Subject:
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Re: A Question of Size
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.space
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Date:
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Mon, 13 Jan 2003 20:37:48 GMT
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Viewed:
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639 times
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In lugnet.space, Leonard Hoffman writes:
> --> this is meant to get a discussion going and hopefully come to a consensus,
> please feel free to change and adapt my ideas as you see fit.<--
I am not so certain that we ever will, nor whether we need to, come to a
consensus on this subject. In the real world, different nations have
different definitions of things like "Capitol Ship", "Battleship", etc. I
think in our own fictional worlds things could be equally diverse. What one
person calls a spaceship may not match what another person calls a spaceship.
In my world, the people of the planet Valyance have their own views on space
faring vessels. These definitions are based on the function of the vehicle
more so than the size.
*Some* of the definitions I use:
GENERAL TERMS:
-Vessel: Any self-propelled space faring machine that can carry one or more
people. This includes crafts and ships.
-Craft: Spacecraft are vehicles that are not independently capable of
sustaining crew or passengers for prolonged space flights. They are
traditionally used for travel between or on moons and planets of a single
system. Longer distance travel requires the resources that only true ships
can normally provide, although some military craft may be exceptions to
this. On Valyance, ground craft are rated A-D based on size and function,
and flight craft are rated 1-4 based on size and function. As examples,
most pods are Class 1, most fighters are Class 2, and most bombers are Class
3. (The term shuttle refers to any vehicle that shuttles something between
points, and thus a shuttle might be of any of these Craft Classes.)
-Ship: Spaceships are vessels capable of sustaining independent operation in
the depths of space. They are often (though not always) larger than local
craft. Most true ships cannot land on planets or moons (as they lack the
acceleration force to launch under high gravity, and most also are either
assembled in space or launched using rocket-tugs from a dry-dock facility.
Every ship can be further defined by a PURPOSE, which describes its intended
application, and a CLASS, which is a subcategory describing its design
style. Purpose names are general terms used universally, but Classes are
typically unique to their nationality or manufacturer.
SHIP PURPOSES (Types):
General Transports:
-Light Freighter: A smaller ship consisting typically of simply one or two
holds with minimal crew quarters and used for transport of goods and
materials. These may be civilian or military.
-Heavy Freighter: A larger ship used to transport goods and materials.
Sub-classes may be specialized for specific uses. These may be civilian or
military.
-Steamer: A smaller ship used primarily for transporting light cargo or
passengers. These may be civilian or military. This type can sometimes be
modified to act as a destroyer, freighter, or retrieval vessel.
-Liner: A larger ship used primarily for transporting passengers or light
cargo. These are typically civilian and often include amenities for
entertaining passengers on long voyages usually between established colonies.
-Super Liner: A huge ship used for transporting passengers or light cargo,
usually between distant civilized planetary systems. These are typically
civilian and include numerous amenities for entertaining passengers.
Science and Exploration:
-Retrieval Vessel: A smaller ship designed to assist other ships in need.
These are usually specialized into one of many sub-classes for use as
salvage ships, heavy tugs, search and rescue, or medical support. These can
be civilian or military.
-Hospital Ship: A mid-size ship used as a moving medical unit often employed
to areas of natural disasters, accidents, or war. These can be civilian or
military.
-Colony Builder: A mid-size ship designed to carry settlers or terraforming
equipment to a target area. These may be civilian but are often government
funded.
-Deep Space Explorer: A usually large ship designed for prolonged journeys
to unexplored sectors and visits to distant worlds. These ships are usually
equipped to perform scientific surveys to find possible colony sites, but
are also often used for early diplomatic contact with alien societies. Due
to the size and technology required for this type of vessel, most are
publicly funded and are usually operated with government involvement, if not
outright owned by a government faction.
Military:
-Destroyer: A small military ship type, usually used as support for larger
vessels or as frontier law enforcement.
-Assault Lander: A small military ship specially designed to clear a landing
zone for dispersal of troops and often including a detachable field command
post for ground-based operations.
