SSF:Smooth Sailing Fleet - Every ship tested against Grinder

[DavidBeoulve]

Smooth Sailing Fleet

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE FLEET

Every vessel in the Fleet is tested against the Grinder by placing a lone AI ship (no friendly space station, no obstructing asteroids) against the waves. If your ships, individually, can't beat the Grinder, they will balance well with SSF ships. The SSF Fleet is also designed to look good (in a classical fashion) and not bog down your computer.

1. Each SSF Warship is tested alone versus the Grinder using these settings:
   • SSF Warship is placed on AI only
   • No friendly space station
   • No obstructing asteroids
2. SSF Warships promise not to bog down your computer or the game, unless you spam the field with them. Think "Star Trek" (3-5 ships) instead of "Star Wars" (12+) engagements.
3. All ships are copyleft. You can reuse them and make them your own as long as you retain credit to the original designer (and add credit for yourself for your alterations).

Classical fashion is defined as: Capital Ships with a clearly defined head, midship and stern.

Table of Contents

• What They Say
• SSF Fleet Ships
• SSF Fleet Ranks
• Advertisement & Promotional Images

What They Say

1. "Amazing, beautiful, cohesive... highly fitting for some sort of newly-interred spacefaring nation. Brilliant." - Aralonia
2. "Man, that fleet is AWESOME. " - Master Chief
3. "If I must say so myself, that is the single most dense piece of balanced awesomeness anyone has ever posted for their first ship or fleet. Well done!" - Normandy
4. "Very nice fleet - balance is priority in my eyes. Anarki rules." - Anarki
5. "I don't like the ships themselves that much, but i have to admit that is a very well thought out and coherent style. Youve certainly put alot work into it. As for balancing and loadout - truly top notch, instant respect boost from me. Great idea with 'Grinder Testing', gonna try it out when i have enough time to make ships... Hope to see more of your creations." - Kaelis
6. "Very nice and love the testing." - Artman40
7. "These are real nice ships. Paintjob is good too." - AllStarZ
8. "My 4 battleships vs. the SSF heavy cruiser match went for 20 minutes. The first 15 minutes it was in doubt which side would win. Very nice to have an idea if a ship that you are considering downloading and playing against is a reasonable match before you even download it!" - Jafo

SSF Fleet Ships

Fighter

Weapons: 2x Gatling Blasters, 2x Scatter Beams
Defensive Systems: 1x Particle Gun
Role: Flanking, enemy harassment.
Description: Dangerous in numbers, Fighters are otherwise infamous for the explosions they make when hit by enemy fire.

Commanded by a Fighter Captain to Colonel (squad leader). 1 crew.

Fighter Bomber

Weapons: 8x Missile Launchers
Defensive Systems: None
Role: Tactical Support
Description: Fighter Bombers have no defense against asteroids, so must be kept behind other ships. Their missile batteries can hammer opponents who lack the defensive capabilities to stop them.

Commanded by a Fighter Captain to Colonel (squad leader). 4 crew.

Assault Corvette

GRINDER: 1 / 1 or 1 / 3 as a group of 3
(Starts losing structural integrity at or around wave 1, vessel destruction at or around wave 1 if alone. If one of each type of Corvette is present, they collectively make it to wave 3)

Weapons: 3x3 Blasters, 2x Scatter Beams
Defensive Systems: 2x Particle Guns
Role: Patrol Gunship / Pirate Deterrant
Description: While Assault Corvettes can hold their own against small craft, they are simply no match for Capital Ships. This Corvette can take on small pirate craft and enforce civilian control.

Commanded by a Fleet Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander. 12-15 crew.

Ion Beam Corvette

GRINDER: 1 / 1 or 1 / 3 as a group of 3
(Starts losing structural integrity at or around wave 1, vessel destruction at or around wave 1 if alone. If one of each type of Corvette is present, they collectively make it to wave 3)

Weapons: 1x2 Mega Beams, 2x Scatter Beams
Defensive Systems: 2x Particle Guns
Role: Heavy Weapons Support
Description: With too few guns and no deflectors, the Ion Beam Corvette is more of a nuisance to Capital Ships, but tears apart raiders. IBC crews are forbidden from flying without an escort.

