is that with the addition of fleets there should never be a time when a larger ship is without escort of some kind, thus adding to the difficulty of taking down or substantially harming a large ship.

Then we must consider what will happen when multiple players using fleets engage on a server. I foresee server lag and admins limiting the number and size of ships in fleets to address this foreseeable issue. With a classification system in place it will help players to know what is allowed and not allowed on a server by server basis. My current fleet includes 1: flagship, 2:battleships, 2:carriers, 4: destroyers, 8:corvettes, and 36 fighters. Now imagine what would happen if a similar size fleet were to attack this.

ON another note, after I did some research I decided to move Corvette's into the med classification from light as historically a Corvette was the smallest ship to be considered a Capital ship. I Also moved Drone Carriers down into Med as they are not as strong as a full Carrier.

 

[Lecic]

The issue I see with block count is that it does not take into account docked rails. Thus a 200K block count ship with 100K of extra docked rail turrets...ect will not be the same ship as 200k block count ship base. Also, once the primary ship overheats all the docked rails un-dock and just float there.

That's why you include block count of docked entities? It's not like it's a complex thing to do.

The first being that the A.I. does not act like a player pilot and thus will not strive for survival until X% of Structure is gone. So 50 player piloted ships should be able to take down a much larger ship, but 50 A.I. piloted craft of comparable size may not be able to.

Have you actually tested AI? When people say the "30% of a ship's block count in drones can kill it," they're referring to AI drones doing it...

 

[Madman198237]

Well, I was trying to write out a classification system based on thrust, when I realized that people only really respect thrust in extreme cases, like fighters versus titans.

So, instead, in order to get a truly accurate picture of a ship's capabilities....well....you have to get the ship's stats screen and images of the ship, because then you can determine the capabilities based on turret placement and fire arcs, which affect turret abilities, while the ship's design determines it's profile/shape and how easy it'll be to hit, and then, once you've measured all that, someone has to pass a highly subjective judgement on the role and capabilities of the ship.

I think we're universally agreed, however, on two things:
We can't agree on any system for classifications.
Any and every system will be very flawed.

 

[KiloZulu]

When I bother to classify my ship, it's primarily based on the role it was built for, the ship's design, and with some comparison of size with other ships. A big decider for classification comes when I no longer feel that the ship can comfortably perform planetary landings. If a ship would look silly resting on a planet slab, it has become a capital ship.

The smallest of these would likely be a frigate or destroyer, and again the designation would be tweaked based on use. A ship with cannons is almost always the base model. A ship that primarily uses lasers might be an "energy frigate," while one with missiles is something like a "missile cruiser" or "aegis destroyer." A caveat to the use of cannons is if the cannons are primarily designed for defense operations - missile or fighter defense turrets, most commonly. Such a vessel would likely be an "escort" model.

I typically compare my ships to the standard pirate ships on the server. I don't bother comparing with other players because size can vary so wildly at that point. I consider an Isanth to be either a fighter or heavy fighter, and scale my ship classifications off of that more often than not.

 

[Master_Artificer]

I complexly agree that it should be loosely based on power, with plenty of wiggle room to accommodate everyone.

However, I disagree with your increments, lol.
(around 2-2.5 mill power gen is a destroyer in my book. A destroyer and below, also in by book, are ships that use the power generation curve and do not require docked mitochondria power reactors, however self powered turrets are sometimes used).

You would say something like "blahblahblah, heavy frigate, X mass" (or block count), and we would know both how bulky it is and a general idea on the performance of the thing.

 

[kingreol]

It wont stick, You will have to write up the most detailed descriptions of every ship class and you might get 10% of the userbase to agree on it. but then you still will get someone who says his 5k ship is a destroyer.... unless development starts giving out its naming convention say with blueprints in the game. i doupt we will ever 100% agree on anything. we cant even agree on blockcount thresholds....

Now i do like the idea of a coded blueprint scanner that spits out the class/role based on a detailed scan of the type of blocks the ship has.

 

[Bladeriker]

Ship classification is extremely subjective and is almost entirely based off the bias of the shipbuilder. Also historically speaking, different factions have given identical ships different classifications.
With that said it seems that we know what does not work. (For the most part)

Block Count: (As a person can place one core and 1.5 billion doors, force fields, Shoot out rails, Cargo, area triggers,...ect, and have a huge block count and no real ship).

Energy Per/Sec: (The argument about docked reactors and how to factor those in. There is also how effective the energy is being used. Having a 100mil energy storage cap and only using 2 mil at any given time waste's 98mill energy).

