ACI/BSY Spaceship Classification (WIP) (V1.1)

This guide aims to explain the classification techniques used by the companies Ares Combat Industries and Betelgeuse Shipyards. It will contain both civilian and military vessels and is not based on the pure size of the vessels, but rather their role. That way, this guide can also be used by new players who want to quickly classify their vessels.

If you like this guide, please rate, favourite and share it.

NOTE: This guide is a work in progress, new content will be added.

Contents

Version 1.1
Next Update: Not scheduled

1. Contents

2. Introduction

   • About this guide
     
   • Company Descriptions
     
     • Ares Combat Industries
       
     • Betelgeuse Shipyards

3. Etymology

   New!
   

4. Ship Designation and Callsign

   New!
   
   • Ship Designation
     
   • Callsign
     
   • Communication Equipment
     
     • Large Ships
       
     • Small Ships

5. Communication

   New!
   
   • Announcing
     
     • Announcing to Station
       
     • Announcing to Ship
   • Requesting Transit
     
     • Requesting Transit from Station
       
     • Requesting Transit from Ship
   • On Approach
     
     • On Approach towards Station
       
     • On Approach towards Ship
   • Request Docking
     
     • Request Docking with Station
       
     • Request Docking with Ship
   • Request Departure Clearance
     
     • Request Departure Clearance from Station
       
     • Request Departure Clearance from Ship

6. Civilian Vessels

   Coming Soon!
   

7. Military Vessels

8. Military Vessels -- Strike Craft

   • Interceptors
     
   • Bombers
     
     • Torpedo/Missile Bombers
       
     • Rocket Bombers
       
     • Fighter Bombers
   • Gunships
     
   • Space Superiority Fighters

9. Military Vessels -- Frigates

   • Assault Frigates
     
     • Light Assault Frigates
       
     • Heavy Assault Frigates
       
     • Medium Assault Frigates
   • Scout Frigates
     
   • Flak Frigates
     
   • Siege Frigates
     
     • Orbital Bombardment Frigates
       
     • Long-Range Bombardment Frigates
   • Carrier Frigates
     
   • Corvettes
     
   • Dreadnoughts

10. Military Vessels -- Capital Ships

    • Cruisers
      
      • Light Cruisers
        
      • Heavy Cruisers
        
      • Auxiliary Cruisers
        
      • Flak Cruisers
        
      • Carrier Cruisers
    • Destroyers
      
      • Torpedo/Missile Destroyers
        
      • Rocket Destroyers
        
      • Guided Missile Destroyers
    • Battlecruisers
      
    • Battleships
      
    • Carriers
      
      • Carrier Types
        
        • Conventional Carriers
          
        • Drone Commanders
          
        • Corvette Carriers
      • Transport Configurations
        
        • Hangar Carriers
          
        • VTOL Carriers
          
        • Docking Carriers
      • Deployment Mechanisms
        
        • Autonomous Take-Off Carriers
          
        • GAD Carriers
    • Titans New!

11. Military Vessels -- Other

    New!
    
    • Troop Transports
      
    • Tankers
      
    • Military Transports
      
    • Mine Layers

12. Sources & Links

13. Changelog/Future Plans

Introduction

About this guide

Naval language is difficult. So is building a spaceship. When these two collide, confusion is unavoidable. Unfortunately, this is exactly what Space Engineers is all about, which is why this guide proposes a way to classify your vessels to new as well as experienced players.

WARNING! This guide was created by people who like spaceships. We know that some of the classifications are wrong by 21st-century naval standards. However, this guide is merely a sugesstion. Additionally, many of the things mentioned only make sense when role playing.

Many guides already exist regarding this topic, but we want this guide to be very specific and also want it to classify the ships using their features and roles rather than their size.

Company Descriptions

Ares Combat Industries
CEO: k_medlock
Ares Combat Industries is a prominent warship and weapons manufacturer. ACI is able to perfect a ships functionality and combine it with a sleek design. ACI builds ships that serve.

