Future Tech Advice and Assistance Thread [O.O.C.]

[Kassaran]

Ah, I see. Well let me amend my statement; I, personally, the user Kassaran, am not a believer in the use of Copyright to protect my works from alterations, improvements, or adaptation. I am a believer in the use of Copyright to protect my works from plagiarism and/or non-contextual application.

Is there some sort of statement I can put in my sig or something Ky that would allow me to waive my rights to something I write just to streamline things for the curious? I've had a few people ask me now and overall I feel offended at points because it really does feel like a bit much.

"I like this idea someone else had and I have a way to introduce it into my own nation, so I'll go and do it discretely and pretend like its mine and take all the credit-"

I don't know, maybe it's the whole 'for your protection' bit that bothers me, but NS is a forum-board where everything written is logged and recorded in some way. In all reality, if I wanted to truly make a fuss about how I'd come with an idea first, I'd actually just go back in time to an unaltered, unedited version of the post to determine the validity of my argument. If someone wants to cover their tracks and somehow has gone back, edited a post that wasn't subsequently quoted to be proven as a false reedit, and then stated they had the idea first, they've already put more time and thought into the act than me. Even then though, the servers log when edits are made and we can draw conclusions on the validity of their arguments based on when the last edit to their 'original' post was made.

JMTOTM

Additionally now though, are there people who want to actually hear about the other divisions in fleet organizational structure the Kassaran use, or are we pretty good for now? Additionally, what about ways people divide their armies up? I assume various species with various capabilities and technologies available to them as with the Kassaran have managed to find new nuances to combat and combat organizational structure?

[Kyrusia]

Ah, I see. Well let me amend my statement; I, personally, the user Kassaran, am not a believer in the use of Copyright to protect my works from alterations, improvements, or adaptation. I am a believer in the use of Copyright to protect my works from plagiarism and/or non-contextual application.

Is there some sort of statement I can put in my sig or something Ky that would allow me to waive my rights to something I write just to streamline things for the curious? I've had a few people ask me now and overall I feel offended at points because it really does feel like a bit much.

"I like this idea someone else had and I have a way to introduce it into my own nation, so I'll go and do it discretely and pretend like its mine and take all the credit-"

I don't know, maybe it's the whole 'for your protection' bit that bothers me, but NS is a forum-board where everything written is logged and recorded in some way. In all reality, if I wanted to truly make a fuss about how I'd come with an idea first, I'd actually just go back in time to an unaltered, unedited version of the post to determine the validity of my argument. If someone wants to cover their tracks and somehow has gone back, edited a post that wasn't subsequently quoted to be proven as a false reedit, and then stated they had the idea first, they've already put more time and thought into the act than me. Even then though, the servers log when edits are made and we can draw conclusions on the validity of their arguments based on when the last edit to their 'original' post was made.

JMTOTM

We largely rely on reports of plagiarism (and similar) being made by the player whom it may be plagiarized from themselves; it's not something we go looking for. If you don't have a problem with people using your stuff, you're free to state that in your sig. ("I don't mind you using my stuff! I'd just like to see what you've done with it!" etc.) It wouldn't be the first time I've seen something like it, though I would caution not to do that, as you never know what sort of unforeseen problems may arise.

That being said, that really will just apply to you personally. This isn't an attempt to nit-pick or chide you, as I know you're not the only one that doesn't have a problem with people using their stuff, but that rule is there for a reason. You personally deciding you don't want to report if someone takes your stuff and uses it (modifies it, etc.) is a personal choice; that's not the same for everyone.

In short: "You don't have a problem with it, don't report it, there won't be any action taken; no harm, no foul." That does not change Moderation's threshold with regard to intellectual property/plagiarism.

As for stuff like abusing edit features to try and use a plagiarism (or any rule) report in a Mods-as-Weapon fashion...? We can suspend/revoke a player's ability to edit posts. We've done it before; we can do it again.

[Shadowwell]

What classes/Types of ships are typically used in a FT/SciFi fleet?

I know everyone has their own preferences adn the like, but is there a general type or list?

[Multiversal Venn-Copard]

What classes/Types of ships are typically used in a FT/SciFi fleet?

I know everyone has their own preferences adn the like, but is there a general type or list?

TVTropes' Standard Sci-Fi Fleet article has a list of basic ideas. A lot of scifi fleets take inspiration from WWI/WWII naval combat, though many people will instead call their spacecraft things like "heavy assault spacecraft" or "mobile artillery stations" or whatnot, rather than more antiquated names like "battleships" and "corvettes".