Commanded by a Fleet Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander. 12-15 crew.

Plasma Corvette

GRINDER: 1 / 1 or 1 / 3 as a group of 3
(Starts losing structural integrity at or around wave 1, vessel destruction at or around wave 1 if alone. If one of each type of Corvette is present, they collectively make it to wave 3)

Weapons: 1x1 Plasma Guns, 2x Scatter Beams
Defensive Systems: 2x Particle Guns
Role: Armor Negation (Support)
Description: With too few guns and no deflectors, the Plasma Corvette is designed to bypass shielding systems on enemy pirate ships which may be too mobile for the Capital Ships to easily find. PC crews are forbidden from flying without an escort.

Commanded by a Fleet Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander. 12-15 crew.

Frigate

GRINDER: 3 / 6
(Starts losing structural integrity at or around wave 3, vessel destruction at or around wave 6)

WEAPONS
Bow: 4x4 Scatter Beams, 2x Railguns
Midship: 1x1 Gatling Blasters, 1x1 Pulse Guns, 2x2 Blasters, 2x Missile Launchers
Stern: 1x1 Blasters

DEFENSE SYSTEMS:
Bow: 2x Point Defense Guns
Midship: 3x Deflectors
Stern: 2x Particle Guns

Role: Force Projector / Entry level Capital Ship
Description: Frigates are designed to take down enemy Corvettes. Mobile, the Frigate lacks enough Deflectors to handle serious opposition or multiple attackers. Crew call these "Ugly Frogs" due to their splayed-leg appearance when seen from above.

Commanded by a Fleet Lieutenant Commander to Captain. 30-45 crew. 15 head, 10-20 midship, 5-10 stern.

Destroyer

GRINDER: 5 / 10
(Starts losing structural integrity at or around wave 5, vessel destruction at or around wave 10)

WEAPONS
Bow: 2x2 Scatter Beams, 1x1 Repeaters, 1x1 Railguns, 1 Megabeam
Midship: 1x1 Gatling Blasters, 1x1 Blasters, 1x1 Plasma Guns
Stern: 1x1 Missile Launchers, 1x1 Repeaters

DEFENSE SYSTEMS:
Bow: 2x Deflectors, 2x Particle Guns
Midship: 2x Deflectors, 2x Point Defense
Stern: 2x Particle Guns

Role: Fleet Escort / Lone Capital Ship Hunter (as part of a pack)
Description: Able to withstand more damage, Destroyers are cheaper and more plentiful than larger Capital Ships, and frequently escort supply ships.

On the prowl, Destroyers will hunt in groups for lone enemy Capital Ships.

Destroyers are vulnerable to things that are bigger than them, and can only make up for this with numbers and or supporting Ships of the Line.

Commanded by a Fleet Commander to Captain. 50-65 crew. 15 head, 20-30 midship, 15-20 stern.

Cruiser - 3rd Rate Ship of the Line

GRINDER: 13 / 16
(Starts losing structural integrity at or around wave 13, vessel destruction at or around wave 16)

WEAPONS
Bow: 2x2 Scatter Beams, 2x Megabeams, 2x Plasma Guns, 1x1 Railguns
Midship: 1x1 Railguns, 3x3 Blasters, 2x Demeter Launchers, 1x1 Repeaters
Stern: 1x1 Missile Launchers, 1x1 Railguns, 1x1 Gatling Blasters

DEFENSE SYSTEMS:
Bow: 2x Flak Cannons, 2x Aegis Deflectors (nose piece)
Midship: 2x Point Defense Guns, 2x Deflectors
Stern: 2x Deflectors, 2x Flak Cannons

Role: Capital Ship Support / Fleet Commander
Description: Cruisers are usually accompanied by supporting Frigates or Destroyers, or a mixture of the two, and as such are commanded by Rear Admirals responsible for more than one warship. Rarely, Fleet Captains will be assigned a Cruiser for a solo task.

