There are actually two main considerations for describing the various ship types: function and scale.
SCALE
| PERSONNEL (small) | Personnel scale ships are constructed from materials that
have stamina similar to typical biological beings, and are generally only
encountered as extremely cheap transportation in habitats. Things of
this scale are generally measured in kilograms. We're
talking bicycles and skateboards here. While not impossible to make a
personnel scale vacuum-capable vessel (and a Soyuz might qualify), they are
extremely uncommon in modern AIF. |
| INTERMEDIATE (medium) | Intermediate scale vessels imply stamina that is 10 times
that of personnel. This is the most common scale of craft used by
private civilians. Things of this scale are usually measured in tons. Combatant craft of intermediate scale are usually
meant for dealing with personnel, or are designed more for speed and agility
than robustness. |
| SHIP (large) | Large, or "full" ship scale refers to construction that is
10 times intermediate stamina (and 100 times personnel, obviously).
The only civilian vessels of this scale are generally large
spacegoing
craft. The accepted unit of measure for this scale is the "chassis
point" - roughly equivalent to 10 cubic meters of volume and/or 10 tons of
mass. This is the scale of tactical importance to major military
forces. |
FUNCTION
By historic convention, there are several descriptive forms that ships may be in, and they are generally distinctive by function. This does mean to imply that no other configurations of vehicles exist, but that these are the most common in AIF.
| Type |
cp Size |
Stamina |
km/turn² combat speed |
P/h Superluminal |
Maneouverability | Durability |
D6 offensive |
cp cargo |
||||||||
| TRANSPORT | ||||||||||||||||
| hopper | 2 | ± 1 | 2 | ± 1 | 3 | ± 1 | 0.2 | ± 0.1 | 2 | ± 1 | 6 | ± 5 | 0 | ± 1 | 1 | |
| shuttle | 20 | ± 4 | 10 | ± 4 | 2 | ± 1 | 1 | ± 0.5 | 1 | ± 1 | 6 | ± 5 | 2 | ± 2 | 16 | ± 3 |
| freighter | 400 | ± 50 | 40 | ± 10 | 1 | 2 | ± 1 | 1 | ± 1 | 6 | ± 5 | 3 | ± 2 | 350 | ± 50 | |
| large freighter | 3000 | ± 500 | 100 | ± 25 | 0 | 1 | ± 0.5 | -2 | ± 2 | 3 | ± 2 | 2 | ± 2 | 2500 | ± 250 | |
| barge | 50000 | ± 10000 | 500 | ± 50 | 0 | 0.01 | -10 | - | - | 40000 | ± 10000 | |||||
| FIGHTER | ||||||||||||||||
| short range | 5 | ± 4 | 25 | ± 5 | 10 | ± 2 | - | 8 | ± 1 | 6 | ± 2 | 3 | ± 1 | - | ||
| medium range | 9 | ± 3 | 45 | ± 10 | 7 | ± 2 | 2 | ± 1 | 6 | ± 1 | 8 | ± 3 | 4 | ± 1 | 0.5 | |
| long range | 15 | ± 5 | 69 | ± 13 | 5 | ± 2 | 4 | ± 2 | 4 | ± 1 | 12 | ± 4 | 6 | ± 2 | 1 | ± 0.5 |
| CORRIVAL | ||||||||||||||||
| jackal | 50 | ± 20 | 125 | ± 25 | 5 | ± 1 | 3 | ± 2 | 3 | ± 1 | 12 | ± 2 | 8 | ± 3 | 2 | ± 1 |
| escourt | 200 | ± 75 | 200 | ± 50 | 4 | ± 1 | 1 | ± 0.5 | 1 | ± 1 | 15 | ± 2 | 7 | ± 2 | 2 | ± 1 |
| artillery | 500 | ± 100 | 200 | ± 50 | 3 | ± 1 | 1 | ± 1 | 0 | ± 1 | 10 | ± 2 | 12 | ± 3 | 10 | ± 3 |
| bomber | 1000 | ± 300 | 300 | ± 50 | 3 | ± 1 | 3 | ± 1 | 0 | ± 1 | 10 | ± 2 | 13 | ± 3 | 50 | ± 10 |
| CRUISER | ||||||||||||||||
| scout | 3500 | ± 500 | 350 | ± 75 | 3 | ± 1 | 4 | ± 2 | 2 | ± 1 | 8 | ± 1 | 4 | ± 1 | 1000 | ± 250 |
| strike | 4000 | ± 750 | 500 | ± 100 | 3 | ± 1 | 4 | ± 2 | 2 | ± 1 | 10 | ± 2 | 20 | ± 5 | 10 | ± 5 |
| corvette | 7000 | ± 1000 | 600 | ± 100 | 1 | 2 | ± 0.5 | 0 | ± 1 | 10 | ± 2 | 20 | ± 5 | 500 | ± 100 | |
| frigate | 8500 | ± 1500 | 800 | ± 100 | 1 | 3 | ± 1 | -2 | ± 2 | 10 | ± 2 | 30 | ± 10 | 500 | ± 100 | |
| destroyer | 20000 | ± 5000 | 2000 | ± 500 | 1 | 2 | ± 0.5 | -6 | ± 2 | 10 | ± 2 | 80 | ± 30 | 1000 | ± 500 | |
| carrier | - | - | - | 1 | - | 10 | ± 2 | - | - | |||||||
Hopper
The name hopper comes from the idea of people making short trips, or hops.