Of course, you could eschew that completely in favor of a different doctrine; perhaps only one or two classes of multi-purpose ships could do the job if a civilization is able to fit everything they need onto them at once, or a civilization could focus on small, high-speed missileboats rather than big bulky cruisers. There's a ton of ways to handle it.

[Shadowwell]

What classes/Types of ships are typically used in a FT/SciFi fleet?

I know everyone has their own preferences adn the like, but is there a general type or list?

TVTropes' Standard Sci-Fi Fleet article has a list of basic ideas. A lot of scifi fleets take inspiration from WWI/WWII naval combat, though many people will instead call their spacecraft things like "heavy assault spacecraft" or "mobile artillery stations" or whatnot, rather than more antiquated names like "battleships" and "corvettes".

Ah, thank you, I had thought i had seen something like what i was looking for, but i could not find it,.

[Lubyak]

What classes/Types of ships are typically used in a FT/SciFi fleet?

I know everyone has their own preferences adn the like, but is there a general type or list?

Most people are going to draw their fleet lists from history, of one era or another.

This gives you a rough breakdown of common ship types, as well as the background behind some of the terms. It should be helpful to give you an idea of what kind of warships have existed in history, and maybe give you some inspiration.

[Shadowwell]

What classes/Types of ships are typically used in a FT/SciFi fleet?

I know everyone has their own preferences adn the like, but is there a general type or list?

Most people are going to draw their fleet lists from history, of one era or another.

This gives you a rough breakdown of common ship types, as well as the background behind some of the terms. It should be helpful to give you an idea of what kind of warships have existed in history, and maybe give you some inspiration.

That will definitely help, I was using th tv ropes link for referenec, but this one may help more.

[Federal Republic of Free States]

In terms of ship classes, there are an abundance of awesome ship classification terms. I'd really encourage anyone to look at the wide berth of what is available and kinda pick and choose what you like and morph definitions to fit your own ships. Just a quick overview of what I've adopted as space ship classifications.

Civilian: Shuttle, Yacht, Boat, Barge, Slip, Sloop, Cutter, Tugger, Clipper, Trawler, Freighter, Tanker


Military: Boat, Cutter, Clipper, Corvette, Frigate, Destroyer, Cruiser, Carrier

[G-Tech Corporation]

In terms of ship classes, there are an abundance of awesome ship classification terms. I'd really encourage anyone to look at the wide berth of what is available and kinda pick and choose what you like and morph definitions to fit your own ships. Just a quick overview of what I've adopted as space ship classifications.

Civilian: Shuttle, Yacht, Boat, Barge, Slip, Sloop, Cutter, Tugger, Clipper, Trawler, Freighter, Tanker


Military: Boat, Cutter, Clipper, Corvette, Frigate, Destroyer, Cruiser, Carrier

Ew, spehs carriers.

I think you mean, missile barge.

[SquareDisc City]

If you're going into creating your own spacecraft roles and breaking out of the naval analogy a bit, I'd say think about how those roles might have arisen historically, even though the name is sometimes used for something somewhat different and the terms might have been changed or shortened. That's seen in real-world naval terms, as the examples of 'destroyer' and 'battleship' discussed before demonstrate.

[Lubyak]

In terms of ship classes, there are an abundance of awesome ship classification terms. I'd really encourage anyone to look at the wide berth of what is available and kinda pick and choose what you like and morph definitions to fit your own ships. Just a quick overview of what I've adopted as space ship classifications.

Civilian: Shuttle, Yacht, Boat, Barge, Slip, Sloop, Cutter, Tugger, Clipper, Trawler, Freighter, Tanker


Military: Boat, Cutter, Clipper, Corvette, Frigate, Destroyer, Cruiser, Carrier

Ew, spehs carriers.

I think you mean, missile barge.

Nope carrier. True and proper.

But if we're listing ship types:

Monitor
Intra-system defence vessel. Incapable of FTL travel.

Frigate
Light, FTL capable vessel. Primary role of fleet and convoy escort and defence against strike craft/munitions.

Destroyer
Light, FTL capable vessel. Primary role of screening the fleet. Mounts powerful torpedo armament for attacks on larger vessels.

Light Cruiser
Medium, FTL capable vessel. Primary role of leading destroyer or frigate units, and independent operations.