Betelgeuse Shipyards
CEO: Antilar
The spaceships of Betelgeuse Shipyards feature both ingenious engineering and timeless design. From personal transportation craft to commercial space stations, BSY has got you covered!

Etymology

This section will list some of the terms that will be used below in alphabetical order and explain their meaning. If you have a question about a term or a suggestion, comment below and we will include it here.
The sign => refers to another term explained in this section.

• Capital Ship
  Vessel that can operate on its own for an extended period of time. They can be both civilian and military.
  
• Flagship
  The ship commanding a =>fleet. Typical classes used for flagships are cruisers, battlecruisers, battleships, carriers and titans.
  Callsign: Fleet Command
  
• Fleet
  A group of =>warships operating under a single command.
  
• Fleet Headquarters
  The 'home port' of a =>fleet. Can also be a resupply or forward station from which a mission is carried out.
  Callsign: Fleet HQ
  
• Missile
  Projectile that is built out of several small or large ship blocks and has its own propulsion source.
  
• Rocket
  Projectile that is fired from rocket launcher blocks.
  
• spaceborne
  Referring to all ships, stations and other items located in space.
  
• Squadron
  The general term for =>fleets and =>strike forces.
  
• Strike Commander
  Similar to a =>flagship, but commands a =>strike force.
  Callsign: Strike Command
  
• Strike Craft
  Smaller vessels like interceptors, bombers, gunships or space superiority fighters. They are often also called 'fighters'.
  
• Strike Force
  A group of =>strike craft operating under a single command.
  
• Torpedo
  Projectile that is built out of several small or large ship blocks and does not have autonomous propulsion.
  
• Transport
  A vessel that carries people or cargo from a short to medium distance, i.e. from a planet to space or from a station to a nearby ship. Variants are: private transport, crew transport, troop transport, cargo transport
  
• Warship
  General term for any large, multi-crew ship used for combat and that is semi- to full-autonomous. This includes frigates and =>capital ships, but excludes =>strike craft.

Ship Designation and Callsign

With the ever growing number of spaceships owned by both companies and private people, it becomes important to be able to indentify each individual ship. This is what ships designations are intended for. Interstellar law states that every registerd ship has to communications equipment to broadcast information about itself.

Ship Designation

Every registered spaceship has a unique sequence of letters and numbers, which is called the ship designation. The first two letters are the planet (or moon) where the ship is registered (one letter if the planet/moon is a capital), followed by a dash. A unique sequence of six numbers follows, again followed by a dash. The last two to three letters inform about the class of the vessel.
Example: MY-762801-FR would be a frigate registrated on Mercury.

Registering Planet/Moon

Planet/Moon	Designation	Terra (Earth) T	Luna (Moon) LN	Mars M	Phobos PH	Deimos DM	Mercury MY	Venus VN	Ganymede G	Callisto CA	Io IO	Europa EU	Amalthea Group AM	Himalia Group HM	Carme Group CR	Ananke Group AN	Pasiphae Group PA	Titan T	Rhea RH	Iapetus IA	Dione DO	Tethys	TE
Enceladus	EC
Mimas	MI
Norse Group	NR
Inuit Group	IN
Gallic Group	GC
Uranus	UR

Ship Class

Classification	Designation	Strike Craft SC	Interceptor ICP	Bomber BMB	Gunship	GSH
Space Superiority Fighter	SSF
Frigate	FR
Assault Frigate	AFR
Scout Frigate	SFR
Flak Frigate	FFR
Siege Frigate	SIF
Carrier Frigate	CFR
Corvette	CRV
Dreadnought	DNT
Cruiser	CR
Destroyer	DD
Battlecruiser	BC
Battleship	BB
Carrier	CC
Titan	TTN
Troop Transport	TTR

Callsign

When communicating with a ship, it has to be adressed with some kind of name. This is the so-called callsign. For private vessels, the callsign are the last three numbers and the class designation. In the example from above, this would be 801-FR (speak: Eight-Zero-One-Dash-Foxtrott-Romeo). Non-private vessles and all military vessles have a unique callsign. (Example: Rescue-Three, Transport-Twenty-One, Strike-Five, Assault-Twelve) Sometimes, these callsigns are only temporary, e.g. to guide a larger commercial vessel to a dock (Example: Hauler-Ten, Yacht-Eleven). If the vessle has a priority over others, the temporary callsign has a letter rather than a number at the end (Example: Priority-Alfa, Priority-Echo). Some military vessles also have two callsigns, one for civilian vessles and one for other military craft.