Cruisers are vulnerable from behind and lack good body armor (there aren't many layers of sections) in the midship and stern sections. 4 Deflectors leave Cruisers badly vulnerable compared to 2nd & 1st Rate Ships of the Line (Heavy Cruisers and Battleships), but as all Ships of the Line, they have Aegis Deflectors.

Cruisers and up (Heavy Cruisers and Battleships) are also called "Ships of the Line", the Cruiser being a "3rd Rate Ship of the Line."

This is the first line of Capital Ship capable of launching unmanned attack drones, Demeters.

Called "Big Boxes" by their crew, Cruisers are based on an old design and are considered quite ugly. Pirates call them "Pugs," but still flee from them.

Commanded by a Rear Admiral; rarely a Fleet Captain. 70-100 crew. 20-30 head, 30-50 midship, 20 stern.

Heavy Cruiser - 2nd Rate Ship of the Line

GRINDER: 16 / 20
(Starts losing structural integrity at or around wave 16, vessel destruction at or around wave 20)

WEAPONS
Bow: 2x Railguns, 3x3 Scatter Beams
Midship: 1x1 Plasma Guns, 4x4 Railguns, 1x1 Gatling Blasters, 1x1 Weasels, 1x1 Quad Blasters, 2x Demeter Launchers
Stern: 1x1 Megabeams

DEFENSE SYSTEMS:
Bow: 2x Flak Cannons, 2x Deflectors, 2x Aegis Deflectors (nose piece)
Midship: 4x Point Defense Guns, 2x Flak Cannons, 4x Deflectors
Stern: 2x Flak Cannons, 2x Deflectors
Role: Capital Ship Destroyer / Fleet Commander

Description: Formidable opponents versus almost any enemy warships, Heavy Cruisers fall between the awesome might of a Battleship and the venerable Cruiser. Heavy Cruisers can survive waves of smaller enemy craft and sustain heavy damage. Their fast aiming railguns mercilessly pound the foe. Their stern section's Megabeams provide support against foes who get too close to the front of the ship, or those who think they are safe on the sides.

Vulnerable from behind, Heavy Cruisers seek to face their foes directly. 8 Deflectors make single foes have a nearly impossible time bringing down a Heavy Cruiser.

Heavy Cruisers are also called "Ships of the Line"; specifically, the Heavy Cruiser is a "2nd Rate Ship of the Line."

Commanded by a Rear Admiral to Vice Admiral. 100-130 crew. 30 head, 50-75 midship, 20-25 stern.

Battleship - 1st Rate Ship of the Line

GRINDER: 20 / *
(Starts losing structural integrity at or around wave 20, survives all 25 waves with significant to negligible damage)

WEAPONS
Bow: 2x2 Railguns, 1x1 Gatling Blasters, 1x1 Repeaters, 1x Super Beam Cannon
Midship: 2x2 Railguns, 1x1 Lancets, 1x1 Quad Blasters, 4x4 Blasters, 2x Teller Missile Launchers, 1x1 Missile Launchers, 1x1 Megabeams, 1x1 Tachyon Guns
Stern: 1x1 Railguns, 1x1 Gatling Pulse Rifles, 2x2 Gatling Blasters, 5x5 Scatter Beams

DEFENSE SYSTEMS:
Bow: 2x Point Defense Guns, 2x Flak Cannons, 4x Deflectors, 2x Aegis Deflectors (nose piece)
Midship: 6x Deflectors, 2x Flak Cannons, 2x Point Defense Guns, 1x Aegis Deflector (core)
Stern: 2x Flak Cannons, 4x Point Defense, 6x Deflectors
Role: Enemy Fleet Suppression / Planetary Control Ship / Fleet Commander

Description: The only Ship of the Line that's force projection cannot easily be classified, Battleships are armored with multiple layers of structural components and 16 deflectors! Battleships can protect multiple layers of armor. It takes a determined enemy with enough enemy warships to keep the Battleship's withering firepower at bay to bring one down.

Battleships are broadside specialists, unlike all other Capital Ships in the SSF Fleet; however, it is ill advised to go around them. In the bow (front), the Super Beam Cannon will tear through enemy ships like a red hot knife though cold butter; in the stern (rear), 5 Scatter Beams make life difficult for any would-be flankers.