Line Cruiser
Medium, FTL capable vessel. Primary role of independent operation away from main body of fleet.

Heavy Cruiser
Medium, FTL capable vessel. Primary role of screening heavier fleet units, and independent operations.

Escort Carrier
Medium, FTL capable vessel. Primary role of launching escort and patrol fighters for a fleet.

Battlecruiser
Heavy, FTL capable vessel. Primary role of scouting for battlefleet and engaging targets of opportunity.

Fleet Carrier
Heavy, FTL capable vessel. Primary role of launching strikes against distant targets, and scouting for battlefleet.

Battleship
Heavy, FTL capable vessel. Primary role of filling the wall of battle for direct engagement with the enemy's main body.

Dreadnought
Heavy, FTL capable vessel. Primary role of leading the wall of battle.

[Pordlandia]

Here are ships commonly found in Pordish battlegroups:

Assault Transport
Used for moving men and materiel. Planetary invasions or assaulting very large stations or orbital fortifications.

Battlecruiser
Heavy line warship. Often sent on independent missions with their support ship entourage.

Dreadnought
Heavy line warship. Never operates outside of fleet engagements. Often flagships and damage-sinks.

Combat-Bulk Carriers
Supply ship. Shunts heavy ordnance between vessels and keeps craft supplied.

Gravitic Tug
Support ship. Move and shepherd larger warships.

Interdictor
Maintains FTL-interdiction fields.

Monitor
Bombardment ship. Very heavy batteries. Used for beating down fortifications, large ships, or planetary shields.

Reactor Ship
Support ship. Supplies other vessels with extra power.

Relay Ship
Maintains lanes of communication. Used for signal boosting, cutting through comms jamming, and relaying information back and forth.

Rift Cruiser
Long duration patrol craft. Often found hunting in packs.

Runner
Stealth vessel. Specializes in insertion and missions where low profile is required.

[Dimoniquid]

As we're speaking of ship types, I have a few questions:

• How big are these ships supposed to be? Are we talking a few hundred meters, or a few kilometers? I mean, if you have a logistics ship moving heavy ordinance between ships, does it dock in a hanger, which should mean the ships are quite large, or does it use some kind a tether and deposit the ordinance?
  
• In certain types of ships, what determines the difference between a light class type and a heavy class type? Is it just the armament and the armour,
  or does how long the ship is in use, what role in the fleet, or what its current use add to that determination?
  
• If I wanted to build "the ultimate warship", would a small, fast, heavily armed vessel that's incredibly automated by AI and computers and a small crew be suffice, or are there more variables to consider?

[Shadowwell]

Rahdon Class Dreadnought: Most powerful and largest type of vessel, there are very few in the Fleet, the Flagship, Patriarch's Hope, being one of them.

Narback Class Carrier: The Second Largest vessel type in the Fleet, most lack real offensive power but they have the most armor and defensive capabilities.

(NEW) Var’Rus Class Colony Ships: They were originally developed for Korvash colonization, but have been adapted by the fleet to serves as recreation zones and agricultural areas, they grow ad raise food on them, but are not entirely dependent upon them. They are among the largest and most heavily defended vessels in the fleet.

Vartash Class Cruiser: All Purpose Cruiser, named after the first High Patriarch, Dibhur Vartash, who lead them into the Stars. Comes in Light, Heavy, and Assault Variants.

(NEW)Gan’Talshir Class Frigates: Fast and heavily armed, these ships are used for long distance scouting and raiding. They also serve a bombardment role for assaulting planets.

Tal'Tanash Class Destroyer: Most heavily armed vessel for its size, they are among the least numerous ship types, but they do not need the numbers

(NEW) Kal’Zanad Class Corvettes: Among the most numerous in the Fleet they go into battle with the Fighters. They are exceptionally fast and well-armed, they are often used for raiding and harassing the enemy. Due to their low defensive abilities they require escorts usually.

Tarnash Class: This class of Ship is specifically made for Logistics and support. They are the fastest ships and some are adapted for scouting purposes.

Korvash Class Fighters: Fighters, can serve as Bombers and Interceptors, as well as general fighter roles.

The above are what ships got, but am currently revising the above using the info you guys have given me.

As we're speaking of ship types, I have a few questions:

• How big are these ships supposed to be? Are we talking a few hundred meters, or a few kilometers? I mean, if you have a logistics ship moving heavy ordinance between ships, does it dock in a hanger, which should mean the ships are quite large, or does it use some kind a tether and deposit the ordinance?
  
