ship classification

[lighturfir]

not for sure if this subject has been done before but im wondering for my own sake see i was asked the other day what class my ship was an i said its a battleship an it started a server wide discussion an each had a different idea as to what classification
i started playig space sims with eve online an im use to that size classification an build accordingly so to me it goes alil something like this ( this is just in length mind you )

upto 150m fighter
150m to 300m frigate/cruiser
300m to 500m cruiser/battle-cruiser
500m to 800m battleship
800m to 1000m titan/dreadnought/mothership
as for the carrier it really vary's its size as to what your going to have in the flight deck an as to how much

 

[Nauvran]

not for sure if this subject has been done before but im wondering for my own sake see i was asked the other day what class my ship was an i said its a battleship an it started a server wide discussion an each had a different idea as to what classification
i started playig space sims with eve online an im use to that size classification an build accordingly so to me it goes alil something like this ( this is just in length mind you )

upto 150m fighter
150m to 300m frigate/cruiser
300m to 500m cruiser/battle-cruiser
500m to 800m battleship
800m to 1000m titan/dreadnought/mothership
as for the carrier it really vary's its size as to what your going to have in the flight deck an as to how much

It should be based of mass if you ask me otherise my 100m long fighter is going to be 1k tall or wide. And we will most likely never get an official classification system since the game is supposed to be as open as possible and such decisions are up the builder.

 

[jstenholt]

Newp...

This kind of thing comes up every other day, and always the answer is "we don't need it."

There are many reasons, but in short: every builder builds ships differently, length is an awful measurement of ship size, and a it's just more fun to have your own classification scheme.

 

[Kilim]

I personally wouldn't mind reclassifying my ships for a universal classification system. I agree with Nauvran that if it ever were to happen it ought to be based on mass. The mass of a ship honestly means more in regards to it's properties than length.

 

[Hidden Porpoise]

If you want to start naming class by length it's worth pointing out that that's not what those names mean. "Dreadnought" is literally just a gun configuration used on battleships. Not even large battleships. Battlecruisers were often longer than their contemporary battleships.

 

[alterintel]

So here is a good thread by Panpiper that talked about ship classifications. I think it's a good write up, and it's the one I use

 

[Criss]

One thing to note is that a battleship, or frigate is not technically a classification for a ship. It is the type of ship. The classification would be the name given to a specific hull design.

Additionally I must ask if you only used EVE as a reference to those types of ships? If you intended to use the scale as well it is a bit off, which is understandable considering StarMade cannot support the same scale.

 

[Sven_The_Slayer]

150 meter fighters...

Spoiler: Made this a while ago

The game has come a long way so there is a lot more you can take into account when classing ships. Different armors have different mass so similar sized ships can have wildly varying mass. The thrust changes means most ships may have different top speeds. The Cargo update means you can take hauling capacities into account. RP aspects, weapon load-outs and much more.

 

[lighturfir]

yes eve ships are way over scale to the size i was useing but for me it was a starting point on building my ships

One thing to note is that a battleship, or frigate is not technically a classification for a ship. It is the type of ship. The classification would be the name given to a specific hull design.

Additionally I must ask if you only used EVE as a reference to those types of ships? If you intended to use the scale as well it is a bit off, which is understandable considering StarMade cannot support the same scale.

i get mass should be used or atleast taken into count but mass will vary acording to difrent variables ie turrets/cargo/hull type used

It should be based of mass if you ask me otherise my 100m long fighter is going to be 1k tall or wide. And we will most likely never get an official classification system since the game is supposed to be as open as possible and such decisions are up the builder.

all in all i was just trying to get a feel for what evryone thought on the subject an not trying to get a set classification if you really think about it each builder(or space faring species/race ) will build there ships according to them an label each

 

[Groovrider]

I could never get along with using terrestrial classifications for my ships so I use this. This system allows me to fucus on capability and power rather that outright size and weight comparisons.


GCU - General Contact Unit: Smallest armed ships of the fleet without mega (million damage+) damage weapons. Many will have significant mining arrays but can support larger ships in combat. Sometimes capable of planetary landing and carry small shuttles.

GOU - General Offensive Unit: Larger than GCUs, normally in possession of a varied array of multi-role weaponry. Mega damage capable. Significant power is devoted to shields and active defence.

ROU - Rapid Offensive Unit: Same specification as a GOU but more power is devoted to engines and will have a transgalactic drive. They are the early responders with constantly charged drives ready to deal with an emerging crisis.

HOU - Heavy Offensive Unit - These are system superiority ships with a simpler but more powerful weapons than any other craft. They are distinguished by their relatively slow speed and massive armor plating. Capable of maintaining combat effectiveness while sustaining heavy damage and engaging enemy heavies at point blank range.

GSV - General Systems Vehicle: Generally the largest, heaviest and most powerful ship in the fleet. Distinguished by spacious interiors, a launch bay for terrestrial shuttles, massive shielding and defence with very large and powerful salvage arrays. Weapons will be powerful but this is not a dedicated warship as they are biased toward defence. Mainly used for ambassadorial missions and long duration, deep space exploration/mining.

RIP IMB

 

[lighturfir]

i really like this way of thinking might use this from now on most of my ships would fall under the GOU an GSV but all in all i tend to build evry ship mega weapons even the smallest ship i have at 350m has a cannon/cannon/punch that does 250k a sec damage that i label as a cruiser

I could never get along with using terrestrial classifications for my ships so I use this. This system allows me to fucus on capability and power rather that outright size and weight comparisons.