No 1st Rate Ship of the Line (which is what Battleships are) are allowed to travel without escorts. Rarely, while the rest of the fleet attempts to smash the enemy line, Battleships will engage the enemy flagship alone. Battleships are always commanded by Admirals who are responsible for commanding several other warships.

Battleships are called "Ships of the Line"; specifically, the Battleship is a "1st Rate Ship of the Line."

Commanded by a Rear Admiral to Admiral. 220-275 crew. 40-50 head, 160-200 midship, 20-25 stern.

Space Station & Super Space Station

Weapons: 1x1 Railguns, 2x2 Lancets, 2x2 Gatling Blasters, 1x1 Mega Tachyon, 1x1 Quad Blaster
Defensive Systems: 3x3 Point Defense, 3x3 Particle Guns, 3x3 Nano Matrices (1x1 Nano Matices on regular Space Stations), 4x4 Aegis Deflectors, 2x2 Deflectors
Role: Fleet Support & Repair
Description: Coupled with warships, the Space Station is nearly unstoppable. It repairs damage (to itself and friendly ships nearby) quickly. Unfortunately, it can't really move, only turn, and it has weak sides that are easily penetrated (the armor on the sides is set to a low hitpoint value).

Still, as with the rest of the SSF Fleet, most of its guns are nearly invulnerable. Target the structures and Deflectors if you can.

When supporting, defend the sides and soak damage for the Space Station, it will repair your ship.

Super Space Stations exist only orbiting Core Planets, and are thought nearly invulnerable due to the number of Nano Matrices they employ.

SSF Fleet Ranks

• Fleet Admiral
• Admiral
• Vice Admiral
• Rear Admiral
• Captain
• Commander
• Lieutenant Commander
• Lieutenant
• Lieutenant, junior grade
• Ensign
• Midshipman

Advertisement & Promotional Images

Banner


These are the official banners, useful for the creator. We doubt the SSF Fleet will have fans who are so hardcore as to use it in their signature.

Fleet Group

Useful for displaying the whole SSF Fleet in one go.

FINAL NOTE:
Please post only on-topic questions, corrections and comments. I want to keep this thread useful to (potential) fans and the BSF community.

This has been a work of labor and love. It has gone through three whole iterations and involved the help of my two older daughters.

I have omitted any story because I noticed that I was more interested in what ships can do and whether or not I can use them (sadly, usually something I can only do by trying it out), and because I can rarely remember other people's stories. I figure you can make up your own, but if asked, I will provide one. It's all in my head (and some is on a wiki) - I have just spared you from it.

[Aralonia]

Amazing, beautiful, cohesive... highly fitting for some sort of newly-interred spacefaring nation. Brilliant.

Nitpicks: Layering/mirroring error on aft thruster unit of battleship. Triangular piece didn't mirror correctly.

[Master Chief]

Man, that fleet is AWESOME.

Classy, slick and of course, good balancing. Nice work.

[Da_Higg]

I Concur

However, Corvettes seem to have depth issues (front left piece)

[DavidBeoulve]

Praise:
I am deeply grateful for your praise. Aralonia, I hope you don't mind me quoting you. If I had room I'd ad Master Chief as well. Heck, lets pretend I have room *adds that too*.

Corrections:
I wish to correct any kwibbles, so please send them this way as you play test these ships versus your own.

As for visual kwibbles, I have re-uploaded the RAR with corrected versions of all three Corvettes. The Battleship's triangular parts are not right angles, so I'm not sure what to fix - one leans one way, the other leans the opposite direction. It looks all right to me, but if you can tweak it or point out specifically what is wrong I'll fix it and re-upload it.

Where To Next?

• I have a few ships that are their only friends. They need proper balancing and testing in the Grinder.
• If you all would like me to post a story, I can.

The next thing I am going to release is my Fighter Weapons Example Set, that has a collection of Fighters with almost every single weapon in the game (certainly all offensive ones), one weapon type per Fighter, which is enormously useful for quickly figuring out what different weapons do.

[Normandy]

You know, I'm suprised that hasn't been done before. This 'trial and error' way of learning things takes a toll on my FPS...