• In certain types of ships, what determines the difference between a light class type and a heavy class type? Is it just the armament and the armour,
  or does how long the ship is in use, what role in the fleet, or what its current use add to that determination?
  
• If I wanted to build "the ultimate warship", would a small, fast, heavily armed vessel that's incredibly automated by AI and computers and a small crew be suffice, or are there more variables to consider?

For me the Ultimate warship will depending upon the purpose adn the nation using them.

[Stormwrath]

As we're speaking of ship types, I have a few questions:

• How big are these ships supposed to be? Are we talking a few hundred meters, or a few kilometers? I mean, if you have a logistics ship moving heavy ordinance between ships, does it dock in a hanger, which should mean the ships are quite large, or does it use some kind a tether and deposit the ordinance?
  
• In certain types of ships, what determines the difference between a light class type and a heavy class type? Is it just the armament and the armour,
  or does how long the ship is in use, what role in the fleet, or what its current use add to that determination?
  
• If I wanted to build "the ultimate warship", would a small, fast, heavily armed vessel that's incredibly automated by AI and computers and a small crew be suffice, or are there more variables to consider?

It depends on you. Usually players are recommended to keep their vessels below 3 kilometers long so that they don't intimidate other players, since many of us are adverse to people with humongous ships, but other than that it depends on what your nation's military doctrines are. There are many ways a logistics ship can deposit its supply to warships in need of fuel, supplies, and/or additional ordnance, so choose one that would make sense for your space navy to do.

If we're going to be talking about light and heavy variants of certain ship classes, such as cruisers, the main differences tend to be in both armament and armor. But you can also add certain features that can help distinguish between the two such as speed, maneuverability, endurance, or role.

Again, it's up to you and how your nation's military doctrine comes into play. The size and role of ships may vary whether your nation prefers to defend its own space, project its military power over larger distances, launch quick and decisive offensives against its enemies, and many other possible doctrines that it may use.


And I feel like the odd one out here, don't I? Fine. Ship classes used by the Astronautikon (ranked by size in ascending order).

Argonauts - FTL-incapable, essentially space fighters/bombers/assault craft. There are variants of Argonauts employed by the Astronautikon depending on role and doctrine, which are contracted to certain aerospace producers.

Corvettes - FTL-capable, used in defending the Perseid Federation's core worlds and colonies.

Destroyers - FTL-capable, used mainly in defending Perseid core worlds and colonies as well as extraterritorial installations. They are also used to escort larger vessels such as cruisers and battleships. They are subdivided into the following classes: assault, escort, and multirole.

Pyravlon - FTL-capable, around the size of destroyers. As the name suggests, they carry missile ordnance into battle which are used to engage larger vessels and overwhelm their defenses.

Frigates - FTL-capable, sized-up versions of destroyers.

Troopships - FTL-capable, used to carry troops and equipment for deployment on surface battlefields. In addition to this, they can be violently dropped on enemy fortifications to neutralize them while also transforming into a forward base for the Marines and Army to use.

Cruisers - FTL-capable, ships able to carry out independent operations on their own. They are subdivided into the following classes: assault, escort, and multirole, which are further divided into light and heavy variants depending on how much armament and armor they employ.

Assault carriers - FTL-capable, used to transport troops and spacecraft. Capable of deploying Argonauts.

Battlecruisers - FTL-capable, sits between cruisers and battleships in size, firepower, and protection.

Battleships - FTL-capable, built for going toe-to-toe with the strongest vessels of the enemy.

Dreadnoughts - FTL-capable, slightly larger than battleships but fulfilling the same roles.

Supercarriers - FTL-capable, used to transport a greater amount of troops and spacecraft than assault carriers. Capable of deploying Argonauts. Most of these ships are found at the core of a carrier strike group. They are the flagships of a fleet by default.

Superdreadnoughts - FTL-capable, the largest vessels in the Astronautikon, measuring 6.7 kilometers in length. They are both capable of battleship and carrier roles, as well as host two destroyers in its docks. So far only two have been built by the Perseid Federation, both of them belonging to the Cataphract class.

[Kassaran]

As we're speaking of ship types, I have a few questions:

[list][*]How big are these ships supposed to be? Are we talking a few hundred meters, or a few kilometers? I mean, if you have a logistics ship moving heavy ordinance between ships, does it dock in a hanger, which should mean the ships are quite large, or does it use some kind a tether and deposit the ordinance?

