Ships are the core means of transportation, activity, adventure, and combat in Star Citizen. Every ship is a self-contained vehicle with a cockpit, engines, and a role to play in the greater 'verse', from basic cargo haulers like the Hull A to the huge crewed carriers such as the Bengal. Whether in space or on the surface of a planet, ships offer ways to earn Credits through both friendly and hostile means.
"Ships" is the general term for both space/atmosphere Spaceships and ground-based Vehicles that every Citizen may own, operate, and crew.
Roles
Every ships in the universe is designed and built with at least one particular purpose or role in mind; from the eleven-meter M50 Interceptor racing ship to the massive one-kilometer UEE Bengal Carrier fleet flagship.
Different ships are intended to provide a different gaming experience rather than advantages in the game.[1]
Starter
Starter ships are inexpensive and versatile vessels used by fledgling Citizens to begin their journey exploring the universe. Most commonly equipped with a single-seat and a having small cross-section, these ships are seen ubiquitously throughout the universe.
| Examples | Aurora ES | Mustang Alpha | Avenger Titan | Reliant Kore | 100i | 300i | Nomad |
|---|
Exploration
Exploration craft boast powerful sensor suites, larger fuel tanks, and other unique components and upgrades to facilitate charting new frontiers and making grand discoveries. These ships, crewed by those called to adventure, delve into unknown and dangerous depths of space. They intrepidly traverse newly found jump points just for the chance to discover a new system.
| Examples | 315p | Terrapin | Freelancer DUR | Zeus Mk II ES | Constellation Aquila | Corsair | 400i | 600i | Carrack |
|---|
Cargo
Every settlement, station, and ship needs supplies and goods to function; whether the demand is for essential jump fuel or luxurious leather couches. Cargo ships are owned and operated by traders, merchants, and haulers seeking to deliver these goods for the highest profit, utilizing expansive cargo holds and improved engines to haul as much cargo as possible.
| Examples | Hull (series) | MPUV Cargo | R.A.F.T. | Freelancer MAX | Zeus Mk II CL | Constellation Taurus | Caterpillar | C2 Hercules |
|---|
Combat
Combat ships are purpose-built and designed to interdict, outmaneuver, and disable or destroy targeted ships. Bristling with weapons and boasting improved power plants, combat ships have small or non-existent cargo holds and other accessories for maximum combat efficiency. These ships are further broken down into different combat roles.
Fighters
Fighters are combat ships designed for one or two persons; often with forward-facing weapons and focused on taking down other ships of similar size. These fighters can be found all over the universe, whether as bounty hunters or as part of the front line of a capital ship battle.
| Examples | Gladius | Arrow | F7C Hornet | Sabre | Vanguard Warden | Aurora LN | Mustang Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 325a | Buccaneer | Reliant Tana | Cutlass Black | P52 Merlin | F8 Lightning | Hurricane |
Bombers
Bombers carry a large payload of torpedoes and/or other heavy ordnance for tactical and strategic strikes against larger targets.
| Examples | Vanguard Harbinger | Gladiator | Eclipse | Retaliator (with torpedo module) | A2 Hercules |
|---|
Combat utility ships
Combat utility ships are small ships with support equipment, radar, non-lethal weapons, or other specialized equipment. They take on a role beyond simply destroying enemy targets; usually used to support squadrons or fleets with their abilities.
| Examples | Cutlass Blue | Zeus Mk II MR | F7C-R Hornet Tracker | Avenger Stalker | Avenger Warlock | Vanguard Sentinel |
|---|
Corvettes
Corvettes are large ships that are nearly as capable as capital ships. They require crew contingents greater than fighters but not as large as a full capital ship. These ships serve as support ships to capitals in large fleets or as flagships of small fleets or militias. They are generally designed for the UEE Navy, with many models having "civilian" versions for sale to the general public.
| Examples | Hammerhead | Nautilus | Perseus | Carrack |
|---|
Capital ships
Capital ships are larger, heavier, and carry more people, or crew, than fighters. As with fighters, crewed ships may either be general combat ships or focus on a specific role. Many of these heavier combat ships are part of the UEE Navy and are not available to Citizens
| Examples | Polaris Corvette | Idris Frigate | Javelin Destroyer | Pegasus Escort Carrier | Bengal Carrier | Kraken |
|---|
Mining
Mining ships work to extract raw materials from asteroids in space and rocks on planetary surfaces. These ships are usually not well armed or armored as their design is fully focused on their main goal.