Mass: (Similar to Block count but due to different blocks having different mass, and the ability to cause an increase in mass due to cargo blocks causes issues here).

Dimensions/Spacial Displacement: (The issue here is that the standard pirate ship is only 20L, 31W, 10H, and this is what almost everyone would consider to be a fighter. Where as I have see Blueprints that call a 80L, 20W, and 13H a fighter).

Structure/Armor (Ship health): (The bigger the ship the more health it should have, but I have several support ships [mining, cargo, trade...ect] that have health rivaling some of my dedicated combat ships from a size category larger).

The biggest issue with trying to come up with a way to categorize ships is that there will always be a ship that falls right at the cusp of two categories and defies all attempts to place it on one or the other.

 

[Lecic]

Block Count: (As a person can place one core and 1.5 billion doors, force fields, Shoot out rails, Cargo, area triggers,...ect, and have a huge block count and no real ship).

But... that's... the point...? You compare the block counts between ships with a block count system. If Mastor Bulder Jimmy makes his ship that's 1 core and 1.5 billion doors, while Doom Cuber Joel makes a 1.5 billion ship with weapons, power, shields, etc, you can compare the two's block counts and immediately see which one is better at a certain job (Jimmy's is better at causing unholy amounts of lag when it opens or closes, Joel's is good at hopefully killing that door monstrosity before it causes too much trouble)

 

[StarWars1981]

Warning: I have a lot of time on my hands to think of these things.
I have a role-based classification system, but it does take in size. There's no absolute value system for size, nobody would agree on it anyways. However, each class has its own specific roles that it does better than others (hence the existence of specific classes rather than just massive superships). Because of the opinion factor, think of this more as a collection of terms to use to tell others, generally, what your ship is for.
- All light/heavy classifications are based on creator's opinion and the specific role the ship performs.

Drone - An autonomous vessel of any size. Usually small and focused on either fighter or bomber classes, but can include mining/salvage drones and also guided torpedoes (unless you're insane, that is), because they have AI.
Shuttle - Noncombat utility vessel, usually a small size. "Utility" refers to anything like transport duties or salvage work.
- Freighter - larger shuttle class, usually carries cargo for most of its work.
Fighter - any small vessel built to destroy enemy fighters and bombers, protecting friendly bombers and larger ships from attack. This class can also be a solo vessel for exploration or just the only one available to a person. Focuses on speed for defense, and repeated hits for assault.
- Light - may be for destroying missiles. Small and fast, usually cannot take larger ships given shield regen and puny weapons.
- Heavy - Targeted against hostile ships, of small size or light defenses. Designed to take punishment on a small frame and give out more. Not necessarily large, but less focused on speed than a light fighter.
Bomber - Built to slide in and hit a large ship from an inexpensive platform. Similarly sized to a fighter, though to deal the larger alpha strike may be slightly larger. Usually based around missile systems for high alpha. These are designed to evade fire while delivering a respectable punch, though they are still expendable.
Gunship - Best seen as a large fighter-bomber, sacrificing speed for larger size, armor, firepower, and multifunction capability. Still small to be a hard target, but armed to take down smaller targets.
Corvette - A vessel designed to shield larger vessels from slash runs and Trench Run Disease from fighters, bombers, and gunships, yet can operate as solo warships in restricted operations. This is smaller than a Frigate, yet carries a similar mission. These may also be AI controlled, given the fact that most players will build larger vessels to pilot. However, their primary mission is again multirole, given their versatility at a small size and decent thrust-to-weight. They are not built for slugging matches, in any case, but to get up and move around.
Frigate - A multipurpose, midsize vessel. Generally capable of dealing with anything smaller and punching above its weight. These vessels are still based on maneuverability and slashing runs, but their weapons vary considerably. However, they should be effective anti-fighter platforms given their agility and heavier firepower.
- Light - Fast and agile (for their size), these vessels may server either as alpha-strike ships, raiders, fighter defense, or just generic battle-screen ships between the heavyweights.
- Heavy - Tankier than any previous vessel in this class system, heavy frigates maintain their maneuverability but trade some for more firepower and armor, or shielding, in order to pose a credible threat to heavier vessels, and to take on larger groups of smaller ones. Should generally be able to easily destroy a Light Frigate, given a similar design philosophy.
Cruiser - the bread and butter of Sci-Fi universes, StarMade should be no exception but I'm not an expert. These are large warships, the first ones solidly entrenched in the ship-to-ship warfare role. Too large to be a cost-effective miner, transport, or armed freighter in any way, their multirole aspect extends only to carrying small fighters/bombers/drones into combat or ferrying somebody's optimistic tank brigade to a planet. Carrying heavy armor, weaponry, and shielding, they still (usually) maintain some mobility, enough to hold their own against still larger enemies.
- Light - again based on more speed and agility, they have the firepower to deal with vessels, but they need to keep moving to avoid their light armor becoming an issue. They can still shrug off smaller vessels' assaults, but focus on wolf-pack tactics for heavier targets.
- Heavy - Small battleships would be an adequate description. Focused on armor and sheer firepower, mobility is sacrificed for a similar mission to a battleship, but in a slightly smaller scale of warfare. Though faster, application is similar to that of a battleship.

