350 m, just above the longest ship ever: why the carrier is built as it is
Published
The carrier is your flagship. Here is why it is built the way it is.
350 m long
Why: it is the largest carrier, so it is just longer than the longest naval vessel ever built, USS Enterprise at 342 m[1].
Decided 2026-10-22 · scripts/ship_catalog.gd SHIPS["Imperial"] = 350 m
100,000 t
Why: every ship is anchored on a real counterpart; the carrier’s is the Nimitz class, 100,000 to 104,600 long tons at full load[2]. Its mass decides what every jump costs: see warp fuel.
Decided 2026-10-25 · scripts/ship_catalog.gd MASS["Imperial"] = 100,000 t
80,000 hull at Mk3
Derived: a carrier has 20,000 hull at Mk1, scaled by its Mark’s power: ×4 at Mk3, the carrier’s level. Fighter guns do a tenth of their damage to a hull this size, so a raid goes for the fighters first, then the guns, then the hull.
Built 2026-10-25 · scripts/marks.gd HULLS["carrier"] = 20,000 × MARKS[3].power 4
Disabled at zero, not destroyed
Why: at zero hull the carrier is disabled, not lost. It limps at a quarter of its top speed, launches nothing, can’t jump, hot drop or burn, and can’t be shot further.
Built 2026-10-25 · scripts/ship.gd LIMP := 0.25, disable()
100 m/s, 16 s to full speed, 10° a second
Why: “speeds are already compressed for fun”, and each hull class has one top speed, the same in air and in space. The carrier’s handling copies the battleship’s until it is tuned: these three are placeholders.
Decided 2026-10-24 · scripts/ship_catalog.gd HULLS["Carrier"] max_speed = 100, accel_time = 16, turn_rate = 10
Two hangar bays, amidships
Why: “not the stern, the engines are there; not the belly, a landed carrier must still launch”. One queue for the whole hangar, first come first served; each docking ship gets the least busy bay.
Built 2026-10-24 · scripts/ship_catalog.gd MOUNTS["Imperial"] (bays)
Launch in 4 s, dock in 6 s
Why: recovering takes longer than launching. With an enemy near, both go hot: a catapult-style shot at full speed instead of a 4-second slide (“chill = peaceful, hot = dynamic action”). Hot launches change the look only; they cost nothing.
Built 2026-10-24 · scripts/hangar.gd LAUNCH_TIME = 4, DOCK_TIME = 6
Three point-defence mounts
Why: the carrier fights through its fighters and defends itself at close range. See point defence for every number behind its guns.
Decided 2026-10-23 · scripts/ship_catalog.gd MOUNTS["Imperial"]
A 12-second jump spool
Why: bigger ships take longer, and there is no cool-down. While it spools, docking goes first: whoever is inside when it jumps goes along.
Built 2026-10-23 · scripts/ship_catalog.gd JUMP_DRIVES["Imperial"] = 12.0
10,000 m³ of fuel
Why: the tank is anchored on a Nimitz-class carrier’s jet-fuel load, about three million gallons of JP-5[3]: roughly 11,400 m³ (derived), rounded down to 10,000 m³. What a jump burns from it is on the warp fuel page.
Decided 2026-10-25 · scripts/modules.gd TYPES["fuel_tanks"] = 10,000 m³
250,000 m³ inside
Why: the room for everything built into the hull: bridge, reactor, jump drive, a hangar for 70 craft, quarters, a 35,000 m³ hold and 10,000 m³ of fuel tanks. More tanks mean more range but less room for the hangar and hold. The total is an in-game estimate of what a ship this size encloses.
Decided 2026-10-25 · scripts/modules.gd HULLS["Imperial"]
Related
- 350 m long, 80,000 hull: the carrier
- Each tracer is three real rounds: why point defence works as it does
- No waiting, but the real distance: why jump fuel works as it does
- Fun first, real numbers as flavour: how the game is designed
Sources
- USS Enterprise (CVN-65), Wikipedia.
1,123 ft (342 m) (after refit) … she is the longest naval vessel ever built
- Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, Wikipedia.
100,000 to 104,600 long tons (101,600–106,300 t) full load
- Fuel in potable water system delays deployment of carrier USS Nimitz, The Maritime Executive.
Nimitz-class carriers can carry about three million gallons of JP-5 on board