Kassaran vessels are really quite large, but that's to generate counterweights to the massive gravity drives they utilize. In reality, the core of the vessel is the only major part and it roughly accounts for 10-15% of a ship's mass, with the the other 85-90% being counterweight systems. These systems can include energy dispersal methods akin to energy weaponry, but I'd have to draw out what I mean to explain it. In general though, Kassaran vessels also are large because space is large and the gravity generators and FTL systems they use require more mass to work optimally. It's backwards, but it works when one takes into account the method of FTL travel utilized.

[*]In certain types of ships, what determines the difference between a light class type and a heavy class type? Is it just the armament and the armour,
or does how long the ship is in use, what role in the fleet, or what its current use add to that determination?

You can also completely forgo 'Light' and 'Heavy' concepts entirely. For the Kassaran, all vessels are named in class according to their role. This gives primarily three major classes: Command, Exploratory/Research, and Patrol. The Command vessels are the largest and most common as they act also as remote USV controllers and have special sensor suites dedicated to optimizing their effectiveness in maintaining situational awareness in most situations. Exploratory/Research Vessels are among the 'lightest' in mass and are deployed with very few personnel, in spite of their long legs. They feature heavy automation and proportionately have the most automated functions. They only need to receive and transmit data usually, but their gravity drives are extremely powerful (having been built to rip apart asteroids, meteors, comets, and other naturally occurring space phenomena for research and extraction purposes) and they are incredibly agile. Patrol vessels are medium sized and generally lack FTL capabilities. They're also an extreme departure from general Kassaran space vessel architecture because they're intra-atmospheric. They're primarily Greenspace vessels.

[SquareDisc City]

As we're speaking of ship types, I have a few questions:

• How big are these ships supposed to be? Are we talking a few hundred meters, or a few kilometers? I mean, if you have a logistics ship moving heavy ordinance between ships, does it dock in a hanger, which should mean the ships are quite large, or does it use some kind a tether and deposit the ordinance?
  
• In certain types of ships, what determines the difference between a light class type and a heavy class type? Is it just the armament and the armour,
  or does how long the ship is in use, what role in the fleet, or what its current use add to that determination?
  
• If I wanted to build "the ultimate warship", would a small, fast, heavily armed vessel that's incredibly automated by AI and computers and a small crew be suffice, or are there more variables to consider?

To an extent it's up to you on size. That range from a few hundred metres to a few kilometres seems reasonable for major combat spacecraft. It encompasses quite a few well-known spacecraft in science fiction: All of Star Trek's Enterprises, Star Wars' Imperial Star Destroyers and Mon Calamari star cruisers, Halo's Pillar of Autumn and the Covenant battlecruisers, Mass Effect's Normandy perhaps, numerous Babylon 5 ships, and so on and so on. Modern-day ocean-going warships sit there too. All round it seems sensible. If you start saying a "space battleship" is the size of a family car well that just seems a little silly, and on the other hand if you go into the dozens or hundreds of kilometre range it just seems like giant size for the sake of it.

Of course design is a factor. If two spacecraft have the same mass the long slender one is obviously probably longer than the boxy one. Mass is arguably more 'important' but length is more commonly used (unless you're reading Honor Harrington). In my case most of my larger designs have been hollow, considerably dropping the mass and capabilities below what you might expect.

If you do go towards the larger end, I'd advise being aware of the drawbacks. The advantages of a big ship are obvious - mount bigger more powerful guns, and also have thicker armour thanks to better surface-to-volume ratio. But the drawbacks are it's a bigger target, likely to be more sluggish (though that's technology dependent), and more likely to have trouble rejecting heat (if you care about that; many writers ignore the problem). UPT spacecraft have tended to run large in the past (though I plan to rework the sizes) and the UPT Space Force considers this a bad thing - it would like the same performance in a smaller ship, but relatively crude technology means the only way to get the weapon power desired is to go big. That and the ever-popular approach of building the ship around the main gun.

Light and heavy, in real life, the article linked before says it's just on the weapons.

"The ultimate warship", well that depends on an awful lot of things. The types of weapon used, the balance between attack and defence, combat tactics, strategic considerations, and more. The UPT Space Force ICly would somewhat reject the whole idea, in that it considers the strength of the fleet as a whole and would expect a fleet of appropriate diversity of ships to beat one that was composed solely of one ship type, all else being equal (including equal cost or tonnage).

