You guys don't appear to have a newbie introduction thread or forums, and that's good because on boards that do nobody ever actually reads newbie introduction threads and newbie introduction forums are just filled with threads made by people expecting to be fondly greated by people who just don't give a shit.
So yes, I thought that the best thing to do would be to post some spaceships.
Here are some spaceships that I made, they are kind of meant to resemble aesthetically exaggerated real-world spacestations, being constructed of discreet modules and having large, easily visible thrusters, they are also meant to show a clear design lineage panning out over the course of about a century with each design getting more "practical" in game terms as time goes on whilst also getting gradually less "realistic". I use quotations there because we are talking about a 2D computer game about spaceships here.
Here are Spaceships:
![Image](http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/6253/yuxko.png)
Yuxko Type patrol ship
The earliest armed interplanetary spacecraft in the canon that I am using. The large gree sections are propellant tanks.
![Image](http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/9126/plukcicon.png)
Plukcicon Type Attack Craft
The first ship to attempt to implement armour systems, also equipped with long range missiles with better guidance systems, has an additional armoury section so that it packs more of a punch. The major disadvantage of this design is that due to its long body and armoured front it's turning ability and acceleration are both awful. That and it looks like a penis.
![Image](http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3639/oboloion.png)
Oboloion Technology Demonstrator
Ships designed to be heavily armoured are more massive then unarmoured ships, which means in order to achieve the same levels of acceleration they must expend more reaction mass, it is for this reason that the Oboloion introduces more propellant tanks than rpevious ships, also, to prevent damage to the propellant tanks they are connected to the ship by a newly designed armoured section. The Oboloion is also the first ship to feature laser armament in the form of a single rapidly pulsed laser emitter.
![Image](http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/8192/yubiliodus.png)
Yubiliodus Type Attack Craft
A new attack ship fully implementing the new technologies and design concepts introduced in the Oboloion. Armed with a dual pulse laser turret and a missile section the Yubiliodus was, at the time of its construction, the most heavily armed ship ever constructed. Parts of the armour on the propellant tank connector section were removed to make room for additional attitude control thrusters, giving the Yubiliodus improved turning capability compared to older, similarly sized ships.
![Image](http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/7421/thumilopilios.png)
Thumilopilios Type Attack Craft (refit)
Not actually a new design, the Thumilopilios is an upgrade that was applied to the Yubiliodus to extend their service life. The Thumilopilios upgrade replaces the Yubiliodus' missile battery with an additional pulse laser turret and replaces the old flak turrets with point defence lasers, the Thumilopilios also features better armour placement than previous ships.
![Image](http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8061/chukamillio.png)
Chukamillio Type Heavy Attack Craft
After the profound success of the Thumilopilios type a demand for a larger craft in the same vein was made apparent, the result was the Chukamillio. The Chukamillio features three dual pulse laser turrets and a heavy guided missile rack. The mass of the craft did however warrant the addition of large, dedicated RCS sections in order for it to maintain maneuverability, though this does have the interesting effect of making it able to turn without having to rely on directed thrust from the main drive.
I think the last two or maybe three are much better than the rest, personally.
What do you think, how can I make them better and where should I go from here?