This coincides with the distinguishing function of hoppers - to move individuals
or a few people. Hoppers are the basic civilian transportation most
commonly seen on planetary surfaces and in cities. The usual variants are
the plainly obvious basic, luxury, sports, utility, limo, van, and bike.
In AIF, hoppers are generally "hover" vehicles, that use Newtonian force beams
to stay 1-3m above the surface. There are also "aero" hoppers that use
non-Newtonian force drives to actually fly. The upper echelon of hoppers
are even with sealed cabins and life support to allow some limited operation
outside of an atmosphere - though interplanetary travels are generally the limit
of their capability, as they rarely have proper superluminal drives. Most
hoppers are intermediate scale, but some very expensive hoppers are ship scale,
and some dilapidated rigs function at personnel scale.
Shuttle
Where hoppers end is where shuttles begin. They are vehicles meant to
transport larger numbers of people, or slightly larger cargo than a hopper can
carry. Intermediate scale shuttles range from hover-buses to interstellar
couriers. Ship scale shuttles are generally capable of interstellar
travel, but are not well-suited for long-distance legs. Shuttle
design typically focuses on compactness and efficiency of volume, as they are
often required to fit into small bays.
Freighter
Freighters are the backbone of interstellar travel and commerce. They
range from quick light cargo and passenger vessels to large bulk freighters, and
also include massive lumbering interstellar barges. Most freighters of any
merit are ship scale, but many cheap intermediate scale freighters ply the space
ways. While utilitarian function is the primary issue for freighter
design, there still manages to be a staggering variety of configurations and
shapes.
Battle Suit
Also known as powered armour, battle suits are meant to allow personnel to
operate with intermediate scale weapons, armour, and movement, yet still allow
for access to personnel-sized places. In terms of game-mechanics, this
means that pilots of battle suits use the same system as personnel for attacking
and ducking, and the battle suit needs to be described with personnel-type
characteristics. Most battle suits mass about one metric ton, with
exceptions for some larger beings that require more massive battle suits.
They tend to be similar to the bipedal humanoids that are most common pilot, but
other configurations of battle suit are not unheard of. While some battle
suits are capable of flight, most are strictly ground vehicles.
Walker
The aspect that distinguishes a vehicle as a walker is that it is capable of
locomotion using limbs, thus the line between large battle suits and small
walkers gets blurry. Walkers are typically considered to be larger
vehicles, and are common both as intermediate scale and ship scale. The
main tactical reason for the existence of large walkers is the same
game-mechanics reason as the battle suits - personnel combat skill is used.
This means that skilled combatants can quickly apply their prowess after
becoming familiar with a walker. Some walkers, such as the venerated QR-Walker,
are capable of flight and when in this mode should be treated as regular
vessels. Walkers are also noted as being the largest means for effectively
employing edged weapons.
Tank
Tanks are the largest class of simple ground vehicles, existing in the same
general niche as walkers except that they behave like regular vehicles.
They generally consist of a simple armoured body with at least one turret.
Tanks can be either hover vehicles, or use physical treads. Both
intermediate and ship scale tanks exist.
Fighter
Fighter craft are dedicated combatants focusing on performance. These
vessels generally are just weapons and engines with a tiny space for a pilot to
squeeze in. Intermediate scale fighters are usually only effective against
other fighters or other targets of intermediate scale or smaller. Ship
scale fighters are more commonly employed against larger craft or in more heated
engagements.
Corrival
While also considered to be dedicated combatants, corrivals are a larger class
meant to have less performance but more firepower and a greater range of
capabilities. These craft can seem like overgrown fighters, or like
miniature cruisers, depending one how they are armed and equipped.
Cruiser
The largest kind of combatant vessels are cruisers. The smallest are still
considerable in size compared to other combatants, while larger destroyers and
carriers can be truly monstrous. They usually bring to bear a range of
tactical capabilities and firepower not available to lesser craft.