@Fleet:
If I must say so myself, that is the single most dense piece of balanced awesomeness anyone has ever posted for their first ship or fleet. Well done!

My only complaint is the Cruiser, the command box looks a bit too boxy compared to the rest of the ships, I would suggest either moving some weapons or modules to cover the corners up or adding a few more sections around it.

[Anarki]

Very nice fleet - balance is priority in my eyes. Anarki rules.

Just in case you try and quote me.

[Normandy]

You never fail to amuse.

[DavidBeoulve]

Using the Grinder to Balance Ships

You know, I'm suprised that hasn't been done before. This 'trial and error' way of learning things takes a toll on my FPS...

Personally, I would love to see everyone go back and do this to their ships. Fleets that do this should advertise that they are "Grinder Tested", which would tell BSF fans that that fleet should balance well with their home made ships and play together with other Web fleets marked "Grinder Tested", because right now it's any man's guess.

I figured there had to be some common metric, and the only one I saw was The Grinder. I admit to not thinking of it when I started the fleet, hence versions 2 & 3. Version 1 balanced well with itself and handled some Web ships, but some of those were just crazy. Eventually I decided that wasn't working, so I went back to the drawing board. It's hard cutting your ships down, but necessary. I removed some Deflectors, some guns, and all Nano Matrices, and got it right. My kids helped by watching the ships fight over and over, which was, fortunately, entertaining for them.

Very nice fleet - balance is priority in my eyes.

I figured other folks would feel the same. Beauty is good, but if it slows down the game, or obliterates all other ships you have instantly, you can't play with it much.

Quotations

@Fleet:
If I must say so myself, that is the single most dense piece of balanced awesomeness anyone has ever posted for their first ship or fleet. Well done!

My signature is full! But I added a new section to the Original Post.

Ugly Cruiser

My only complaint is the Cruiser, the command box looks a bit too boxy compared to the rest of the ships, I would suggest either moving some weapons or modules to cover the corners up or adding a few more sections around it.

The Cruiser is butt ugly. I would like to make a 2nd variant of a Cruiser, a new model "3rd Rate Ship of the Line". It won't hurt to have two kinds of Cruisers.

Amazingly, the Heavy Cruiser was done before the Cruiser, as it's much more beautiful. I saved the Battleship for last, just as movie CG special effects teams save the most difficult designs for last.

[Kaelis]

First off - welcome to BSF!

I don't like the ships themselves that much, but i have to admit that is a very well thought out and coherent style. Youve certainly put alot work into it.

As for balancing and loadout - truly top notch, instant respect boost from me. Great idea with 'Grinder Testing', gonna try it out when i have enough time to make ships...

Hope to see more of your creations.

[Artman40]

Very nice and love the testing.
Hmmm...what about moving some modules to these long tail sections?

[Jafo]

Very consistent look and feel to your overall fleet - nice.

Grinder comments :

To aid in getting a feel for the Grinder - it is designed to have 3 Battleships assisted by the space station. 3 Battleships uses up 3x3=9 of ten selection points. Removing the space station, lets give 2 more points so I think a balanced points total would be 12 without the space station.

4 battleships then. Using a Battleship designed for the "Alien Mothership" tournament using the 100 points design system. Tossing one in resulted in damage during the third wave and complete destruction during the 4th wave. Putting 4 battleships to the test - 15th wave was first section lose. 16th wave had significant damage done to one ship. 17th wave - one ship down to core only (bad spawn location). 19th wave - enemy meteors :evil: did the most initial damage, followed by complete destruction.

I tried to eliminate the meteor spawns having an influence by using the "misc" menu clear the field of meteors every time they spawned but sometimes they were right on top of ships so nothing could be done as the damage occurred immediately upon spawn.

That is the one grip about using the Grinder to gauge your ship(s), unless you run a lot of simulations to even out the randomness of the meteor spawns, the meteors can have a huge impact on how many waves can be survived. I looked through the menus and could not find a way to turn off the meteor spawning.