[Lubyak]

As we're speaking of ship types, I have a few questions:

• How big are these ships supposed to be? Are we talking a few hundred meters, or a few kilometers? I mean, if you have a logistics ship moving heavy ordinance between ships, does it dock in a hanger, which should mean the ships are quite large, or does it use some kind a tether and deposit the ordinance?

It'll vary between players, and is entirely up to you. However, common convention generally holds that you set a maximum size at a few kilometers in length, and save anything bigger as a 'plot-device' ship (i.e. something a whole story is going to be written/focused on). For me, my ships vary in size from 250 m to 1,800m in length. As far as rearmament goes, most reloading is handled at dock, where full equipment can be brought in to handle large munitions, like torpedoes. However, lighter munitions (like main and secondary battery shells) can be transferred by lighters that dock in the ship's hangars, though it's less efficient that way.

In certain types of ships, what determines the difference between a light class type and a heavy class type? Is it just the armament and the armour,
or does how long the ship is in use, what role in the fleet, or what its current use add to that determination?

The heavy/light distinction is often just one of degree. For me at least, light cruisers are meant to fill a different doctrinal niche than their heavy cruiser counterparts, but still serve in the same general role of a sub-capital vessel capable of independent operations. Line cruisers again fill the same general role, but--again--fill a different doctrinal niche. The whole heavy/light divide is going to be dependent on your own nation's naval doctrine. Some navy's will adopt them, others will not.

If I wanted to build "the ultimate warship", would a small, fast, heavily armed vessel that's incredibly automated by AI and computers and a small crew be suffice, or are there more variables to consider?

A few points here:

1) I'd advise against trying to build an 'ultimate warship'. It just raises red flags for a lot of players about trying to 'win' an RP.
2) One nation's ultimate warship will be different from another's. It's going to depend heavily on what each navy values in its warships.
3) Nations throughout history have tried to build ultimate weapons of one kind or another. Every single one has failed through one way or another.

However, if you insist: in naval design there's what we call the 'speed-armour-firepower' triangle. For any ship of a given size, likely gains in one corner will mean sacrificing in the other. (i.e. a fast ship that's heavily armored might not be able to mount a lot of firepower). Now, beyond that triangle there are other things to consider, such as:

• Cost: How expensive is the ship to build? How many other ships, troops, or anything else are you losing for every single 'ultimate' ship you build. It could be that even if your ship is the perfect balance of speed, armour, and firepower it's so expensive to build that you've bankrupted your country building a few, and now economic unrest has crippled you. Or, perhaps you've invested so much into this ultimate ship project that you've neglected other aspects in favour of it. What good is a ship if there are no places it can dock for repair or resupply, because you've invested all your resources into a few ultimate ships rather than 'boring' things like logistics and support?
  
• Ease of Production: Same with the above. You can have the perfect ship, but if it takes forever to build them, how many other vessels have you given up waiting on your ultimate ships to leave the yard? And let's not forget: one ship can only be in one place at a time, so what happens if you only have one ultimate ship, and you need it in 3 places at one time?
  
• Logistics: A ship can't operate without a crew, fuel, and munitions. Those supplies have to be carried out to it. Even the mightiest fortress can be overcome if it can't be resupplied, and the same is true of armies and fleets. This ties into the above: what good is your ultimate ship if it can't go out and fight because it has no supplies?

Those are just some additional things to consider. However, again, I'd heavily advise against trying to build an 'ultimate warship'. This is FT. Everyone can claim that they have the ultimate [X] or just keep adding zeroes to whatever numbers they want. If you are going to do it, keep it as a plot device thing that only comes out for certain rare occasions, not a mainstay of your fleet.

[Federal Republic of Free States]

As we're speaking of ship types, I have a few questions:

• How big are these ships supposed to be? Are we talking a few hundred meters, or a few kilometers? I mean, if you have a logistics ship moving heavy ordinance between ships, does it dock in a hanger, which should mean the ships are quite large, or does it use some kind a tether and deposit the ordinance?
  
• In certain types of ships, what determines the difference between a light class type and a heavy class type? Is it just the armament and the armour,
  or does how long the ship is in use, what role in the fleet, or what its current use add to that determination?
  