Battleship - These vessels are huge, made for planetary siege and extreme ship-to-ship combat. Heavy armor plating and amazing firepower make these warships hard to battle.
- Light - a misnomer. Battlecruiser comes closer to the mission of this class. Smaller and more mobile than other battleships, there is nothing light about them. However, they may be less resource-intensive and more effective in a moving battlefield.
- Heavy - Built to kill, these vessels combine ridiculous armor with insane firepower, capable of holding off small fleets alone or razing entire planets in seconds.

Titan - combining just ludicrous weaponry with size and armor built for sitting inside stars for minutes, these vessels generally have so much power that it is wasted on planets and fleets - only other Titans can contend with them.

Please note that none of these are definitive, and are just generic names. However, they do accurately convey the basics of a vessel, given that every single user in SM uses them. Hope you liked the Text Wall.

 

[Bladeriker]

So it is not block count that you are using but effectiveness in a given roll. As block count alone does not tell anyone how effective a ship is at a given job. Case in point.

But... that's... the point...? You compare the block counts between ships with a block count system. If Mastor Bulder Jimmy makes his ship that's 1 core and 1.5 billion doors, while Doom Cuber Joel makes a 1.5 billion ship with weapons, power, shields, etc, you can compare the two's block counts and immediately see which one is better at a certain job (Jimmy's is better at causing unholy amounts of lag when it opens or closes, Joel's is good at hopefully killing that door monstrosity before it causes too much trouble)

Using Block count as both determiner of ship class and function does not work, as any builder can create a ship then pad the block count to get it into a different classification. Block count does not tell the average observer anything about the ship other than how many blocks it is comprised of. Energy per/sec gives more information about what a ship can do than does block count. Structure points give a more information then does Energy per/sec. But none of these options truly tell the average observer what ship can do or cannot do.

How big a ship is does not tell us how well it does its job either as a, 500m long, 200m long, and 150 High ship can have a massive block count/Energy per/sec, and Structure points, but be little more than a space hulk of drifting blocks. Where as a well built 20x21x12 meter ship can be a well defined mining, fighter, or cargo ship and be easily identified by its function.

Defining ship categories based on function could work, but even is modern history several ships have been defined in different ways. The Battleship has been defined as: Battle Cruisers which are lightly armored Battleships, whereas Dreadnoughts are heavily armed and armored Battleships, but the run of the mill Battleship is either bigger or smaller then both of these. There are several different kinds of Carriers as well, ranging from Full Aircraft carriers to Lighter helicopter Carriers, mixes of both, and some that are a mix of Battleship and Carrier.

A combination of size category and function/roll could help as I doubt anyone would argue that a 20x15x10 meter ship is going to be more effective than a 100x75x50 ship at the same task/roll. This is dependent on a ship builder that knows what they are doing of course.

This is why I advocate for Ship size Categories: of Light, Medium, Heavy, Super-Heavy, and Gargantuan. With Rolls defined by the builder. The only issue I have run across thus far is where to draw the lines between Categories.
[DOUBLEPOST=1459964301,1459961073][/DOUBLEPOST]

Warning: I have a lot of time on my hands to think of these things.
I have a role-based classification system, but it does take in size. There's no absolute value system for size, nobody would agree on it anyways. However, each class has its own specific roles that it does better than others (hence the existence of specific classes rather than just massive superships). Because of the opinion factor, think of this more as a collection of terms to use to tell others, generally, what your ship is for.
- All light/heavy classifications are based on creator's opinion and the specific role the ship performs.