Communication Equipment

Large Ships
Vessels constructed out of large blocks need to have two seperate communication arrays (antennas) on board. The first should display the designation, while the second one displays the callsign. In the case of a failure of one of the arrays, the remaining one should always be configured to display the designation.

Small Ships
Vessles consisting of small blocks only need one comms array displaying the designation. Some vessles, like military craft, also display their callsign with this array.

Communication

Communication, or comms for short, is vital in space. Whether you are docking to a station or approaching another ship, comms enable you to make your intentions clear to others. The most important things to know when communicating with another ship are your own designation and callsign and those of the hailed ship. For a clearly understandable communication, you should follow some guidelines.

Announcing
Before you communicate with a ship or station, you first have to announce yourself. This serves the purpose of the ship or station noticing your presence and exchanging call signs. If they do not explicitly state a callsign, use the designation they use to announce themselves. After that, you can state your request.
Announcing to Station:

• YOU (Open Channel): Station Control, this is MY-762801-FR. Come in. Over.
  
• STATION: 801-FR, this is Control. We copy you. Over.

Announcing to Ship:

• YOU (Open Channel): VN-554943-BB, this is MY-762801-FR. Come in. Over.
  
• SHIP: 801-FR, this is 943-BB, callsign ACI-4. We copy you. Over.

Requesting Transit
If you want to pass a ship or station in close proximity, you should contact the ship or station.
Requesting Transit from Station:

• YOU (Open Channel): Control, this is 801-FR. Requesting transit. Over.
  
• STATION: 801-FR, Control. Continue transit. Over.
  
• STATION (When you cross a certain distance): 801-FR, Control. Slow down to 10m/s and continue transit. Over.
  
• STATION (When you reach a certain distance): 801-FR, Control. You are out of range and free to navigate. Have a good flight. Out.

Requesting Transit from Ship:

• YOU (Open Channel): ACI-4, this is 801-FR. Requesting transit. Over.
  
• SHIP: 801-FR, ACI-4. Continue transit. Over.
  
• SHIP (When you cross a certain distance): 801-FR, ACI-4. Slow down to 10m/s and continue transit. Over.
  
• SHIP (When you reach a certain distance): 801-FR, ACI-4. You are out of range and free to navigate. Have a good flight. Out.

On Approach
Being on approach means that you want to get into the station's/ship's range and remain stationary there, e.g. for docking.
On Approach towards Station:

• YOU (Open Channel): Control, this is 801-FR. On approach. Over.
  
• STATION: 801-FR, Control. Continue inbound and contact station approach on 23.8.2. Over.
  
• YOU (Private Channel): Station Approach, this is MY-762801-FR. Checking in. Over.
  
• STATION: 801-FR, this is Approach. We have you checked in. Over.
  
• STATION (When you cross a certain distance): 801-FR, Approach. Slow down to 5m/s and continue inbound. Over.

On Approach towards Ship:

• YOU (Open Channel): ACI-4, this is 801-FR. On approach. Over.
  
• SHIP: 801-FR, ACI-4. Continue inbound and contact ship approach on 23.10.2. Over.
  
• YOU (Private Channel): Ship Approach, this is MY-762801-FR. Checking in. Over.
  
• SHIP: 801-FR, this is Approach. We have you checked in. Over.
  
• SHIP (When you cross a certain distance): 801-FR, Approach. Slow down to 5m/s and continue inbound. Over.

Request Docking
For you to request docking, you first have to announce your approach. Docking is almost always coordinated over a private channel.
Request Docking with Station

• YOU (Private Channel): Approach, this is 801-FR. Request docking with you. Over.
  