| Examples | ROC | Prospector | MOLE | Arrastra | Orion |
|---|
Salvage
These ships aim at recovering materials from space junk and derelict ships. They work by pulverizing pieces of ships into small pieces that can be sorted and melted down for recycling.
| Examples | Reclaimer | Vulture |
|---|
Racing
Packing oversized engines and power plants at the expense of every other component, racing ships are unparalleled in their speed and maneuverability. Often lightly armed and free of any cargo hold, these sleek ships can fly at breathtaking speeds as they cruise around a race course; racers dream of winning the Murray Cup.
| Examples | M50 Interceptor | Mustang Gamma | Mustang Omega | 350r | Razor |
|---|
Specialized
With many different roles to fulfill in the universe, these ships often fall into a class of their own; filling a niche need without significant competition. Specialized roles include passenger transportation or scientific research, though the customization of other ships may allow them to fulfill this role to a lesser degree.
| Examples | MPUV Personnel | Genesis Starliner | Reliant Mako | Reliant Sen | Crucible | Herald |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constellation Phoenix | Endeavor | 890 Jump | Mercury Star Runner | Expanse |
Multi-Role
Whether through inbuilt versatility or modularity, multi-role ships can accomplish more than one job effectively. These ships do not occupy a single niche and thus are usually not "the best" ship for any one role. Ships that fulfill multiple roles through versatility are the Swiss Army knives of the 'verse. For example, the Avenger Titan advanced starter ship has a sizable cargo grid, solid weaponry, and habitation space, making it decently effective for hauling, combat, and living away from port. Modular ships execute their separate roles through various levels of reconfiguration. This effectively turns them into something of an above-mentioned "Specialized" ship while thus configured.
| Examples | Avenger Titan | Cutter | Freelancer | Cutlass Black | Constellation Andromeda | 600i |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy | Endeavor | Retaliator | Mercury Star Runner | Carrack |
Alien ships
Many alien ships also exist in the universe, most normally not flyable by humans without serious modification. Replica crafts are included in the above tables and were designed and fitted by human and some alien manufacturers for use by Citizens.
| Examples | Syulen | Blade | Glaive | Scythe | Defender | Khartu-al | Talon | Prowler |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Railen | Merchantman | Void | Harvester | Driller | Kingship | Qhire Khartu |
Manufacturers
Ship manufacturers design and build ships for military and civilian use, spending decades and billions of credits on research and development.
| Ship Manufacturers | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
Aegis Dynamics | Growing to prominence in the First Tevarin War, Aegis craft became a symbol of the oppressive Messer regime before shifting into civilian craft. |
 |
Anvil Aerospace | A Terra based ship manufacturer with a strong focus on military craft. |
 |
AopoA | Xi'an ship manufacturer, also produces the Khartu-al for sale in the UEE. |
 |
ARGO Astronautics | ARGO focuses on small utility vehicles such as the MPUV Cargo for intrasystem freight. |
 |
Banu Souli | Individual Banu manufacturers which manufactures Banu ships such as the Merchantman. |
 |
Consolidated Outland | Produces the affordable but high-quality Mustang series of ships. |
 |
Crusader Industries | Crusader designs the Genesis Starliner along with other commercial transports and military thrusters. |
 |
Drake Interplanetary | Drake offers ships for militia and the less morally inclined. Ships such as the Cutlass are often found in pirate gangs and outposts. |
 |
Esperia Inc. | Produces alien ship replicas for private collectors and the military for training purposes. |
 | Gatac Manufacture | Produces Xi'an commercial and industrial space craft for interspecies utilization. |
 |
Kruger Intergalactic | Primarily a weapons manufacturer, Kruger leveraged a deal with RSI to produce snub fighters for the Constellation. |
 |
Mirai | Mirai, a subsidiary of MISC, specializes in high performance snub ships that dominate racetracks and battlefields. |
 |
Musashi Industrial and Starflight Concern | Musashi Industrial and Starflight Concern produces reliable industrial ships that can be found in the hands of traders, explorers and miners. |
 |
Origin Jumpworks GmbH | Origin Jumpworks focuses on high-end luxury ships such as the 300i with many variants to specialize the model. |
 |
Roberts Space Industries | The original creators of the quantum drive, RSI's large lineup of ships are versatile and reliable. |
Sizes
A ships size, when written as a value, is a simplified overview of both the scale of a ship's physicality, and the scope of its player investment. While these values are not absolutes, i.e. some Capital ships may be smaller and some Medium ships may be larger, it is intended only to be a starting point in your understanding of a particular ship's place in the Star Citizen universe, and not the final word on what it can and cannot do.[2]
While there are many practical reasons as to why giving a ship a specific size value is important, two of the most useful reasons in Star Citizen are:
- Hangars and landing pads
- Hangars and landing pads throughout the universe are specific sizes, and as such can only safely accommodate ships of that size or smaller. For example, while there is nothing stopping a large ship landing on a small planet-side landing pad, a large ship will not physically fit into a small hangar onboard a space station, no matter how hard the pilot tries.
