Ship types and symbols (types are not classes)

Joined
Jan 4, 2020
Messages
26
#1
i identify myself as GETH, let us have an consens

i've read some discussion in Discord about ship types, ppl arguing about the difference of an cruiser and a frigate.

what if we create a type list where you can identify your ship, based on its capabilities?

Types by @Burnside

Scout, Snubfighter, Superiority Fighter, Interceptor, Attack Bomber, Strategic Bomber, Lifeboat
Picket Scout, Shuttle, Dropship, Gunship, Gunboat, Patrol Cutter/Swiftboat, Torpedoboat
Frigate, Destroyer, Cruiser, Battleship

other types by me

Fighter, Heavy Fighter, Corvette, Heavy Cruiser, Battle Cruiser, Carrier, Capital Carrier


My try: (to descripe them)

Scout:
These are tiny helper, they are not carrier only, they take nearly evrywhere place. These ships are cheap, smal, fast but also weak wir a mininum of combat abilitis. they are problematic in large swarms, to much targets for to less ammunition...

Fighter:
Name is Program. They fit in every carrier. Used in dog fights. Cheap to build. Take down Heavy fighters with speed and Agility.
to have serveral in large stations is recommendet

Heavy Fighter:
Same as Fighter but bigger, additionoal crew member allow more firepower. Good choice to disarm bigger ships. They fit in every carrier.
to have serveral in your station would be helpfull

Bomber:
compackt solution for tactical destruction, fit in every carrier. Bomber have an oneway ticket like fighters, its recommendet to build them only in need

Corvette:
the companycar of each fleet. fits in capital carrier. traveling alone is not recommendet but possible. short range exploration is a thing.
Allways close to it's station, supplyship or carrier. Compact build and low cargo allow a limited options.

Destroyer:
Battleships nightmare, completely designet for combat, medium range. fits in capital carrier. but better when outside hidden in a shaddow.

Frigate:
they are like corvette on steroids, every Pilot remember his time having their first frigatte command. even capital carrier have atleast two bays for them. they have high exploration capabilities, they are members of every fleet, guarding trade routes and frequently used mining areas, hunting pirates. to have an frigate is an adventure, here learn Pilots how to command in different situation. Helping other in serveral situations ist for an frigate no problem. Send a request and a frigate appears with fuel, material or ammonition. They have an medium operation range but by far more then Corvette and their cargo allow more options.

Cruiser:
Cruiser is when Pilots become Captain, your crew isnt even a gunner plus a engeneer, now you have a real crew. Cruisers are the backbone of every fleet. you have long range capabilitys and you carry additional ammonition by yourself. you can live long without supplies. your hull allows a modular build. Fleet needs Falckstorm? you are the Flackstorm. Problems with Destroyers? add more rocketlauncher. searchig pirates or exploration, add a scout, on a relief mission, more cargo is need. you haven't a serial fitting, All Cruiser of the same Class have the same hull but different settings based on their job.

Heavy Cruiser:
to flank the enemy the Heavy Cruiser was born they are flaggships of smal fleets. you see them rarely alone. they wait at the dock for orders. they are made for war, nor for exploration, they are still modular but mostly prepared to be a flaggship, serveral are used as direct guard for capital ships. there arent much off them but thdy are stronk

Battle Cruiser:
When far far away is a targed which shal be definitively destroyed, then choose the Battle Cruiser. explorer finding things and Battle Cruisers destroy it. they are a Hybrid of Battleship and Cruiser. they aint fast but they are inexorable. Pirates hate him, look how he erase tiny fleets single handet. a good captain and a skilltet crew would even able to destroy a battleship. these ships hunt mostly alone in deep space, hostile areas is there home.

other stuff soon, constructive ideas would be helpfull
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Joined
Aug 14, 2019
Messages
102
#2
I think the sizes of these vessels are very ambitious with the current level of starbase so you might want to scale it down a bit like fighters could fit inside other ships but i m not sure about bigger vessels fitting inside other ships as you would have to get very big ships. In fact it is possible a carrier class wouldn't even be possible to be built but frigates destroyers and cruisers have fighters in them
 
