Hey all!

With version .4 and beyond we’re going to take a bit of a break from the characters and move to the ships and military that will be so instrumental in your character’s power!! This post will talk about the ships under your command.

Basics

In Imperia, all military ships will have the following:
*Engines (warp, sublight ratings) warp speed rating determines number of distance units able to move per month
*Weapons (missiles, cannons, lasers)
*Defensive systems (armor, shields, ECM)
*Subsystems (ECCM, tactical system, counter missiles)
*Cargo capacity (for supplies and Marines)

Ships have a extended range, long-range, medium-range, and short-range attack rating, derived from their weaponry plus AI bonus plus leadership bonuses, as well as corresponding defensive ratings. These ratings are compared to each other during each phase of a battle.

So for example, the USS Hawking, with an extended range attack rating of 20 (they have 2 long range missile systems which at the extended range and hit probability work out to 10 each) goes up against the ISS Fubar, with an extended defense rating of 5 (they have no ECM and very basic AMM capability). Dividing the attack rating into the defense rating gives the extended range attack a 75% chance of succeeding (5/20). All attacks are considered salvos for simplicity, but each weapon fired in the salvo is checked against this hit percentage. Continuing the example, one missile system hits, and one does not. Next, damage is checked. Missiles do not have a ‘fall off’ amount with range, so the calculation is simple – damage points (say 50) minus average shield rating minus average armor rating = damage done to the ship itself. Armor damage is taken if damage points get through the shields. If no damage points get through the shields, no armor damage is taken. From that point, there is a determination of which systems are affected and taken offline.

Each battle round, each side determines if they are going to break off, meaning that the combat is over if the attacker breaks off, and the defender must endure additional rounds without firing back equal to the range they have entered plus one attack in the current range. So if the defender decided to break off when the ships were in medium range, the attacker would get 4 ‘free’ attacks (medium + medium + long + extended) In certain situations (usually when there is drive damage) ships can not break off. After any determination of break off is made, the range of the next attack is determined by several factors, including the attacker’s preferred range, the engine ratings of both sides, and the tactical ratings of the leaders of both sides. Generally, the attacker has the advantage to ‘force’ a range, but this can be offset by the defenders maneuverability and superior leadership. Combat continues until the sides reach disengagement range or one side is destroyed. Alternately, one side can surrender if your empire military policy allows for prisoners. (no quarter vs. no mercy)

Ratings are adjusted by type of ship, technology level, and crew efficiency. So if a missile system has base attack ratings of 10/20/40/30, an exceptional tactical AI may increase those ratings to 20/40/80/60, while a crew may adjust it further. You will always know the modified ratings. The same holds true for defenses ratings, and these are affected by the type of weapon being used.

All ships will have names above destroyer. They will be generated from a random file (that will be modifiable as a simple text file). As Emperor, you would not be involved in naming every ship, but you will have the ability to name one of your ships after yourself. You will also be able to designate a fleet flagship.

Fleets

Ships are organized into fleets–>task force–>squadrons. The only ships that are run as singletons are system defense ships. Even destroyers must be designated to a squadron to be considered active. Newly built ships are placed in reserve until assigned and are inactive. They must be assigned to a sector fleet, Prime fleet (the emperor’s fleet) or system defense forces. Ships that are sublight are considered system defense ships and may not be assigned to a fleet. If ships are assigned to Prime Fleet above a certain amount, it is considered tyrannical. Your Empire will use your capital planet’s Admin to run fleets that are not assigned specifically to a sector command, such as Prime Fleet or Empire-designated fleets. Task forces are usually the largest force that can be assigned to a sector, since they usually have fewer Admin points to use. A sector governor may, at their discretion, assign part of their sector task force to a system and place those forces under a system governor, but this is rare. Ships will never be commanded by a viceroy.

All fleets are run by an admiral, as are task forces. Squadrons are considered to have inherent command structure but generally would be run by commodores or lower. Ships are crewed by trained crews that gain experience as they fight and train.

Building Ships

All ships are built at starship production centers (SPC); maximum ship size that the SPC can build depends on the SPC level. Damage can be repaired at starbases or SPCs, depending on level. So it is entirely possible to have a damaged dreadnaught that was built by a planet that you no longer own, with only one place to repair it (the empire capital). You must plan for your support infrastructure when you are designing your Navy.

Planet Attacks

Ships can attack planets with kinetic strikes if they have railguns. While this is very effective to quell unrest, it is obviously a Tyrannical act. Sector governors and system governors (if they have ships under their command) can do this independently if they feel the need (and if they are Cruel or Craven enough; most leaders would not resort to this). You can also send missiles at a planet; however you alone have that ability and many admirals will simply refuse to do so, as this is considered an atrocity against your people and causes tremendous damage to the planet itself (bio rating) as well as the population and economic sector ratings.

Ship sizes

System defense ships: Size 0
Frigates, destroyers : Size I
Light, heavy cruisers: Size II
Battle cruisers: Size III
Battleships, dreadnaughts: Size IV
Superdreadnaughts: Size V

Component types

Weapons
Missiles
Railguns
Gauss cannons
Lasers
Defense
Armor
Shields
AMM systems
ECM
Engines
Warp engines
Sublight engines
Transport
Cargo bays
Troop bays
Tracking
Radar
Lidar
AI
Tactical AI system
Defense AI system

Ship Design/Assignments

Ships generally are designed by your Military Prime and their staff. As Emperor, you can ask for a certain type of ship to be built (“I want a very powerful superdreadnaught class available!”) and after a certain amount of time that design (as your military perceives it) will be available to build. You may create build orders as a military Edict, so for example, if you have 2 classes of ships, the Wasp Class (destroyer with good ECM ratings and speed) and the Hornet Class (heavy cruiser with good missile ratings and excellent armor and shields) and you want to create a sector defense task group down the line, you can ask for 2 Wasps and 4 Hornets to be built as a build order. Your military will designate which SPCs are used to build the ships, and when they are done, you may designate them to a specific organization or create a new organization and assign an admiral from your military character pool. Fleet organization actions use Admin, but they are not considered Edicts, but Military Actions, similar to Character Actions.

To be continued…

-Steve