- Jump points
- Just as the number of jump points throughout the universe vary, so does their size. As such, jump points are given a size value which corresponds to the maximum size of a ship that can travel through it.
Definitions
As Star Citizen is currently in development, and as the community engaging with it grows, different definitions have been used by both developers and community members to describe various ship size values. Some examples of these have been referenced below.[3]
| Ship descriptions and game files | Ship matrix and pledge store | Comm-Link and hangar files | Width | Length | Height | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | Snub / Small | Tiny (XXS) | 12 | 16 | 6 | |
| S2 | Small | Extra Small (XS) | 24 | 32 | 12 | |
| S3 | Medium | Small (S) | 48 | 48 | 16 | |
| S4 | Large | Medium (M) | 56 | 88 | 18 | |
| S5 | Large | Large (L) | 72 | 128 | 36 | |
| S6 | Capital | Extra Large (XL) | 160 | 272 | 64 |
Additionally, common examples of the ship sizes used in-game are as follows.
| Ship size | Sample Ships | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle | Ursa | Lynx | Cyclone | PTV |
| Snub | Archimedes | X1 | 85X | Dragonfly |
| Small | Defender | Razor | Sabre | Terrapin |
| Medium | Freelancer | Eclipse | Cutlass | Vanguard |
| Large | Carrack | Reclaimer | Merchantman | Constellation |
| Capital | Orion | Hull-E | Endeavor | Polaris |
Vehicle
Can only be operated on ground, the range spans from simple personal transport vehicles like the Greycat PTV, through exploration rovers like the Lynx and Ursa to much larger vehicles. Can often be crewed by a single player or a small group.[2]
Snub
A ship that is completely dependent on another ship to work over a wide area. Sometimes referred to as a parasite craft. Will work in space and atmosphere with generally only a single pilot. Often has no Quantum Drive or fuel intakes which limit its range without the parent ship. An example of this is the Dragonfly.[2]
Small
Generally up to 25m in length. Ships that operate in space with Quantum capability. Ideal for solo operators but not exclusively single-seaters. Appropriate for the vast majority of landing pads on stations throughout the verse.[2]
Medium
Most commonly 25-50m in length. Can be operated independently, but will flourish most effectively with additional crew. Often contains living accommodations for the crew to support extended missions or some form of cargo area. Designed to be played well by a small group of friends.[2]
Large
Frequently found in the 50-150m length range, these ships can be operated with a skeleton crew, but really require an experienced medium to large crew working together as a unit throughout the mission to achieve their goals. Maintenance and repair costs often become a significant factor in this size bracket.[2]
Capital
Huge ships that are often (but not exclusively) over 150m in length and require a significant investment in time or crew to maintain let alone run. The crew needs to be skilled in many areas to effectively operate these colossal ships and often need a small fleet of supporting ships to keep them in the best condition or out of harms way. While these ships are not designed for the casual, individual player, they will offer a unique gameplay experience to the dedicated crew who put in the time and resources.[2]
Trivia
See also
References
- ↑ SCAA Interviews 001 Ben Lesnick, Nichole D'Angelo, YouTube, 1 Feb 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6
- ↑ Star Citizen ship overview table - Ship size metric Retrieved 2023-03-12
- ↑ Star Citizen - Chris Roberts Interview [Part 2], MMORPGcom, YouTube, 31 Dec 2013
- ↑ "it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a ship at that level of detail and put it in there", Chris Roberts, Eurogamer, 9 Oct 2014