• STATION: 801-FR, Approach. You are clear for docking with docking port C. Over.
  
• STATION (When you have docked): 801-FR, Approach. Reading stable connection. Connector engaged. Please shut down ship systems before leaving your craft. Out.

Request Docking with Ship

• YOU (Private Channel): ACI-4, this is 801-FR. Request docking with you. Over.
  
• SHIP: 801-FR, ACI-4. You are clear for docking with starboard docking port. Over.
  
• SHIP (When you have docked): 801-FR, ACI-4. Reading stable connection. Connector engaged. Please disable thrusters. Over.
  
• SHIP (After you disabled thrusters): 801-FR, ACI-4. Thruster shutdown confirmed. You are free to leave your craft. Out.

Request Departure Clearance.
When you are docked to a ship or station, you have to request departure clearance in order to undock.
Request Departure Clearance from Station

• YOU (Hardline Comms Connection): Station Control, this is MY-762801-FR. Checking in. Over.
  
• STATION: 801-FR, this is Control. We have you checked in. Over.
  
• YOU: Control, this is 801-FR. Requesting departure clearance. Over.
  
• STATION: 801-FR, Control. Departure clearance granted. Tune departure frequency to 23.8.3. Over.
  
• YOU (Private Channel): Station Departure, this is MY-762801-FR. Checking in. Over.
  
• STATION: 801-FR, this is Departure. We have you checked in. Notify when ready to depart. Over.
  
• YOU (When ready for departure): Departure, this is 801-FR. Ready to depart. Over.
  
• STATION: 801-FR, Departure. Copy that. Over.
  
• STATION (When connector is disabled): 801-FR, Departure. Connector disengaged. Stand by for release. Over.
  
• STATION (After release): 801-FR, Departure. Use maneuvering thrusters to clear the area. Over.
  
• STATION (When you reach a certain distance): 801-FR, Departure. You are out of range and free to navigate. Have a good flight. Out.

Request Departure Clearance from Ship

• YOU (Hardline Comms Connection): VN-554943-BB, this is MY-762801-FR. Checking in. Over.
  
• SHIP: 801-FR, this is 943-BB, callsign ACI-4. We have you checked in. Over.
  
• YOU: ACI-4, this is 801-FR. Requesting departure clearance. Over.
  
• SHIP: 801-FR, ACI-4. Departure clearance granted. Tune departure frequency to 23.8.3. Over.
  
• YOU (Private Channel): Ship Departure, this is MY-762801-FR. Checking in. Over.
  
• SHIP: 801-FR, this is Departure. We have you checked in. Notify when ready to depart. Over.
  
• YOU (When ready for departure): Departure, this is 801-FR. Ready to depart. Over.
  
• SHIP: 801-FR, Departure. Copy that. Over.
  
• SHIP (When connector is disabled): 801-FR, Departure. Connector disengaged. Stand by for release. Over.
  
• SHIP (After release): 801-FR, Departure. Use maneuvering thrusters to clear the area. Over.
  
• SHIP (When you reach a certain distance): 801-FR, Departure. You are out of range and free to navigate. Have a good flight. Out.

Civilian Vessels

Coming Soon!

Military Vessels -- General

Military vessels are spaceships that are used by a nation's armed forces. They are - obviously - mainly used in war, but can also be a sign of power and prestige or be used to patrol friendly territory and defend it if necessary.

Military Vessels -- Strike Craft

Strike craft, commonly known as fighters, are small, dependent vessels that are supported by a larger capital ship, predomenantly carriers. However, they can also be deployed from ground- or space-based stations or be resupplied by a tanker. In a battle, they take on different roles and work together with other strike craft, frigates or capital ships. In space engineers, strike craft are mostly constructed out of small ship blocks.

Interceptors

Interceptors are intended for attacking other strike craft. They need to be fast and agile to outmaneuver their enemies. Thus, they feature light armament and have extraordinary amounts of forward thrust. Due to their lack of armor and low durability, they should be easy to replace. This and their small operating range make them the cheapest and most popular strike craft of them all.

