Ships

Movement controls
If a formation action menu is opened movement controls will be applied to the guide ship.

Tactics

 * ORB / Orbit Position allows most weapons to have a good angle on the target. However it also exposes the same armor side continuously, which can be whittled down with enough fire.
 * HDG / Hold Heading can be used to avoid exposing the main engines, drive module and reactor to enemy fire but the ships will have less acceleration.
 * ROL / Roll Ship can be used to keep certain weapons or radar panels angled at an enemy ship. Ships can roll faster than enemy ships of the same size can position around them.
 * ALD / Assume Lead is useful if the guide ship becomes disabled but the rest of the fleet need to carry on with their objective.

Posture controls
Posture controls determine how a ship will operate and maneuver and which sensor and defensive systems are enabled.

Missiles
Missiles are the most powerful weapons but they have limited ammunition, can be shot down and fire slower than other weapons. The number of missiles that can be prepared to fire at the same time depends on the ship's maximum salvo size. There are three types of missile guidance:
 * Command guided missiles are guided by the launching ship. They fly in a straight line and if they miss the target they will turn around and try again until they runs out of fuel, are shot down, or finally hit the target. They are very difficult to avoid but can be rendered harmless by destroying the launching ship or jamming its sensors or communications. Command guided missiles must be shot at a sensor track.
 * Active radar guided missiles guide themselves. They can be ordered to fly along indirect paths. When they reach the end of their path they will seek a target in a cone in front of them. If fired at long range they can be avoided with evasive maneuvers. They are also vulnerable to jamming or sufficiently advanced decoys.
 * Semi-active guided missiles guide themselves but require an illuminator to home in on a target. The illuminating signal can be provided by any ship with an illuminator but can be blocked by asteroids. They are less vulnerable to jamming and decoys.

Ship hulls
Ship hulls determine a ship's base stats as well as how many components it can have.

Shelter Alliance hulls
Shelter Alliance ships scale linearly. Larger ships are more resilient and carry more components but are slower and more expensive.

Outlying Systems Protectorate hulls
Outlying Systems Protectorate are more specialized, with each ship hull being made for different roles.