Ship construction

A spaceship is a complex machine and consists of several main parts. The sum of these parts is the totality of the Tactical and Technical Characteristics of the ship (TTC). It is highly recommended to display "Full Ship Information" in the game settings in order to display all the parameters of a selected ship in the hanger.

Ship Anatomy

Hull

The hull is the basis of the ship, on which all the other components, modules and weapons are mounted. The main parameters of the hull are:

• Strength. It is expressed by the number characterizing the "life stock" or health of your ship. When you take Hull damage, your Health decreases. If your Hull strength drops to 0, then the ship is destroyed.
• Resistance. The ability of the hull to reduce damage taken. Hulls take the most damage from Kinetic weapons and the least damage from EM weapons by default, although this can be modified by installing modules that affect the Hull.
• Regeneration. A number indicating how much the Hull regenerates every second. Normally, your Hull does not "heal" and needs to be repaired with a friendly Engineer frigate or by using repair modules. You can install Regenerative Coating and other modules to restore Hull strength otherwise.

Shield

The ship's Shield is an energy barrier that protects your Hull from damage. The enemy’s weapons primarily cause damage to the Shield (except for certain weapons and modules that ignore Shields), and the Shield must be destroyed first before damage to the Hull can occur. If the "charge level" of the Shield reaches 0, then any further damage is applied to the Hull. The Shield is also able to resist damage, like the Hull, and the charge level of the Shield is able to automatically recover (regenerate). Regeneration is constant, but can slow down or accelerate under different influences. The main parameters of the shield are:

• Maximum Charge. It is expressed by a number characterizing your Shield's total health (separate from Hull health).
• Resistance. Shield's ability to reduce damage taken. Shields are the opposite of the Hull: they take the most damage from EM weapons and the least damage from Kinetic weapons. Like the Hull, this can be modified with modules and upgrades.
• Regeneration. A number indicating by how much health the Shield regenerates every second. Can be boosted through modules and upgrades.

Engine

The engine is a complex system that allows the ship to move in space and maneuver. The engine is divided into several parts:

• Drive Engine(s). Used in normal motion. Defines the ship's "speed", "reverse speed", and "acceleration" (how quickly the ship is able to start and stop).
• Afterburners. Determines the ship's "afterburner" speed. When using the afterburner, the ship's energy reserves are consumed. Ideally, Afterburner Energy Consumption should be less than the rate of Energy Regeneration (see Capacitor below). Used to move faster than normal at the cost of using your ship's energy reserves.
• Shunting Engines. Used for lateral displacement of the ship. Determines the ship's ability to "strafe" side to side / up and down, and how quickly. Useful for dodging and advanced maneuverability.
• Rotary Engines. Used to rotate the ship. Determines the ship's "roll" (rotating left/right on it's axis) and "pitch / yaw" (pointing the nose up-down / left-right). Useful for turning quickly and general maneuverability.

Capacitor

The ship's Capacitor is designed to store energy, which can later be spent on the needs of the ship. The capacitor has two main characteristics:

• Capacity. This is how much energy your ship has at any one time when not being used. The more energy you have stored up, the more modules and afterburner you can use.
• Energy regeneration. How fast your Capacitor generates more energy after you've used it. It is useful to attempt getting your Energy Regeneration higher than your Afterburner Energy Use, so that you can afterburn endlessly when wanted.

CPU

The ship's computer is responsible for finding and tracking targets - enemy ships, drones and other objects. The computer has the following main characteristics:

• Sensor Range. This is the maximum line-of-sight distance at which you can identify ships, drones and stationary objects without a teammate spotting it for you.
• Target Lock Time. How fast you can achieve a lock on an enemy ship within sensor range. Normally about 3 seconds, this can be reduced with modules and upgrades. Locking onto an enemy is required for guided missiles and for certain modules and abilities.

Ship classes

Main article: Ships

The class of the ship determines the size of the ship, its speed and maneuverability, the number of slots for modules and weapons. The game features the following classes of ships:

• Interceptor. Small, light, and fast ships - designed for reconnaissance and precision attacks. Armed with two weapons and have the lowest number of cargo spaces (3). These ships are quick and very maneuverable at the cost of health and hitting power.
• Fighter. Well-rounded, medium-sized ships. Designed to gain dominance in space and take on most other ships. They are armed with four weapons and have a modest accommodation for cargo (5). They have balanced handling characteristics and are "good enough" in most situations.
• Frigate. Large, heavy ships designed for firepower and support. Armed with four or six weapons, depending on the type of frigate. Frigates are very slow with poor maneuverability, but they are very tough ships with significant firepower. They have 6 cargo spaces.
• Destroyer. The largest ship class, these battleships are specialized fire support vessels. These ships are very large, extremely tough, and have special weapons, shields, and modules available. They are the slowest ship class, however, and use a different control scheme to fly. They have 12 cargo spaces.

