IN PROGRESS: This article is still in progress. Its information is accurate as of API 44, but it is woefully incomplete.
Introduction
A ship class is like a template for creating ships. Ships of the same ship class share many things in common. This article contains guidelines for designing and balancing ships classes in Human Space in the late 24th century to early 25th century.
Example
Let's start with a simple example and examine the different components of a ship class:
<ShipClass UNID="&scSapphireYacht;"
manufacturer="Zubrin Systems"
class="Sapphire"
type="yacht"
defaultSovereign="&svCommonwealth;"
attributes="commonwealth, genericClass, zubrin"
inherit="&baHumanTechShip;"
>
<!-- Hull -->
<Hull
size="31"
mass="30"
cargoSpace="50"
maxReactorPower="10000"
maxCargoSpace="150"
maxDevices="8"
maxArmor="heavy"
stdArmor="medium"
/>
<Drive
maxSpeed="20"
thrust="300"
powerUse="20"
/>
<Maneuver
maxRotationRate="9.0"
rotationAccel="2.0"
rotationStopAccel="9.0"
/>
<DeviceSlots>
<DeviceSlot criteria="p +property:omnidirectional;" ... />
<DeviceSlot criteria="w" ... />
</DeviceSlots>
<!-- Configuration -->
<Armor
armorID="&itReactiveArmor;"
count="4"
/>
<Devices>
<Device deviceID="&itRecoillesCannon;"/>
<Device deviceID="&itClass1Deflector;"/>
</Devices>
<!-- Image and Effects -->
<Image imageID="&rsWolfenGunshipHD;" ... />
<HeroImage imageID="&rsWolfenLarge;" ... />
<Effects>
...
</Effects>
<!-- AI and Behavior -->
<AISettings
...
/>
</ShipClass>
Hull Types
Ships may be categorized into different types. Use the following table as a guideline:
TYPE MASS SLOTS ARMOR ARMOR
(tons) SEGMENTS TYPE
Battlepod <20 2-3 1 light
Light Gunship 20-40 4-6 1-2 light
Medium Gunship 40-80 5-7 2-4 medium
Heavy Gunship 80+ 7-9 4-6 medium/heavy
Light Freighter 100-1,000 7-9 4-6 light
Medium Freighter 1,000-5,000 12+ 6-12 light
Heavy Freighter 5,000-25K 12+ 12+ light
Superfreighter 25K-100K 12+ 12+ medium
Hyperfreighter 100K+ 12+ 12+ medium
Corvette 120-1,000 9-12 6-12 medium/heavy
Monitor 1,000-5,000 12+ 8-12 heavy
Frigate 5,000-10K 12+ 8-12 heavy
Destroyer 10K-20K 12+ 12-16 super-heavy
Cruiser 20K-50K 12+ 16 massive
Dreadnought 50K+ 12+ 16+ massive
Levels and Balance Types
Treasure
Ships often contains fuel or other items that can be looted by the player. The amount of treasure should be commensurate with the difficulty in defeating the ship. We use level and balance type to determine difficulty.
Minion and standard balance-type ships generally do not have any treasure. For elite, boss, capital level ships, consult the tables below:
Elite Treasure
LEVEL TREASURE
1 1d6 H3 rods
2 2d6 H3 rods
3 1d2 H3 assemblies
4 1d6 H3 assemblies
5 2d6 H3 assemblies
6 2d6 Xenotite rods
7 1d6 Pteracnium rods
8 2d6 Pteracnium rods
9 1d6 Hadron cells
10 2d6 Hadron cells
Boss Treasure
LEVEL TREASURE
1 2d6 H3 rods
2 4d6 H3 rods
3 1d6 H3 assemblies
4 2d6 H3 assemblies
5 2d6 Xenotite rods
6 4d6 Xenotite rods
7 2d6 Pteracnium rods
8 4d6 Pteracnium rods
9 2d6 Hadron cells
10 4d6 Hadron cells
Capital Ship Treasure
LEVEL TREASURE
1 trStdTreasureLevel1 + 2d6 H3 rods
2 trStdTreasureLevel2 + 4d6 H3 rods
3 trStdTreasureLevel3 + 1d6 H3 assemblies
4 trStdTreasureLevel4 + 2d6 H3 assemblies
5 trStdTreasureLevel5 + 2d6 Xenotite rods
6 trStdTreasureLevel6 + 4d6 Xenotite rods
7 trStdTreasureLevel7 + 2d6 Pteracnium rods
8 trStdTreasureLevel8 + 4d6 Pteracnium rods
9 trStdTreasureLevel9 + 2d6 Hadron cells
10 trStdTreasureLevel10 + 4d6 Hadron cells