Bombers

Bombers are the complete opposite of interceptors. They are tuned towards attacking and destroying enemy frigates and capital ships. They often work together with destroyers to eliminate enemy ships with their often massive and complicated offensive weapons. Based on this system, they can be sorted into more specific categories:

Torpedo/Missile Bombers
Torpdedo or missile bombers' main weapon system consists of one or more torpedos or missiles, either charged with explosives or not. These projectiles are slow and expensive to fire, but a direct hit can do devastating damage. More advanced designs can also feature lock-on systems or anti-gravityshield measures.

Rocket Bombers
Rocket bombers are the cheaper, more easily built version of the torpedo bomber. They have a number of rocket pods, which are used to unleash salvos of rockets onto the enemy. Sometimes the rocket pods can also be large ship rocket launchers.

Fighter Bombers
Fighter bombers are hybrid vessels that combine firepower and agility. They feature less armament than a bomber while maintaining the speed of a interceptor. It can both target other strike craft and larger vessels.

Gunships

Gunships are designed to neutralize enemy bombers. They are considerably slower than interceptors, but have heavy weapon mounts and feature point-defence systems such as gatling turrets. To control these, there is often a second cockpit for a gunner who controls the weapons, while the pilot can focus on flying the craft.

Space Superiority Fighters

Space superiority fighters are the pride of any strike force. They are the allrounder of all strike craft. Not quite as big as gunships, they can win a fight against interceptors or frigates. A few well-designed space superiority fighters can be enough to defeat a capital ship! Note, however, that each of the classes above is more advanced at its specific task, but the advantage of a space superiority fighter is its all-in-one package.

Military Vessels -- Frigates

Frigates are the main component of any fleet. They fulfill various roles to support the bigger capital ships and like strike craft, frigates need a capital ship or base to be supplied from. For a fleet to be able to cope with various tasks, a wide range of frigates is necessary. To stand up to the much bigger firepower of capital ships, they are agile and fast. Compared to capital ships, they are fairly small, but they are constructed from large ship blocks.

Assault Frigates

Assault frigates are the most basic and versatile frigates. Their weapons consist of both point-defence systems and offensive weaponry. Based on the damage dealt by the main weapons, there are three different types:

Light Assault Frigates
Light assault frigates' task is to weaken the defence of capital ships so that destroyers can finish them off. They can also defend themselfs well against strike craft like bombers, as their quick movement makes them difficult targets. The offensive weapons of these vessels are large rocket pods, similar to a rocket bomber.


Heavy Assault Frigates
Heavy assault frigates are significantly slower than their light counterparts, as they contain a simple torpedo- or missile-firing mechanism similar to that of heavy destroyers. However, due to lack of space, the projectiles are often extremely simple, sometimes not even containing explosives. To make up for their lack of agility, they are well armored, and they can still easily outmaneuver larger ships.
Medium Assault Frigates
Medium assault frigates are a modern combination of light and heavy assault frigates. They contain both types of offensive weapons, so that the rockets can close the gap between firing two torpedoes or missiles.

Scout Frigates

Scout frigates are a special type of frigate, as they are able to operate on their own for longer periods of time. A scouting fleet typically consists out of a light cruiser as the flagship, which serves as a mobile base, and a few scout frigates that swarm out. Scout frigates do not have any offensive weapon systems, but are tuned towards defending and agility.

Flak Frigates

Flak frigates are the bigger brothers of the scout frigates, but with a completely different role. They are packed with point-defence systems and turrets to not only defend themselves from, but also attack fighter squadrons, especially bombers. In the bowels of flak frigates, there are often rows of turret command stations to allow a number of artillerists to control the turrets on the outside.

Siege Frigates

Siege frigates are designed for one task: To destroy the enemy base. In contrary to flak frigates, they almost only feature offensive weapons and need protection. There are two types of siege frigates:

Orbital Bombardment Frigates
Orbital bombardment frigates have a massive, long-range offensive weaponry that is used to bombard structures on a planet while the ship itself stays in orbit. They need powerful retrothrusters to maintain their altitude and while bombarding, are very vulnerable to enemy fire.