Joined
Jan 4, 2020
Messages
26
#4
I think the sizes of these vessels are very ambitious with the current level of starbase so you might want to scale it down a bit like fighters could fit inside other ships but i m not sure about bigger vessels fitting inside other ships as you would have to get very big ships. In fact it is possible a carrier class wouldn't even be possible to be built but frigates destroyers and cruisers have fighters in them
you are right and a lot sounds to big, the centurion is aktual 107m long and need alot of power but i think 150m will be possible. I'll try to name capabilities but not dimensions. wen you compare a tiny fighter with the centurion, a refit could make the centurion a carrier for 16 fighters but it will loose its structural survivability

It would be cool to have an even lighter class that can be flown in giant swarms
i`ve seen a few ships in discord, they are like vasama with autocannon, i should add "scout" type
 
Last edited:

CalenLoki

Master endo
Joined
Aug 9, 2019
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741
#5
You're missing quite a lot types. Gunboats, gunships, artillery crafts, assault crafts, patrol boats.
I'd rather have more flexible system build of 2-3 icons. One for size (small boat, large boat, small ship, large ship, huge ship), and one-two for function (main weapon/equipment/capability).
 

Burnside

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Joined
Aug 23, 2019
Messages
308
#6
What CalenLoki said, I'd design it more as a series of hull classifications (i.e. general hull size) and then modify each of those core symbols with role markers, this seems like a fun sideboard topic so I'll see if I can work something up in paint.

ED: Here's a start plus all the pieces I've been able to make so far, most were built from cutting and pasting the basic figures in the paint software.
starbase ship icons.png

First Row, Strikecraft (Left to Right): Scout, Snubfighter, Superiority Fighter, Interceptor, Attack Bomber, Strategic Bomber, Lifeboat
Second Row, Boats (L/R): Picket Scout, Shuttle, Dropship, Gunship, Gunboat, Patrol Cutter/Swiftboat, Torpedoboat
Third Row, Unfinished Escort and Line Classes (L/R): Frigate, Destroyer, Cruiser, Battleship
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jan 4, 2020
Messages
26
#7
@Burnside
idk what a "snubfighter" is, had to use a translator, it translated it to "snubfighter" i use the "normal" search, now i know who a star wars fan is.
your dreawing looks by far better then mine, but still a grownig row, im still thinking about about the idea from @CalenLoki

this puzzle thing is helpfull but the way to generate the symbols und name them is where i struggle, much types are subtype, like "artilleri carft are battleships" "corvetts are patrol boats" what about Gunship = Gunboat?

i was maybe to early with symbol drawings, we should list typenames and descripe them and create symbols afterwards,
 

CalenLoki

Master endo
Joined
Aug 9, 2019
Messages
741
#8
What CalenLoki said, I'd design it more as a series of hull classifications (i.e. general hull size) and then modify each of those core symbols with role markers, this seems like a fun sideboard topic so I'll see if I can work something up in paint.

ED: Here's a start plus all the pieces I've been able to make so far, most were built from cutting and pasting the basic figures in the paint software.
View attachment 628
First Row, Strikecraft (Left to Right): Scout, Snubfighter, Superiority Fighter, Interceptor, Attack Bomber, Strategic Bomber, Lifeboat
Second Row, Boats (L/R): Picket Scout, Shuttle, Dropship, Gunship, Gunboat, Patrol Cutter/Swiftboat, Torpedoboat
Third Row, Unfinished Escort and Line Classes (L/R): Frigate, Destroyer, Cruiser, Battleship
I like the modularity. But it lacks clear rules.
Sometimes you increase ship size with upper section, sometimes with middle or lower.

I had my version almost done, but forgot about saving progress :/

EDIT:
Ok, here's mine.

Classification first.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gdvt7FzPbX35fTGwxYggeQxSJUf9GjBbqImbwwsHJSU/edit?usp=sharing

And symbols to put together.
SB Ship classification icons.png


If your craft is bigger than bike (more than one icon) then you have to include one of middle icon.

Examples:

Bikes:
Arrowhead->microfighter, Flat-top-> microbomber,
Triangle->scouter, Rhombus-> long range bike, Flat-bottom->forklift, Pentagon->escape/breaching pod, Arrow->scout bike,
Rectangle: delivery bike.

Small boats:
Chevron+triangle->gunboat,
Arrowhead+triangle->fighter,
Flat-top+triangle->bomber,
Chevron+rhombus->patrol boat,
Arrowhead+rhombus->interceptor,
Flat-botom+rectangle->cargo boat,

Large boats:
Two chevrons+triangle->heavy gunboat,
Chevron+flat-bottom+rectangle->armed cargo boat,

Small ships:
Large chevron+triangle->gunship,
Large chevron+rhombus->corvette,
Angled-top+two chevrons+rhombus->torpedo corvette,
Hexagon+reverse chevron->mini carrier.

