Standard Sci-Fi Fleet: Difference between revisions

To compare the size of ships from various series please use [http://www.merzo.net/index.html this finely crafted link] for a very helpful site, that has all your Standard Sci Fi vessels in scale to one another.

 

These are characterized by having a relatively short endurance; unlike a 'real' spaceship, small craft don't independently travel long distances or stay in space for weeks on end. Consequently, small craft are almost always attached to a base of some sort. Furthermore, most don't have [[FTL]], whether because it would be too expensive, a trip would take too long, or the engine would just be too big.

* ''[[Escape Pod]]'' - Not a craft in its own right, but a lifeboat <small>[[Recycled in Space|IN SPACE]]</small>. These are very common in science fiction works: When a larger ship is about to be destroyed, the crew will scramble for the escape pods, hoping to reach rescue or at least a <s>desert island</s> [[Conveniently-Close Planet|habitable planet]]. Generally these have only rudimentary engines and no weapons, but will carry some survival supplies. Can be used to create dramatic situations with stranded or adrift characters, or just to get civilians and [[Red Shirt|redshirts]] out of the way so the main cast can save the day at the last possible moment.

** ''[[Drop Pod]]'' - Instead of deploying infantry together in ships, transports will sometimes drop individual soldiers or [[Humongous Mecha]] in pods or very heavy armor. Also comes in a ship-to-ship variety for marines.

 

These are full-fledged space ships; they have the endurance to go anywhere, but aren't powerful enough to be actual capital ships (military vessels may be referred to as "sub-capital" ships). The addition of [[Stealth in Space|stealth/cloaking capability]] to any of these turns them into the equivalent of submarines, allowing writers to [[Recycled in Space|recycle WW2-era destroyer vs. U-boat stories]], regardless of the [[You Fail Physics Forever|bad physics involved]].

* ''Cutter/Corvette/Frigate/Destroyer'' - Various smaller warships, ranging from small assault boats slightly larger than a Bomber to massive ships nearly a mile in length. Which size class gets which name varies from universe to universe, but is usually in the size and name order given above. With the exception of those crewed by main characters, these are usually the equivalent to [[Red Shirt|Red Shirts]] in the fleet when the shooting starts. Generally speaking, deployed in groups ("flotillas") or as escorts for larger ships. They're sometimes referred to (especially destroyers) as "Tin Cans" because of their thin hulls.

* ''Yacht'' - An unarmed (usually), [[Starship Luxurious|often spacious and pleasant]] civilian ship, designed to carry VIPs from A to B, in style and comfort. Usually these will have an escort.

 

The most powerful warships in a fleet; when people talk about fleet strength, counting capships is the quick and dirty way to do it. The presence of just ''one'' of these in an area can influence strategic calculations. These ships tend to be expensive to build. So expensive, in fact, that in "realistic" settings (well, the ones where [[Space Is an Ocean|space fleets function like WWII surface naval fleets]] anyway, which isn't actually realistic) they are almost never deployed without escorts and the captain will usually have an admiral on the scene to answer to in the squadron/task force/fleet. In other settings, these get treated as extra-big cruisers. Either way, unless you're in a huge fleet battle, losing one of these is a big deal. A uniquely big one may be [[The Mothership]].

* ''Ship of the Line/Battleship/Dreadnought'' - A massive ship, usually the largest ship in the fleet, bristling with big guns. The navy's [[Mighty Glacier]]. (Note that the term "fast battleship" exists, because some of them, like the Iowa, were really fast in addition to having shitloads of guns and armor. In the real world, being huge meant that they had more room for sailes/engines/reactors, meaning that [[Bigger Is Better]] in almost every respect. However in sci-fi, they practically always move at a snail's pace because [[Lightning Bruiser|really heavily armed and armored AND really fast ships]] would leave those [[Artistic License Economics|taking Artistic License with Economics]] the question 'Why do we make anything else ?' For the rest of us, the answer is logistics and economics. Even strategy games, which often abstract or handwave away advanced economic concerns, recognise that bigger ships take more resource and time to build while requiring more crew or advanced AI control. Depending on the faction's economic capabilities, it's simply not possible to build only capitals.)

* ''Banner Ships'' - Not necessary a true warship, but essentially carrying either the command party and a variety of tools to coordinate and command allied ships. Its sight in the battlefield brings despair to the foes and hope to the allies. May be either unarmed so it can be an iron fortress for the fighters or armed sufficiently to protect itself. Think of them as the space variant of an [[wikipedia:Airborne early warning and control|AWACS]] or a [[wikipedia:USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19)|command and control ship]].

 

Some ships stand out due to various unique constructions or abilities, and are less noted for specific size or roles. These aren't found in every series, but appear often and are notable enough to warrant special mention:

* ''Detachable Drive'' - An uncommon class of ship or Small Craft that basically serves as a flight system to allow a ship type of similar or smaller size to move further than it is normally designed to (Faster Than Light travel for an extreme example). These are often little more than a drive system, fuel, and an external docking mechanism for the craft to attach to (see also [[Mecha Expansion Pack]]). Commonly used by [[Space Fighter|Space Fighters]] or [[Humongous Mecha]], although versions for larger ships are also seen from time to time. They're always ''way'' cooler than mere Space Tugboats.

 

As noted in the Army trope, the variety of these ships often varies by medium. As even with animation (traditional ''or'' CGI), making and showing a lot of stuff can be time-consuming or expensive. Therefore, many television series' or movies stick with Battlestar or Cruiser-class vessels only, while games often expand further than that.

 

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* [[Gundam]] is the (sub-) [[Trope Namer]] for the Assault Carrier, and otherwise features primarily Cruisers and Battleships, with [[Humongous Mecha]] as their primary space fighter. As well as, naturally, Space Colonies and other stations.

** Fleetmind adds another variation called Penetrators, which are basically (sometimes) recoverable missiles which also contain a drop-pod. Flung up to near-c by a launcher, a single one can capture an Ob'enn Thunderhead by simultaneously scramming the main annie plant (and do so safely most of the time, which in itself is very impressive), and implant an agent to subvert the AI. There are also what they call "Extortionators" for their use in [[Gunboat Diplomacy]] - relatively small weapon platforms slapped on the main power source bigger than everything a battleplate packs put together.

* ''[[Crimson Dark]]'' has most of the above. Both sides have fighters, bombers, frigates, destroyers, and carriers. The Republic calls their big warships Battleships, while the Alliance equivalent are called Heavy Cruisers. And then there's Behemoth class - probably classifiable as [[The Battlestar]], since it was described as "Not so much a ''ship'' as a mobile ''station''". Their are also a variety of civilian freighters seen in the comic.

 

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