Long-Range Bombardment Frigates
Long-range bombardment frigates stay way behind the actual battle and bombard the enemy structures or even ships with a continous barrage of missiles. Because of their distance to the battlefield, they do not need much protection.

Carrier Frigates

Carrier frigates, on first sight, seem very boring. They do not have more weapons than a standard assault frigate and they are even slower than other frigates! The battle advantage of these vessels are the strike craft it stores. Depending on the size of the frigate, it can store everything from a couple of interceptors to a whole strike force.

Corvettes

Corvettes are the smallest type of frigate. They are not intended for battle but are used for escort missions, patrolling friendly territory or law enforcement. Corvettes are only able to withstand strike craft and other frigates, when meeting a capital ship, they should immediately call in reinforcements. Due to their small size and low profile, they are often used as stealth vehicles.

Dreadnoughts

Dreadnoughts originally were the prototype of battleships, now the term refers to heavily armed and armored frigates. They are best used in defending structures or other stationary targets.

Military Vessels -- Capital Ships

Captial ships are the biggest ships of a fleet and often take the spot of the flagship. They are able to fulfill various tasks, but their armor and weapons make them slow and easy targets. The main differences between the distinct classes are their armament. Like frigates, they are constructed out of large ship blocks.

Cruisers

Cruisers are the most common class of battleships. A standard cruiser has a balanced amount of armor and weaponry that do not hinder their movement. Because of this, they are used for a variety of tasks, yet there are some special types:

Light Cruisers
Light cruisers count on their agility to outrun the enemy. They are sparsely armored and feature only the weapons necessary. Sometimes, they also have a small amount of offensive weaponry.

Heavy Cruisers
Heavy cruisers are a long-range version of the light cruiser, also being wrapped in more armor. However, they are still one of the faster types of cruiser.

Auxilliary Cruisers
Auxilliary cruisers are simply modified trading or cargo ships that are equipped with weapons at the outbreak of war.

Flak Cruisers
Flak cruisers serve the same purpose as flak frigates, as they attack strike craft and protect other ships from them. However, they feature more advanced point-defence systems and turrets with greater firepower and greater firing angle.

Carrier Cruisers
Carrier cruisers are designed to hold a small strike force in a hangar and protect these strike craft when deployed. They also make great flagships, as they can participate in the fight with their fighters, but can still stay behind the main battle to be protected.

Destroyers

Destroyers - as their name says - damage and destroy enemy warships. Smaller than or up to the size of a cruiser, they are heavily armored to withstand fire while aiming at a target. Similarly to bombers or assault frigates, there are some more specific categories:

Torpedo/Missile Destroyers
Torpedo or missile destroyers' main weapons are the most complicated pieces of military engineering. They fire massive projectiles that can tear a frigate into two pices. As these projectiles need many components to build, these destroyers need to have a big cargo storage and cannot spare much of it for ammunition for point-defence systems.

Rocket Destroyers
Rocket destroyers are the easiest to design and build. Instead of a complicated torpedo mechanism, they have a huge array of rocket pods at the front.

Guided Missile Destroyers
Guided missile destroyers do not fire projectiles as big as the ones of torpedo destroyers, but missiles that lock onto the target. The system to fire these can be anywhere on the ship, as the missile can correct its course automatically. Thus, some of these destroyers have rocket pods on the front and a guided missile system somewhere else on the ship.

Battlecruiser

Battlecruisers initially were, like dreadnoughts, prototypes of battleships. They are still similar in size and armament, but feature much less armor and, because of that, are faster than the heavily armored battleships.

Battleships

Battleships are the most advanced warships existing. Their armament can destroy other warships, as well as defend the ship against strike craft. Their size even allows them to have a hangar for fighters themselves and not even a destroyer's torpedo can pierce their thick armor. This, however, often is their only weakness, as no matter how many engines a battleship may have, it is still extremely slow. This is compensated by multiple big turrets that destroy faster ships.