Medium ships:
Flat-top+Large chevron+rhombus->missile frigate,
Chevron+hexagon+reverse chevron->carrier frigate,
Hexagon+two chevrons->light carrier,

Large ships:
Two chevrons+large chevron+rhombus->cruiser,
Two chevrons+large chevron+triangle->pocket battleship,
Hexagon+large reverse chevron-> carrier,
Flat-bottom+large rectangle+two rectangles->heavy cargo freighter,

Huge ships:
Two large chevrons+rhombus->heavy cruiser,
Two large chevrons+triangle->battleship,

Ect.
 
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Burnside

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Joined
Aug 23, 2019
Messages
308
#9
I like it, Calen, saving a copy of that for myself, not sure if I'd use a class marker for bikes, though, they kind of fall below the size limit for consideration in my book.

@Burnside
idk what a "snubfighter" is, had to use a translator, it translated it to "snubfighter" i use the "normal" search, now i know who a star wars fan is.
I probably picked it up from star wars, always taken it to mean very compact one-man fighters especially those with very short dimensions. For instance, I wouldn't consider the X-Wing and its like to be snubfighters even though in the SWverse they are kind of the posterchild, though the A-Wing and TIEs definitely would fit the nickname imo.
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2019
Messages
3
#10
Really digging the original design. I like it a lot, but my only complaint would be that it could be a little hard to distinguish a ship class from just one glance, as they are all very similar.
 

MixCTATNCT

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Joined
Jan 14, 2020
Messages
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#11
Ships will be of the following types. You can't run, you can't catch up, you can't come up.:LOL: Ah can still then what will emerge. But at first it will be just like this.
 

Kenetor

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#12
maybe a few too many types and the symbols are too similar, they should be distinctive to recognise at a glance
 

CalenLoki

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#13
It's eternal struggle between "too much to remember/recognise difference" and "it tells too little".

I used Burnside's symbols, but something else would work too.
For sure using the same symbol, just rewerse, is a mistake. You can't count on people knowing where's the top and bottom in 0g.
 

TheMarksman

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Aug 9, 2019
Messages
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#14
you are right and a lot sounds to big, the centurion is aktual 107m long and need alot of power but i think 150m will be possible. I'll try to name capabilities but not dimensions. wen you compare a tiny fighter with the centurion, a refit could make the centurion a carrier for 16 fighters but it will loose its structural survivability



i`ve seen a few ships in discord, they are like vasama with autocannon, i should add "scout" type
A bit late, but the Centurio has a length of 115m and a part count of 94,000+. The later of which is the key factor of why you can't build larger ships atm.
 

CalenLoki

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#16
I decide to simplify my system a bit.

Now size is determined by outer frame (Homeworld style), rather than tedious counting icons.

Inside there the frame are two icons. One indicating main weapon, the other function.

Most icons are good old and proven, for easy common understanding.

Colours are left for other uses.
IMG_20200131_192019.jpg


Anti-smaller usually requires using turrets, as forward facing weapons are too clumsy to target more agile enemies. (gunboat, patrol boat, ect.)
While anti-equal usually means forward-facing weapons. (fighter, interceptor, ect.)

Having no outer frame at all means "bike", so even smaller than boat.

Rest is quite self-explanatory
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2020
Messages
16
#17

Shmeless Eve copy and paste

But i think the problem with the above suggestions are their complexity, too much detail in a "symbol", you want no more than a dozen or so for a general overview probably just refering to tonnage... because its pretty easy to duel purpose a ship or have hidden capailities...
 

CalenLoki

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#18
From that Eve symbols we can use... 5?
And 2 of those 5 only the biggest factions.

Scale of the game is slightly different.
 

PopeUrban

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Oct 22, 2019
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#19
Again, why? The only use this kind of iconography has is part of a targeting interface. Unless I've missed something, Starbase doesn't have the capability for that kind of targeting. In addition, the custom nature of ships means that any attempt to assign hard "roles" to ships is kind of pointless. What's the difference between a fighter and a corvette, or a fighter and a mining ship when there are near infinite variations of ships somewhere in between.
 

Burnside

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#20
I'm actually really curious if you could take a "radar" display, provide cross-over data with the transponder system, and feed symbological data into the radar display pings.
 
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