• If I wanted to build "the ultimate warship", would a small, fast, heavily armed vessel that's incredibly automated by AI and computers and a small crew be suffice, or are there more variables to consider?

There is a lot of disparity between ship sizes out here in FT. It really truly is up to you about what size and shape your vessels are going to take. What they are designed to do, how they do it, and why they do it will all come into play. For me, my ships tend to be on the larger side of things, since any level of ship can transport a ground complement force into the battlespace and I need room on the ships for them. Like Lubyak said there is a sort of accepted practice of mainline military ships being somewhere in the relative size of a few kilometers on the larger end. With extremely larger ones being very rare, and sometimes exclusively linked to the plot of the story being told. That being said, on the civilian side of things, there are less limitations. Mega-freighters, hyper-freighters, etc with lengths approaching the double digit KMs do exist, and by and large they don't cause any problems with the community.

For myself, I use both methods. If my ships are in a friendly system they will dock with a space station for re-supply. If they are out on patrol in deep space, or in a contested system a tether/container re-supply system is used once they reach a close enough distance between one another. It takes longer to re-supply by tether/container than it does when you dock with a station.

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The difference between light/heavy descriptions of naval classes does in part have to do with how they are armed and armored. But as well as their designed function. Typically 'light' ships are regulated to escort/patrol/recon duties. While the 'heavy' ones are regulated to mainline combat and slugging it out with other naval units.

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As far as an "ultimate" warship is considered, while your nation may perceive it to be "ultimate" it's going to have limitations and weaknesses that can be exploited and used against it. Every weapon does, yeah in FT we can get a little excitable with awesome technology and large numbers. But by design and production, there will still be limitations of what your weapon can accomplish. The triangle (as Luby calls it) of "Speed-Firepower-Armor" can also be thought of as "Time-Quality-Cost", if you want it to be built without a lot of time involved and without a lot of money sunk into it, it ain't gonna have good quality. Something has to be a negative in order to get two positives outcomes.

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Also something I've been thinking about since looking at this. For larger ships 1km+, what would your crew use to physically get around the ship? For myself on most ships there is a system of moveable walkways, elevators, and (for the larger vessels) tram systems that move supplies and personnel throughout the vessels.

[Shadowwell]

Since we have been discussing ships and i have a question i will put this here.

I found a ship generator, that i am using, of course i do not know when or if the images will get erased or teh like, it is still neat.

Anyways what i wanted to know is, Kyrusia, would there be a problem linking to images produced by this? http://ship.shapewright.com/

At first i did not think there would be a problem, but it was brought up by the op of a thread, when i asked if i could use them, so i thought i better ask. I dont think there should be an issue, but i think this is the best place to ask, both considering the recent topic and the fact that you are a person of authority here. If this was not the place to ask, i apologise, but i have not exactly needed to ask the Mods anything, so i am unsure of proper protocol.

[Lubyak]

Since we have been discussing ships and i have a question i will put this here.

I found a ship generator, that i am using, of course i do not know when or if the images will get erased or teh like, it is still neat.

Anyways what i wanted to know is, Kyrusia, would there be a problem linking to images produced by this? http://ship.shapewright.com/

At first i did not think there would be a problem, but it was brought up by the op of a thread, when i asked if i could use them, so i thought i better ask. I dont think there should be an issue, but i think this is the best place to ask, both considering the recent topic and the fact that you are a person of authority here. If this was not the place to ask, i apologise, but i have not exactly needed to ask the Mods anything, so i am unsure of proper protocol.

Disclosure: I am not a lawyer. I am not YOUR lawyer. This is not legal advice. I am not a specialist in IP law. What I do have is a JD.

For full legality, you would need to ask the copyright holder for their permission to use their material. In this case, that would mean messaging the guy who made that website, and asking if you can use the designs it outputs for your own use here.

However, for all intents and purposes, so long as you disclose whose work your borrowing from, you should be alright. If the right holder asks you to stop though, you will have to.

This is not a statement about the rules of this forum. I am not authorised to make pronouncements on that subject. Yet, in terms of general legal principles, if you use someone else's material with permission, there should be no issues. If you use it without their permission, then it's copyright infringement. If you want to be 100% safe, then ask the guy whose material your using for their permission to use it

Once again, this isn't legal advice, but rather my own musings on the facts presented.

Do with that as you will.

[Shadowwell]

Since we have been discussing ships and i have a question i will put this here.

I found a ship generator, that i am using, of course i do not know when or if the images will get erased or teh like, it is still neat.