Drone - An autonomous vessel of any size. Usually small and focused on either fighter or bomber classes, but can include mining/salvage drones and also guided torpedoes (unless you're insane, that is), because they have AI.
Shuttle - Noncombat utility vessel, usually a small size. "Utility" refers to anything like transport duties or salvage work.
- Freighter - larger shuttle class, usually carries cargo for most of its work.
Fighter - any small vessel built to destroy enemy fighters and bombers, protecting friendly bombers and larger ships from attack. This class can also be a solo vessel for exploration or just the only one available to a person. Focuses on speed for defense, and repeated hits for assault.
- Light - may be for destroying missiles. Small and fast, usually cannot take larger ships given shield regen and puny weapons.
- Heavy - Targeted against hostile ships, of small size or light defenses. Designed to take punishment on a small frame and give out more. Not necessarily large, but less focused on speed than a light fighter.
Bomber - Built to slide in and hit a large ship from an inexpensive platform. Similarly sized to a fighter, though to deal the larger alpha strike may be slightly larger. Usually based around missile systems for high alpha. These are designed to evade fire while delivering a respectable punch, though they are still expendable.
Gunship - Best seen as a large fighter-bomber, sacrificing speed for larger size, armor, firepower, and multifunction capability. Still small to be a hard target, but armed to take down smaller targets.
Corvette - A vessel designed to shield larger vessels from slash runs and Trench Run Disease from fighters, bombers, and gunships, yet can operate as solo warships in restricted operations. This is smaller than a Frigate, yet carries a similar mission. These may also be AI controlled, given the fact that most players will build larger vessels to pilot. However, their primary mission is again multirole, given their versatility at a small size and decent thrust-to-weight. They are not built for slugging matches, in any case, but to get up and move around.
Frigate - A multipurpose, midsize vessel. Generally capable of dealing with anything smaller and punching above its weight. These vessels are still based on maneuverability and slashing runs, but their weapons vary considerably. However, they should be effective anti-fighter platforms given their agility and heavier firepower.
- Light - Fast and agile (for their size), these vessels may server either as alpha-strike ships, raiders, fighter defense, or just generic battle-screen ships between the heavyweights.
- Heavy - Tankier than any previous vessel in this class system, heavy frigates maintain their maneuverability but trade some for more firepower and armor, or shielding, in order to pose a credible threat to heavier vessels, and to take on larger groups of smaller ones. Should generally be able to easily destroy a Light Frigate, given a similar design philosophy.
Cruiser - the bread and butter of Sci-Fi universes, StarMade should be no exception but I'm not an expert. These are large warships, the first ones solidly entrenched in the ship-to-ship warfare role. Too large to be a cost-effective miner, transport, or armed freighter in any way, their multirole aspect extends only to carrying small fighters/bombers/drones into combat or ferrying somebody's optimistic tank brigade to a planet. Carrying heavy armor, weaponry, and shielding, they still (usually) maintain some mobility, enough to hold their own against still larger enemies.
- Light - again based on more speed and agility, they have the firepower to deal with vessels, but they need to keep moving to avoid their light armor becoming an issue. They can still shrug off smaller vessels' assaults, but focus on wolf-pack tactics for heavier targets.
- Heavy - Small battleships would be an adequate description. Focused on armor and sheer firepower, mobility is sacrificed for a similar mission to a battleship, but in a slightly smaller scale of warfare. Though faster, application is similar to that of a battleship.

Battleship - These vessels are huge, made for planetary siege and extreme ship-to-ship combat. Heavy armor plating and amazing firepower make these warships hard to battle.
- Light - a misnomer. Battlecruiser comes closer to the mission of this class. Smaller and more mobile than other battleships, there is nothing light about them. However, they may be less resource-intensive and more effective in a moving battlefield.
- Heavy - Built to kill, these vessels combine ridiculous armor with insane firepower, capable of holding off small fleets alone or razing entire planets in seconds.

Titan - combining just ludicrous weaponry with size and armor built for sitting inside stars for minutes, these vessels generally have so much power that it is wasted on planets and fleets - only other Titans can contend with them.

Please note that none of these are definitive, and are just generic names. However, they do accurately convey the basics of a vessel, given that every single user in SM uses them. Hope you liked the Text Wall.

If I may make a suggestion. You used light and heavy several times meaning about the same thing each time.

Why not simply say that Light ships tend to be emphasize speed instead of armor/weapons, and Heavy ships emphasizes weapons and armor over speed, and the base type is a balance of all three.

Other than my person preference to describe a Gunship as a roll more than a class. This is pretty good.