Ideas for Civilian Ships?
Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2016 5:43 am
So I tinker with some sci-fi/space opera ideas now and than (sometimes trying to make them in Space Engineers). Military stuff is usually pretty easy, I like to translate modern naval/air force classes to space equivalents, which is the norm for many games and settings. But I've been trying to come up with a sort of comprehensive list of everyday/civilian ships one might bump into out in galaxy, what their role and purpose is so I thought I'd ask you guys for ideas and suggestions. So far my list consists of the following. Shuttles: Generally some of smallest civilian ships, around the scale of a typical starfighter or slightly bigger. Used to ferry small amounts of passengers or goods, usually within a single system or a few closely linked systems. Can include more impressive corporate/private shuttles for the wealthy to tote around in, medical 'ambulance' shuttles, and military supply and landing shuttles. Utility Craft: Again small craft on the scale similar to shuttles. These are used for a number of industrial/engineering tasks. Mining craft will be loaded on a transport and will launch out to mine asteroids, taking their load back to the main transport. Construction and repair craft are similar, returning to a central transport for materials, as do salvaging craft (which I probably pretty similar in form to construction and repair craft). Tugs: Equivalent to a modern tug. Used to tow stranded ships. Range in size from sometihng comparable to a corvette up to a frigate. Transports & Freighters: The equivalent of modern cargo ships/merchantmen. Transports are smaller ships, comparable in size to a military corvette up to a frigate. Freighters generally much large on a comparable scale to a military cruiser and some close to size of a dreadnought. Passenger Liners could also fall under this, but carry people more than cargo. Industrial Ships: Effectively space-borne mobile factories and refineries ... occasionally refitted freighters. Yachts: Flashy private vessels for touting around the galaxy and possibly holding fancy parties. Range in size from a large shuttle up to a small frigate. Space Racer: Sort of like a stripped down starfighter, used for high-speed sports racing. Survey & Science Ships: Space-borne research facilities, usually used on long expeditions into outer regions to study various new planets/spacial anomalies and the like. Police Cutter: Sort of military-lite ship used for law-enforcement, slightly smaller than a military corvette. Other things that come to mind: Lighters, Couriers, Casino/Pleasure Ships. Anything obvious I'm missing? Edit: Oh and my sense of scale tends to go as follows - Starfighter > Shuttle > Corvette > Frigate > Destroyer > Cruiser > Dreadnought