This method (using the Grinder) does help, as it has shown me that my tournament style battleship is less powerful than your style frigate, and that 4 of my battleships are roughly the same as one of your heavy crusiers. So for an interesting match, it would be pointless to have our battleships face off against each other, but there is a very good chance that 4 of my battleships vs. your heavy cruiser would produce a match that would be entertaining. Nice!

[AllStarZ]

These are real nice ships. Paintjob is good too.

[DavidBeoulve]

...This method (using the Grinder) does help, as it has shown me that my tournament style battleship is less powerful than your style frigate, and that 4 of my battleships are roughly the same as one of your heavy crusiers. So for an interesting match, it would be pointless to have our battleships face off against each other, but there is a very good chance that 4 of my battleships vs. your heavy cruiser would produce a match that would be entertaining. Nice!

Jafo, thank you for testing! You bring out an excellent point I failed to clarify.

Executive Summary Response

1. All ship builders interested in using The Grinder Comparative Method should use the ascribed steps in my OP or Jafo's reply. (I left asteroids to chance which was why I did 3 runs per ship; but I had one 8 & one 10yo girl at my disposal to watch said tests.)
2. Not all ships called a "Battleship" will match other ships called a "Battleship" using The Grinder Comparative Method. It is reasonable to assume that not all alien races are equal, and I don't think we should restrict what people name their ships (for example demarcate "Heavy Cruisers" to mean "has trouble around Wave 16, dies around Wave 20). Core Game Battleships would have to mass against the SSF Battleship to take her down, so that was never my intention.
3. Using The Grinder Comparative Method simply means a few things:
   • You won't end up with this happening.
   • The ships probably won't seize up your computer.

TMTDNR
Yes, indeed, you are correct that I did not attempt to use the same point system as standard Grinder runs, wherein a Battleship is worth 3 points. What I did was assume that the SSF Battleship was the best their was and that all other ships should fall in line behind it in proper order (no Destroyers performing better than a Cruiser).

To design ships to match core game ships was never the goal of the SSF Fleet; it was to make sure that (other than the Battleship) none of the ships could complete The Grinder on their own, thereby giving a common metric for other BSF builders who make ships that also can't take The Grinder alone.

Will your Battleships match up to the SSF Battleship? Unless you play it (instead of leaving it to AI) or design a ship specifically to target its weaknesses (I did that and, coupled with me controlling it, took one down), it will simply have to match the SSF Battleship. I don't care if an SSF Cruiser gets it's tail handed to it by a [insert name here] Frigate; as long as I am not reminded of facing the Zeus Cannon and my computer doesn't seize up as the game engine can't handle the Demeters, I'm happy. PS - I do love the design of the Zeus Cannon and showed that to a friend when I showed him my fleet. I just think it's like a 12" GI Joe compared to the 5" GI Joes: It belongs in a different toybox.

For story purposes, one would imagine that - whatever race you imagine to command SSF vessels - either has more resources or better technology. I know that I am more interested in making interesting ships that don't beat The Grinder than those that do. I can max out a few integer values and do that easily.

I hope this has clarified things.

[Jafo]

I went away and ran a sandbox test to check out the above ( battleship vs. battleship & 4xbattleships vs. heavy cruiser ). The Grinder scaling method works nicely!

As expected, in less than one minute, my battleship ceased to exist when fighting the SSF battleship.

My 4 battleships vs. the SSF heavy cruiser match went for 20 minutes. The first 15 minutes it was in doubt which side would win. Very nice to have an idea if a ship that you are considering downloading and playing against is a reasonable match before you even download it!

For reference - stock ships -
4xAthena / 1st wave - 1 damaged / 6th wave - 1 destroyed / 9th wave - all destroyed.
4xCronos / 1st wave - 1 damaged / 15th wave - all destroyed.

One other comment - the Grinder is a small battlefield, so for a ship that is designed to be mobile and move around an opponent, the ship will have a lower rating than it deserves using the Grinder scaling method (but it should still at least indicate roughly where it deserves to sit on the scale).

Hmmm, maybe Th15 could actually put in a version of the Grinder into the game, leaving out the space station and the random meteor spawns and expand it. Create a ship toughness scale to measure ones ships against so that for people who want a fairly evenly matched battle, it would make finding ships that match your style possible.