GCU - General Contact Unit: Smallest armed ships of the fleet without mega (million damage+) damage weapons. Many will have significant mining arrays but can support larger ships in combat. Sometimes capable of planetary landing and carry small shuttles.

GOU - General Offensive Unit: Larger than GCUs, normally in possession of a varied array of multi-role weaponry. Mega damage capable. Significant power is devoted to shields and active defence.

ROU - Rapid Offensive Unit: Same specification as a GOU but more power is devoted to engines and will have a transgalactic drive. They are the early responders with constantly charged drives ready to deal with an emerging crisis.

HOU - Heavy Offensive Unit - These are system superiority ships with a simpler but more powerful weapons than any other craft. They are distinguished by their relatively slow speed and massive armor plating. Capable of maintaining combat effectiveness while sustaining heavy damage and engaging enemy heavies at point blank range.

GSV - General Systems Vehicle: Generally the largest, heaviest and most powerful ship in the fleet. Distinguished by spacious interiors, a launch bay for terrestrial shuttles, massive shielding and defence with very large and powerful salvage arrays. Weapons will be powerful but this is not a dedicated warship as they are biased toward defence. Mainly used for ambassadorial missions and long duration, deep space exploration/mining.

 

[Kilim]

150 meter fighters...

Spoiler: Made this a while ago

The game has come a long way so there is a lot more you can take into account when classing ships. Different armors have different mass so similar sized ships can have wildly varying mass. The thrust changes means most ships may have different top speeds. The Cargo update means you can take hauling capacities into account. RP aspects, weapon load-outs and much more.

You must remember that military fighters don't have to necessarily be the same thing as space fighters.

 

[Gasboy]

A ship classification system really only works on a per person basis. However you want to classify your ship is up to you.

The only places where people stick to a specific set of ship classifications are contests (where people have to conform to the contest rules), and RP servers (where ship classification systems may be enforced for RP reasons).

It has been a lengthy discussion, and one with many good points here and there, but ultimately never settled to peoples' satisfaction.

 

[Sven_The_Slayer]

You must remember that military fighters don't have to necessarily be the same thing as space fighters.

True but I can't be the only one who thinks it might be a little silly to call a single pilot craft longer than 30 meters a "fighter". I have also not seen any other sci-fi source that has this trend. I can think of only one instance where a large ship was referred to as a fighter and that was the Jem-Hadar from DS9

Jeff Russell's STARSHIP DIMENSIONS

 

[Gasboy]

True but I can't be the only one who thinks it might be a little silly to call a single pilot craft longer than 30 meters a "fighter". I have also not seen any other sci-fi source that has this trend. I can think of only one instance where a large ship was referred to as a fighter and that was the Jem-Hadar from DS9

Jeff Russell's STARSHIP DIMENSIONS

But length is not the only measure of a fighter. What if it is a single pilot craft, with the speed and maneuverability of a fighter, but 31 meters in length? What it is then? This is the primary reason why a classification has consistently failed to appear in game. :P Absolutes are too limiting in a game of millions of combinations.

 

[DeltaEpsilon7787]

To be honest I think that one needs to use properties of a ship to classify it, not must mass or size.
A "battleship" might as well suck in battle if 90% of its mass is just armor.

By properties I mean actual damage that ship is capable of delivering in certain amount of time, shield HP and other system stuff.

 

[Arintone]

It seems obvious that if you wanted a non-mass measurement classification, it would need to be based on volume.

 

[Gasboy]

It seems obvious that if you wanted a non-mass measurement classification, it would need to be based on volume.

The two are tied together, and overall, volume isn't a highly useful stat.

 

[Groovrider]

True but I can't be the only one who thinks it might be a little silly to call a single pilot craft longer than 30 meters a "fighter". I have also not seen any other sci-fi source that has this trend. I can think of only one instance where a large ship was referred to as a fighter and that was the Jem-Hadar from DS9

Jeff Russell's STARSHIP DIMENSIONS

The Zentradi would like to have a few words with you.

 

[Lord_Greyscale]

True but I can't be the only one who thinks it might be a little silly to call a single pilot craft longer than 30 meters a "fighter". I have also not seen any other sci-fi source that has this trend. I can think of only one instance where a large ship was referred to as a fighter and that was the Jem-Hadar from DS9

I vaguely remember an old anime where the enemy "fighters" were approximately 40~ish meters long.
But then, that was an Anime, which unless it is Macross, is not well known for either realism or "staying within classifications". (and Macross has it's own "realism" failings)

And aye, the "role" of Fightercraft is so simple that size alone can't be a good measurement.
(one possible one is "single-man attack craft with no lifeboat)

As for Star Trek, the "Starfleet Battles" game had both more traditional Fighters and PsuedoFighters.
The latter is what the Jem'hadar attack craft would be. And the Cardassian Hideki-class.

They are "roughly" equivalent to either a WWII PT-Boat in function, or an anti-fighter "corvette/cutter", depending on which race/polity is using them.
The closest the Federation comes to this concept? Probably the Danube-class Runabout with the weapons pod.

Danube class
Danube class

Note that Memory alpha refuses to state a length of the runabout, this is because the one "official" product that mentioned it was of such generally terrible quality it was eventually made "UN-official".


**********************************************
EDIT: Forgot the Danube is "supposed to be" 23.1 meters long, 13.7 tall, and 5.4 wide.

The Zentradi would like to have a few words with you.

I'd completely forgotten that poor thing existed, but checking through all the available Internet sources gives it 17.4 meters of length, with 12 for height and width.
It allmost certainly masses more than the Danube-class, at least.