-Drop-Ship: A small military ship used to transport infantry or smaller
Craft Classes to a target area. These usually have pods or launches for
quick deployment from orbit.
-Cruiser: A mid-size military ship usually designed for speed and agility
but often also with a fair weapons array. These are versatile vessels that
can sometimes fill the roll of either destroyers or battleships. Some
sub-classes can be easily modified to act as light carriers or explorers.
-Dreadnought: A mid-size military ship consisting usually of little more
than an extensive array of medium weapons, or a small array of highly
powerful weapons. (On Valyance, this ship type is used mostly as artillery
by the Formian Union.)
-Battleship: A usually large military ship designed to offer a diverse range
of weapons and defenses. These are often used to establish orbital
superiority before initiating ground-based operations, but also provide
effective off-planet artillery bombardment.
-Carrier: A usually large military ship consisting mostly of platforms or
bays for transporting Craft Classes through deep space to a target area.
Sub-classes are often specially designed for the type of Craft Class they
transport.
-Battlestar: A typically huge military ship that combines the
characteristics of two or more lesser types into one vessel. These can
often be used alone for very extensive attacks using combined arms tactics
with the ship as a single base of operations.
SHIP CLASSES (examples):
-Escapade Class: A style of Deep Space Explorer used by the FSPC, including
the 'Lafayette' and the 'Virgo'. This class is known for fast propulsion,
light weapons, light shields, and long range sensors.
-Armageddon Class: An older style of Battleship used by the LLG, including
the 'Armageddon' and the 'First Promontory'. This class is known for slow
propulsion, heavy weapons, medium shields, and medium range sensors. Among
its distinguishing features are a linear design with bridge forward and
double layer wings and docking bay in a wider double-layer winged stern.
This class is also known for its use of the otherwise rare CIG (Celestial
Impact Generator) missile weapon.
-Connory Class: A style of Cruiser used by the LLG, usually as convoy
escort, including the 'Stalwart Companion'. This class is known for fast
propulsion, medium weapons, medium shields, and long range sensors.
-Evaluator Class: A style of Deep Space Explorer used by the Darknian
Monarchy, including the 'Royal Evaluator'. This class is known for medium
propulsion, light weapons, medium shields, and long range sensors.
-Donescu Class: A style of Dreadnought used by the Formian Union, including
the 'Nikolai's Choice'. This class is known for slow propulsion, heavy
weapons, heavy shields, and medium range sensors. This class is as simple
as it gets when it comes to Dreadnoughts, with only a small bridge forward
and a large rotating gun turret aft. Crew compartments and engines are
cramped into a small area below an open deck that supports the turret.
Although a pair of Photonic Blast Cannons is most common, members of this
class may vary the specific weapons mounted on the turret. Other
modifications include the mounting of small cranes to dock small Craft Class
landers along side the main deck.
-Demolition Class: A style of Battleship used by the Formian Union. This
class is known for medium propulsion, heavy weapons, medium shields, and
short range sensors.
...As stated in a previous thread, I apologize for not yet providing pics to
any MOCs mentioned but will have some available online by the last day of
this month.
Cheers,
-Hendo
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: A Question of Size
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| (...) I agree. And I really wonder about the need to even try. Think of the term 'drop ship' referring to the one seen in Aliens. Total complement? I believe it was less than a dozen if you include the Colonial Marines, Ripley and the pilot and (...) (22 years ago, 14-Jan-03, to lugnet.space)
| | | Re: A Question of Size
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| (...) I realize that I wasn't clear, but my hope and desire was not to supplant people's definitions of words like "cruiser" and "battleship." What I thought we (as a community) could use was terms for LEGO creations, alongside SHIP. Terms to be (...) (22 years ago, 14-Jan-03, to lugnet.space)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | A Question of Size
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| Inspired by JHK's latest creation : (URL) was some question about the validity of calling one of his creations a "heavy fighter." Recently there was some talk that nailed down the definition of a "SHIP" (~in excess of 100 studs in any direction). I (...) (22 years ago, 13-Jan-03, to lugnet.space)
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