The Crimisonian Union wrote:So I'm new to this FT stuff. I'm in a new region with region buddies of mine, and in creating a group of 3 planets. Two of them are desert like planets, and one is a small plains planet. My planets do a lot of shipping, a lot of shipping. I have no idea on how to even begin creating a space navy, make pictures, or create a army besides the fact that I'm going go design my military around open combat that's not hindered by forests, mountiains etc. so what should I do?
The key question when making a military is always the following: What is the military's job? Escorting convoys? Projecting power? Protecting the homeland? Once you've determined that, you can start looking into your geopolitical situation, aka 'Who and where you will fight.' Will you be fighting your neighbours across a mountain range? Or perhaps on an open plain far far away? Be sure to factor in things like culture as well. A culture where military service is lauded and seen as a fruitful career will have a much different military compared to one that views warfare with great distaste. SImilarly, a culture steeped in individualism will craft a different military from a more collectivised society. The amount the people are willing to sacrifice in the name of 'security' will also have a deep effect on the kind of military you have.
Once you've decided what job your military has, who and where its meant to be fighting, and the kind of society backing it up, try and see if there are any historical countries similar to you that might have some kind of clue. The technology of war changes, but Caesar, Napoleon, and Guderian all needed to consider the same mountains and rivers, so they might have some lessons for you.
You mentioned that you have to escort a lot of merchant shipping, so already I'm imagining a fleet more focused on lighter escort vessels, combined with a smaller number of quick 'rapid response' ships to provide 'distant cover' to their convoys. The Royal Navy in the 20th century seems like a good thing to examine for this. A large battle fleet that can force enemy raiders to concentrate rather than sortie individually might also be interesting. An army that tends to operate in large scale open terrain will likely be very heavily mechanised, and rely very heavily on manuver. There won't be 'lines' of defence, but rather individual strongpoints. Whether those strongpoints are so strong that they can only be reduced by long siege, or are weak enough to be overrun by mobile firepower is up to you.
As for pictures, I draw my ships in MS Paint. I sketch them on paper first, then draw them up in paint once I've decided on the general look and layout. Takes some practice, but you can get there eventually.
In the end, everything is up to you. FT is speculative, so you can make anything you want. I have space line infantry launching bayonet charges, while space fighters and bomber zoom around capital ships firing flak bursts to ward them off, while engaging their opponents in big gun duels. FT is all about co-operation, so whatever you come up with is fine, so long as you co-operate with your fellow players to tell a good story.