Anyways what i wanted to know is, Kyrusia, would there be a problem linking to images produced by this? http://ship.shapewright.com/

At first i did not think there would be a problem, but it was brought up by the op of a thread, when i asked if i could use them, so i thought i better ask. I dont think there should be an issue, but i think this is the best place to ask, both considering the recent topic and the fact that you are a person of authority here. If this was not the place to ask, i apologise, but i have not exactly needed to ask the Mods anything, so i am unsure of proper protocol.

Disclosure: I am not a lawyer. I am not YOUR lawyer. This is not legal advice. I am not a specialist in IP law. What I do have is a JD.

For full legality, you would need to ask the copyright holder for their permission to use their material. In this case, that would mean messaging the guy who made that website, and asking if you can use the designs it outputs for your own use here.

However, for all intents and purposes, so long as you disclose whose work your borrowing from, you should be alright. If the right holder asks you to stop though, you will have to.

This is not a statement about the rules of this forum. I am not authorised to make pronouncements on that subject. Yet, in terms of general legal principles, if you use someone else's material with permission, there should be no issues. If you use it without their permission, then it's copyright infringement. If you want to be 100% safe, then ask the guy whose material your using for their permission to use it

Once again, this isn't legal advice, but rather my own musings on the facts presented.

Do with that as you will.

On the main page of the site, it says "Pick an item at the top of the page, modify it & download the design file for free." That would be giving permission, I think, but mostly i was worried about this sites rules adn the like concerning it, but your advice is helpful nonetheless.

[Vocenae]

You should try downloading DOGA L3. You can find a link to a working download site for it at the bottom of the OP of this thread, under the Resources & Exterior Programs spoiler bar in the Helpful Links section. It's a old 3D modelling program that is pretty easy to use (but hard to master). Basically if you ever played the PC game Spore, it's a much more versatile version of the starship creator in that game. Or if not, more like LEGOs because it has pre-built pieces that you just slap together in whatever shape or form you want.

This way you're not relying on a (pretty crappy) random program to toss your ships together, and you can build whatever you can think up. Again it requires very little effort to use but it takes a lot of practice to master.

If you want some examples of what people have made using DOGA L3, feel free to browse my DeviantArt and Sunset's Gallery.

If you do end up getting DOGA L3, feel free to find myself or Sunset on the NSFT Discord server (link in this thread's OP) if you need some advice on building a good looking starship, or you can just follow Sunset's Tutorial.

[Kyrusia]

Since we have been discussing ships and i have a question i will put this here.

I found a ship generator, that i am using, of course i do not know when or if the images will get erased or teh like, it is still neat.

Anyways what i wanted to know is, Kyrusia, would there be a problem linking to images produced by this? http://ship.shapewright.com/

At first i did not think there would be a problem, but it was brought up by the op of a thread, when i asked if i could use them, so i thought i better ask. I dont think there should be an issue, but i think this is the best place to ask, both considering the recent topic and the fact that you are a person of authority here. If this was not the place to ask, i apologise, but i have not exactly needed to ask the Mods anything, so i am unsure of proper protocol.

From the Terms and Conditions of Use (emphasis added):

You may submit content to NationStates.net so long as it is not obscene, illegal, threatening, malicious, or defamatory, does not invade the privacy or infringe the intellectual property of a third party, and does not constitute "spam." You may not use a false e-mail address, impersonate any person or entity, attempt to "hack" the site or another player's account, nor otherwise mislead as to the origin of information.

That being said, most generator sites like this tend to release their material under Creative Commons, Share/Share Alike, or straight into the public domain; short of the webhost having problems, I don't see us having a problem with it from a rules-based perspective. In this case, while I can't find a direct legal statement, the website does state, "Pick an item at the top of the page, modify it & download the design file for free," which I would personally assume came with a looming "for personal use only" statement, and they also host the code publicly.

Of course, I am not a lawyer, but from purely a rule-based perspective here, I'm not seeing an issue with it short of the aforementioned.

[Shadowwell]

Thanks for the prompt answer Kyrusia, and everyone else taht answered as well.

Vocenae, that is true, that it is crappy, but it serves my purpose for now, that being said I may use the thing you suggested, eventually.

EDIT: First attempt

It is nice, but yea it will take a while.

EDIT 2: when designing your ships do you try to make them functional or look nice adn waving away stuff that would amke them not work?