Ship Classification

[Gasboy]

Well there is some judgement based on scale, but not much.

Frigates are different from Destroyers as Frigates are more support oriented, but they can both be the same size.

They can be, just as corvettes can be the same size. Traditionally though, destroyers were bigger than either of the other two. It's only modern times where the line's become very blurry.

 

[The Judge]

They can be, just as corvettes can be the same size. Traditionally though, destroyers were bigger than either of the other two. It's only modern times where the line's become very blurry.

True, true, as the Ticonderoga class Guided Missile Cruiser uses a Spruance class Destroyer's hull.
(Real-World Example)

 

[Beld]

Uhm, are you perhaps in the wrong thread? 'cause no one posting in this thread has the ability to impose anything on you or anyone else.

uhm perhaps you need to look up what impose means.

 

[Nauvran]

I feel like classifications should go after amount of blocks, not mass.
Use the amount of blocks in a ship to determine what class it is and then use the mass to determine what sub-class it is.
For example we have a 1k block ship, let's call that a fighter. It's main class is now a fighter. Easy to understand. Now we look at the mass, let's say it's 23k, and from that we can see it's made out of advanced armour, so we set the sub-class as heavy. From that we get a heavy fighter.

At least that's how I would make it if I had to make some sort of classification scheme. But I just call my ships what I want to.

 

[Gasboy]

uhm perhaps you need to look up what impose means.

im·pose
imˈpōz/
verb

1. 1.
   force (something unwelcome or unfamiliar) to be accepted or put in place.
   "the decision was theirs and was not imposed on them by others"
   synonyms: foist, force, inflict, press, urge;
2. 2.
   take advantage of someone by demanding their attention or commitment.
   "she realized that she had imposed on Miss Hatherby's kindness"
   synonyms: take advantage of, exploit, take liberties with, treat unfairly;

So, while people can tell you how to play, and how to classify your ships, you are under no obligation to play their way or classify your ships their way. So my previous statement stands: No one in this thread can impose their systems on anyone else, people can simply ignore them.

As for meaning number 2, people's attention, time and commitment to this thread is voluntary. No one is required to read this thread. Therefore my previous statement stands.

Does the word impose mean something else to you?

 

[aceface]

I really like your ship classification, fits almost exactly with mine :D
The only thing different is that I say that 500k mass -> 1 mil mass is a titan.
Then 1 mil + mass is super titan.

 

[Gasboy]

I really like your ship classification, fits almost exactly with mine :D
The only thing different is that I say that 500k mass -> 1 mil mass is a titan.
Then 1 mil + mass is super titan.

May as well just leave it at titan. :P There's got to be a limit somewhere. :P Else someone will go, "I call this ship a Gargantuan, with 2 million mass. And I'm building my super Gargantuan..." XD

 

[Panpiper]

And for a four hundredth post, I shall do the most dastardly thing a forum post can do short of necro, a bump! Hah! Thought you were special eh, number four hundred?

 

[Gasboy]

No such thing as a necro. :P

 

[jzimmerman4]

Really interesting ideas here for sure but the problem I see is that this classification system is limiting what players can build within the guidelines you proposed. For example what if I built a battleship with a 5-1 thrust to mass ratio and used it all the time? Wouldn't really fit your description. A more generic modable system may be best suited that is based off of mass and function.
Here is my example: https://www.dropbox.com/s/16zr3y6f05ewm2t/Brotherhood Ship Classification System.xlsx?dl=0

 

[The Judge]

Judge's opinion on Ship Classification.
Small, medium and Large are decided by the players classifying their ships.
Light/Heavy can be applied if you think the ship is smaller/larger than your standard of class size.

Fighters
Interceptor- Destroys Fighters.
Drone- Spammed AI controlled ship. (Can also fall under Interceptor and Bomber classification.)
Bomber- Anti-Hull weapons.

Small
Frigate- Support oriented Warship designed to escort and assist Destroyers, Cruisers, and Battleships.
Destroyer- Mainstay of a fleet. Frigate sized combat ship.
Corvette- Smallest actual Warship, designed to raid merchants, escort, and survey enemy territory.
Carrier- Carries Drones and/or Fighters.

Medium
Cruiser- Standard medium Warship with the purpose of Combat and Escort of Battleships, Carriers, and Dreadnoughts.
Carrier- Carries Drones and/or Fighters.