Tech levels (old) and ship ranks

All ships in the game are divided into ranks. The rank determines the relative strength of the ship. As you play, the player gains reputation as a reward for fights and completing objectives. When a certain reputation level is reached, a player gets to the next rank and can access the ships of that rank.

Ranks were previously grouped into threes. Three ranks were one technological level - a tech - T (except T5: ranks 13-17). Ships of different ranks within the same tech have fairly close performance data. The difference in the performance characteristics of the ships of two different techs is much more significant. Until now, the special operation was divided into 3 techs.

Ship roles

The role system is designed not only to make it easier for players to play the game in their favorite style, but also to make it easier for them to choose the ship that best suits them. Each role is associated with a specific set of unique role-playing modules and weapons, supported by specially selected parameters of the ship. Each ship class except for Destroyers have 3 roles.

Cargo spaces

Interceptors - 3 cargo spaces

Fighters - 5 cargo spaces

Frigates - 6 cargo spaces

Destroyers - 12 cargo spaces

Exception is the Mole which has 14 cargo spaces.

Premium ships have two additional spaces. Cargo space can be increased by adding Extended Hull modifier. Each piece adds 3 cargo spaces.

Maximum is 16 cargo spaces.

Ship equipment

An important stage in preparing a ship is equipping it with weapons and modules. When you buy a new ship, you get a pre-set with it, which includes weapons, modifiers, active and passive modules, as well as missiles and / or mines.

Each element of the ship's equipment is installed in a special slot suitable for this type of equipment. The number of slots available on a particular ship is determined by its rank. The characteristics of any equipment item are determined by:

• Available ranks. It is denoted as [Module Name] [digit of max. available rank]. Only modules of the corresponding ranks can be installed on the ship. The display of all available ranks for the equipment can be turned on and off in the settings (Game / Module availability display ).
• Version. It is denoted as Mk.1 .. Mk.5.

Main weapons

The main armament of the ship are it's weapons. The weapons are mounted in rotating mounts that are attached to the hull of the ship. The number of weapons on the ship depends on its class and role. Weapon are divided into three different damage types. See the main page on weapons for details.

Munitions

Ammunition can improve any characteristics of the weapon, sometimes providing a large bonus to one aspect of a weapon by weakening another characteristic.

Missile weapon

The Missile Slot is for additional ship weapons. Self-guided missiles, unguided missiles, combat drones, mines, bombs and stationary barrier fields (for Destroyers) can be equipped here. The weapons or items in this slot is activated, by default, with the right mouse button. Some weapons, such as guided missiles, require a target lock.

Active modules

Active modules are abilities that the player must activate manually, and must be equipped in a module slot.

Active modules are divided into two major parts: role-playing and universal. Role modules are divided into groups corresponding to the roles of ships, and are designed to be installed on ships of the corresponding role.

Universal modules are suitable for all ships (except destroyers, who have their own).

According to the activation method, the modules are divided into automatic, semi-automatic and instantaneous

Special modules

The main difference between a special role module and an active module is that a special module is a permanent part of the ship and cannot be dismantled or replaced (the special modules on crafted ships can be customized by re-equipping). Role modules are divided into three types:

• Improving the parameters of your ship (and/or nearby allies), such as the Gunship Fighter's Overdrive.
• Deterioration of the parameters of enemy ships, such as the Covert-Ops Interceptor's Plasma Web.
• A special weapon, such as a Long-Range Frigate's Disintegrator Laser.

Ship modifiers

Modifiers of the ship are passive modules designed to improve one of the main characteristics of a ship: the Hull, Shield, Capacitor, Computer, or Engine. Ship modifiers are installed in their own special slots.

Ship repairing

In battle, your ship may be shot down (destroyed). In this case, it receives an amount of "damage". If the damage level exceeds a certain point, then you will not be able to take this ship back into battle. Between battles, while in hangar, you can repair your ships. To do this, you need to click the [Repair] button. The cost of repairing the ship is displayed directly on the button. You can enable the auto-repair option. To do this, you need to check the box below the [Repair] button. In this case, the ship will be automatically repaired immediately after returning from combat or Open Space.

Ammo refilling

The ship returns from combat with used ammunition. To refill the ammunition, you need to go to the hanger and click the [Ammo refill] button. Similar to repairing a ship, you can set up automatic-refilling of the ammunition.

Notes