Carriers

Carriers are capital ships that support squadrons of strike craft and deploy these in a battle. Because of the space needed for the strike craft, they are the biggest warships of them all. In a big fleet, they often take the spot of the flagship. Let us take a look at the different versions of carriers:

Carrier Types
The carrier type is being defined by the type of craft stored on it and the carrier's role in a battle.
Conventional Carriers
Conventional carriers transport typical manned strike craft and serve as the command station for the strike forces.
Drone Commanders
Drone commanders store unmanned drones and house the space and communications equipment for drone pilots to control the craft.
Corvette Carriers
Corvette carriers are massive ships that enhance the range of corvettes by them docking to the carrier and then being transported to where they are needed. A corvette carrier itself is very vulnerable and not very maneuverable, which is why it should stay out of any battle.

Transport Configurations
The transport configuration determines how the strike craft are stored in or outside the carrier.
Hangar Carriers
Hangar carriers store the craft inside a large hangar, which often has hangar doors to pressurize the interior. This way, the strike craft are protected by the carrier's hull when in transit. However, because of the limited space inside the hangar, often the craft can only be deployed starting at the ones next to the doors and ending at the ones furthest away. This configuration is also what many non-primary carriers, like carrier frigates or carrier cruisers, use. Sometimes, a large hangar carrier has enough space to allow the craft to taxi from their designated docking position to the hangar doors. This taxiing space, however, is wasted space when in transit.
VTOL Carriers
Vertical take-off and landing carriers mostly have an unpressurized hangar, if any. The strike craft are stored on an area on top of the ship and take off vertically. That way, individual craft can be deployed and also a quick deployment of all craft is possible.
Docking Carriers
Docking carriers do not have any hangar at all, but rather the strike craft are docked using connectors on the outside of the carrier. These carriers are small, but do not provide any protection to the craft. Because of the difficulties entering the docked craft, these carriers are often drone commanders.

Deployment Mechanisms
The deployment mechanisms on a carrier can be quite complicated, but can enhance the speed of deployment or the protection of the craft while deploying.
Autonomous Take-Off Carriers
Autonomous take-off is exactly what it sounds like. The carrier does not support the take-off, but the craft must have the capability to take off themselves.
GAD Carriers
Gravity-assisted deployment carriers often contain individual boxes for every craft with a gravity generator for each. This way, the craft basically "falls" out of the carrier, which can be very rough for the pilot, but the craft itself cannot be as easily targeted. Important to note is that for deploying craft this way, they must have at least one artificial mass block installed and inertial dampening should be turned off.

Titans

Titans are the largest type of capital ship. The enourmous size of these warships enables them to fulfill many different roles at the same time. Command vessel, Carrier, and Battleship are just a few roles that warships of this size might have. Titans are often equipped with multiple hangars, in order to protect them against enemy strike craft and often feature massive turret batteries that are capable of simply tearing apart any ship in its path. A Titan features numerous amounts of heavy armor and boasts an uncountable amount of turrets. The downside of such a large warship is that with all its armor a ship with this classification is very slow and therefore it is not always easy to evade combat.

Military Vessels -- Other

This section contains all the military vessels that cannot be included in the previous classifications.

Troop Transports

Troop transports have an interior which is used to ferry infantery to the site of operation. Their interior can either be very basic, if intended for short trips, or can even contain a medbay and crew quarters. They can be constructed out of small and large ship blocks.

Tankers

Tankers are used to resupply strike craft while in flight, so that they do not need to dock at a base or bigger ship. The pilots of both the craft and the tanker have to coordinate the maneuver carefully.

Military Transports

Military transports are used to transfer cargo of military use, like weapons and ammunition. To protect the precious cargo, they are often accompanied by escort vehicles like corvettes.

Minelayers

Minelayers are ships that are not intended for combat. Instead, they produce mines (often with a 3D-printer setup), which explode when enemies get near them.

