Ships

Movement controls

The movement controls menu

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

Display	Setting	Effects
ORB	Orbit Position	Move to a designated area and orbit around it
POS	Move To Position	Move to a designated area and hold position
CHD	Clear Hold Heading	Cancels a Hold Heading command
HDG	Hold Heading	Face the selected direction regardless of heading
CRS	Drive Course	Travel in a direction indefinitely
CRL	Clear Roll Ship	Cancels a Roll Ship command
ROL	Roll Ship	Selects a new direction as the "up" direction of the ship
FRM	Form With Ship	Choose a ship to become a guide ship and then designate a position around it
CLR	Clear HDG/ROL	Cancels Hold Heading and Roll Ship commands
ALD	Assume Lead	Become the new guide ship of the formation
ALL STOP	Hold Position	Cancels all movement commands

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

The posture controls

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

Display	Full name	Settings
THRTL	Throttle Control	1/3: Ship will move at 1/3 of max speed. 2/3: Ship will move at 2/3 of max speed. FULL: Ship will move at max speed. FLANK: Ship will move above max speed. Causes damage to engines.
MNVR	Maneuvering Posture	DIRECT: Ship will move in a straight line. EVADE: Ship will make random course changes to attempt to avoid incoming fire.
FORM	Formation Positioning	REL: Ships will have the same orientation of the guide ship. The guide will wait for other ships to catch up. TRU: Each ship will keep its own orientation. The guide will wait for other ships to catch up. LOOSE: The guide will not wait for other ships to catch up.
BSHRT	Battle-Short	OFF: Specialized equipment will shut down after 90 seconds of use. ON: Specialized equipment will periodically receive damage after 90 seconds of use.
RADAR	Radar Emissions Control	ON: Ship sensors are active. OFF: Ship sensors are inactive. -25% signature.
COMM	Communications Emissions Control	XMIT: Ship comms are active. RECV: Ship sensors are inactive. -10% signature.
ESUPT	Electronic Support Modules	ON: Electronic support will display. OFF: Electronic support will not display.
WCON	Weapons Control	FREE: Ship will automatically return fire with non-missile weapons on targets that are firing at them. TIGHT: Ship will not attack except when given a target. HOLD: Ship will not attack. Turrets will still bear on any current target.
PDTRT	Point Defenses - Turrets	AUTO: Dedicated point defense turrets and dual-purpose weapons will target the closest missiles. DEDI: Dedicated point defense turrets will target the closest missiles. MAN: Point defense turrets will only shoot at designated missiles.
PDSML	Point Defenses - Missiles	Controls the firing of interceptor missiles. Click to open policy settings.
DECOY	Point Defenses - Decoys	LEAST: Only the lowest-capability decoy necessary to defeat a given threat will be deployed. If the missile type is unknown all decoys will be fired. BEST: Only the highest-capability decoy necessary to defeat a given threat will be deployed. If the missile type is unknown all decoys will be fired. AUTO: All decoys compatible with the threat will be deployed. If the missile type is unknown all decoys will be fired. MAN: Decoys can only be deployed manually via the Action Menu.
PDZNE	Point Defense Zone	AREA: Point defenses will target all missiles, prioritizing the ones threatening the ship. POINT: Point defenses will target only missiles threatening the ship.

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. Larger ships can carry more components but they are slower and easier to detect.

Shelter Alliance hulls

Shelter Alliance ships scale linearly. The larger the ship the higher its stats, both positive and negative.

Name	Mass (tonnes)	Armor Thickness (cm)	Component DR (%)	Base Crew Complement	Crew Vulnerability (%)	Structural Integrity	Radar Signature (m2)	Modifiers	Point Cost
Sprinter Corvette Class	3000	8	0	40	60	1000	2890	-20% Flak Damage Probability	100
Raines Frigate Class	5000	15	5	50	60	3000	3783	-15% Flak Damage Probability +1 Missile Programming Channels	125
Keystone Destroyer Class	8000	22	10	50	45	4000	6281	+1 Missile Programming Channels -75% Overheat Damage Chance (Beam) +25% Powerplant Efficiency	200
Lauxhall Light Cruiser Class	10000	30	20	75	25	5500	11727	+2 Missile Programming Channels	350
Axford Heavy Cruiser Class	13000	40	40	90	25	6500	14332	+2 Missile Programming Channels	600
Solomon Battleship Class	21000	52	40	150	30	8000	27876		1000

Outlying Systems Protectorate hulls

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

Name	Mass (tonnes)	Armor Thickness (cm)	Component DR (%)	Base Crew Complement	Crew Vulnerability (%)	Structural Integrity	Radar Signature (m2)	Modifiers	Point Cost
Shuttle Clipper Class	1500	5	0	55	60	1000	2890	-20% Flak Damage Probability	50
Tugboat Clipper Class	3500	5	0	40	60	1000	4685	-20% Recycle Time	75
Cargo Feeder Monitor Class	5000	40	20	40	60	1000	9869		175
Ocello Command Cruiser Class	12000	30	40	80	25	6500	15745	+2 Missile Programming Channels	575
Bulk Freighter Line Ship Class	15000	20	35	100	75	3000	15745	+20% Team Move Speed	350
Container Liner Line Ship Class	15000	20	20	100	75	3000	15745	+2 Missile Programming Channels	1000