Large
Battleship- Heavily armored capital ship, packs a lot of weapons and defensive systems.
Battlecruiser- Not to be confused with Battleships, these are less armored Battleships designed to intercept fleeing ships. (Best used with a ship with a jump inhibitor.)
Carrier- Carries Drones and/or Fighters.

Titan
Dreadnought- Anything larger than what you consider to be a Battleship.
(Super?) Carrier- Carries Drones, Fighters, and Small Ships.

Pls no hate.

 

[Panpiper]

Really interesting ideas here for sure but the problem I see is that this classification system is limiting what players can build within the guidelines you proposed. For example what if I built a battleship with a 5-1 thrust to mass ratio and used it all the time? Wouldn't really fit your description.

The classification system I use is not restrictive. There is nothing in it that says that a player 'cannot' create a battleship as you outlined. It would still turn like a slugboat regardless, and the huge amount of power and mass you've devoted to thrust would make it seriously underwhelming in any engagement versus another battleship, but it would still be a battleship.

If someone uses a classification system that stipulates that such and such a ship is a BF-G thingymabob, nobody will know what they are talking about unless they have been initiated into some sort of esoterica and can consult a chart. On the other hand, if someone says they are flying a battleship, everyone will know what they are talking about without any special knowledge. All the classification system I use is meant to do, with regard to other people, is to assist them in understanding what "I" mean, and to point out the absurdity of someone calling their 10,000 block newbie ship a 'battleship', and someone else calling their 10,000 block ship a 'fighter'.

The system I outlined is simple. It is consistent with how most people use and rank ship classes. And very importantly, it does not restrict. Just because most people fly around cruiser sized ships most of the time, does not mean you cannot fly around your battleship most of the time. I do that myself in fact these days, having built a planet miner/battleship that is short and squat (for better turn mode), but with very high power and thrust. It is not however a 'cruiser', as it dwarfs anything and everything that anyone else is flying, and out guns them too.

 

[RoAnnon]

What some people seem to be missing is that military ship classifications weren't originally based on mass or size of the ship, but its role in the fleet. That role is what dictated the ship's speed, armament, defensive capability, and all that together dictated the size of the ship. As technology allowed faster ships and heavier armor, the same ship classification could include a larger ship. The role of a destroyer required a smaller more nimble ship, a battleship needed to be big and armored, with big guns. Sounds like Panpiper and I may be of the same generation, the system he laid out pretty much matches the one I've always used, and for about as long. I still even have my original books of Mercenary, High Guard, Scouts and Merchant Prince. :D

Civilian ships have never really ever been classified by mass or size, except as a secondary characteristic. Usually they're classified by their task: Fishing Vessel, Tanker, Container Ship, Tug, Liner etc.

 

[Panpiper]

I still even have my original books of Mercenary, High Guard, Scouts and Merchant Prince. :D

LOL indeed! I just reached out with my arm to lovingly brush my fingers over my High Guard and Striker sitting on my bookshelf. I invested way too much of my life building the perfect Trillion Credit Squadron.

 

[cyberus111]

I too still have all my Traveller books, I was in so deep that I had written a program in applesoft basic for my Apple II+ to make ship building less of a hassle.

 

[FatCobra]

RoAnnon is spot on. Ship classifications have always been based on what they did not their mass or size.

 

[RoAnnon]

I too still have all my Traveller books, I was in so deep that I had written a program in applesoft basic for my Apple II+ to make ship building less of a hassle.

Mine was on an Apple ][e, but I later made a Lotus123 (might have been quatropro) spreadsheet that allowed me to design any sort of High Guard ship of any TL I wanted and get all the stats and the USP on it.

Since WWI, ship displacements have increased 3 to 5-fold. The original HMS Dreadnought displaced 18,410 tons, the USS Wisconsin commissioned toward the end of WWII displaced 52,800 tons. USS Enterprise CV6 displaced a mere 19,800 tons, the USS Ronald Reagan 101,400 tons. An Arleigh Burke destroyer is almost as big as a WWII cruiser.

 

[FatCobra]

Here is a great article about current naval ship classifications:
http://www.migflug.com/jetflights/classifications-of-naval-vessels.html

 

[Panpiper]

I've been away from the game long enough that I had to consult this old thread of mine to remember what the weight scales were like. While here, I noticed how long it's been since it's been seen, and figured there must be enough new people by now who haven't seen it. So I am unashamedly bumping my post out from necro oblivion. This is not obsolete because it has been around for a year.

 

[Calhoun]

Panpiper used Necropost! It's super effective!