Sources & Links

Sources:

• Warship[en.wikipedia.org] from Wikipedia
  
• Frigate[en.wikipedia.org] from Wikipedia
  
• Cruiser[en.wikipedia.org] from Wikipedia
  
• Destroyer[en.wikipedia.org] from Wikipedia
  
• Battleship[en.wikipedia.org] from Wikipedia
  
• Aircraft carrier[en.wikipedia.org] from Wikipedia
  
• [Unofficial] Ship Classification Guide by bloodless39
  
• Yet another ship classification guide by nathan2000
  
• Warship Classes by World of Warships
  
• Some ship classes are from the game Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion by Ironclad Games
  
• Communication protocols are inspired by the game Rogue System by Digits Crossed Interactive

All pictures and the creations depicted were made by kilian_medlock.

Links:

• Ares Combat Industries by kilian_medlock
  
• Betelgeuse Shipyards by Antilar
  
• Alpha Orionis News - Get the latest news from ACI/BSY!

Changelog/Future Plans

V1.1

Changes:

• Corrected typos
  
• Minor tweaks
  
• Added section 'Etymology'
  
• Added section 'Ship Designation and Callsign'
  
• Added section 'Communication'
  
• Added content to section 'Military Vessles -- Other'
  
• Added classification 'Titan'

Future Plans:

• Due to popular request: Work on the civilian classifications!

V1.0.5

Changes:

• Minor tweaks
  
• Completed section 'Military Vessles -- Capital Ships'
  
• Added section 'Sources & Links'
  
• Added section 'Military Vessels -- Other' (WIP)
  
• Added pictures

Future Plans:

• Adding section 'Etymology'

V1.0.1

Changes:

• New branding image (Thumbnail)

V1.0

Changes:

• Initial publishing
  
• Added section 'Contents'
  
• Added section 'Introduction'
  
• Added section 'Civilian Vessels' (WIP)
  
• Added section 'Military Vessels -- General'
  
• Added section 'Military Vessels -- Strike Craft'
  
• Added section 'Military Vessels -- Frigates'
  
• Added section 'Military Vessels -- Capital Ships' (WIP)
  
• Added section 'Changelog'

Future Plans:

• Writing section 'Military Vessels -- Capital Ships'
  
• Adding pictures

[Nuke_The_Earth]

Incredibly overpowered weapon mods do not a ship class make.

[A strange sphere]

Classification request:

I have a ship about 150 meters long, can turn even a huge pirate ship to dust in about 10 seconds, requires at least 5 mods to run, has two escape pods AND IS ENTIRELY HEAVY ARMOUR!

[Binary]

Are you going to add classification of stations to this list?

[revansdownside]

You going to include you AOE industrial line of ships and stations (from your modular collection)??

[cowboyjj99]

this took a bit to read..
and half of the classes i already knew about

[SyrusAlder]

I was having trouble classifying my ships seeing as I originally built them without knowing what class they would be, so this guide will be really handy. Although i have nowhere near enough ships to actually use all of these classes XD. If i had to guess, I currently have a Frigate, Corvette, Cruiser (which has 10 drones docked inside of its two hangars to help defend itself, but also has multiple long range weapons as well as a fuck off massive laser that takes up the front third of the ship, which makes it a pain to classify XD) and then i have what i would guess to be a carrier seeing as it can carry, at bare minimum, 32 drones in its 8 hangars alone, and that's ignoring the drone storage I'm still figuring out the size of (which i guess would add at least a dozen more drones), but then again it was kinda designed to act as a kind of mobile fortress, so... huzzah for my moronic ship designs

[Nuke_The_Earth]

@FIRE IN THE LABOR Is THE SAUSAGE OF CRUELTY on the workshop? I'd love to see it.

[Black Bullet [130.]]

@MYST_Drakonoid: "motherships" are basically carriers, wich not only have their strike craft to defend themselves, but also use ship mounted rockets and other offensive weapons, rather then only pointdefense!

[MYST_Drakonoid]

What about a mothership class?

[Galaxy Frogs]

Are There any rp's that are based around this system?