Ships and Roles

Ship Breakdown and Ship Roles Overview

This document outlines the design and functionality of ships in Space is Hell, focusing on roles, stats, leveling systems, upgrade costs, and unique traits. Updates include refined ship abilities, progression systems, and integration with game mechanics such as faction bonuses and combat roles. The design ensures strategic diversity, balanced gameplay, and meaningful progression.

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Ship Design Overview

Roles

Ships are categorized into three roles, each catering to distinct playstyles and strategies:

• Fighters: Damage-dealing specialists, excelling in direct combat and durability or evasion.

• Interceptors: High-speed ships focused on agility, quick engagements, and outmaneuvering enemies.

• Support Ships: Utility-focused vessels providing healing, buffs, and strategic advantages to allies.

Factions

Each faction has two ships per role, for a total of 12 unique ships:

• Iron Coalition: Prioritizes durability, raw power, and sustained damage.

• Nova Syndicate: Emphasizes agility, precision, and critical hit opportunities.

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Complete Ship List

Fighters

1. Iron Fang (Iron Coalition)

   • Role: Frontline Tank

   • Base Trait: Recovers 2% armor per successful hit (5-second cooldown).

   • Advanced Trait: Creates a 5-second energy shield that absorbs 15% damage when armor drops below 25% (60-second cooldown).

2. Steel Raptor (Iron Coalition)

   • Role: Durable Damage Dealer

   • Base Trait: Gains 10% resistance to energy-based weapons.

   • Advanced Trait: Deals 15% bonus damage to enemies with active shields.

3. Wraith Talon (Nova Syndicate)

   • Role: Glass Cannon Fighter

   • Base Trait: Gains 10% dodge when shields are down.

   • Advanced Trait: Increases critical hit chance by 25% for 10 seconds after landing 3 consecutive hits (30-second cooldown).

4. Phantom Wing (Nova Syndicate)

   • Role: Ambush Assassin

   • Base Trait: Cloaks for 5 seconds (30-second cooldown), gaining 10% increased damage upon decloaking.

   • Advanced Trait: Creates a decoy that taunts enemies for 5 seconds after decloaking, distracting enemy fire.

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Interceptors

1. Vulcan Wasp (Iron Coalition)

   • Role: Aggressive Dogfighter

   • Base Trait: Gains 2% bonus damage per consecutive hit (up to 10%).

   • Advanced Trait: Fires a burst of homing projectiles after 5 consecutive hits (20-second cooldown).

2. Hammerhead (Iron Coalition)

   • Role: Area Defender

   • Base Trait: Activates a frontal shield blocking 50% damage for 5 seconds.

   • Advanced Trait: Expands the shield radius to protect nearby allies.

3. Aurora Lance (Nova Syndicate)

   • Role: Skirmisher

   • Base Trait: Recovers 2.5% shields per successful hit (5-second cooldown).

   • Advanced Trait: Gains 10% speed and shield regeneration for 5 seconds after dodging an attack.

4. Shadow Scythe (Nova Syndicate)

   • Role: High-Speed Hunter

   • Base Trait: Gains 10% movement speed when shields are active.

   • Advanced Trait: Gains 20% movement speed and 5% dodge when shields are active.

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Support Ships

1. Radiant Aegis (Iron Coalition)

   • Role: Team Shield Support

   • Base Trait: Increases ally shield recovery within range by 5/s.

   • Advanced Trait: Provides a temporary shield to all nearby allies for 5 seconds (45-second cooldown).

2. Iron Bastille (Iron Coalition)

   • Role: Mining and Combat Support

   • Base Trait: Boosts ally mining yield by 10% within range.

   • Advanced Trait: Boosts ally mining yield by 20% and provides damage reduction to mining ships within range.

3. Stellar Beacon (Nova Syndicate)

   • Role: Field Healer

   • Base Trait: Heals 2% ally armor per second within range.

   • Advanced Trait: Activates an AoE healing pulse that restores 20% armor to all allies (30-second cooldown).

4. Lunar Guardian (Nova Syndicate)

   • Role: Defensive Support

   • Base Trait: Reduces enemy accuracy by 10% within range.

   • Advanced Trait: Reduces enemy accuracy by 15% and increases ally dodge by 5% within range.

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Core Systems

Attributes

Ships are defined by the following attributes:

• Shield: The primary defense that regenerates over time.

• Armor: Secondary defense; does not regenerate.

• Speed: Determines movement velocity in engagements.

• Dodge: The chance to avoid incoming attacks entirely.

• Energy: A resource used for activating abilities and firing weapons.

• Energy Recovery: The rate of energy regeneration per second.

Weapons

Ships are equipped with faction-specific weapons that align with their roles:

• Gatling Blaster: High rate of fire for sustained damage.

• Arc Disruptor: Effective against armored targets.

• Photon Beam: Precision weapon with shield-piercing properties.

• Pulse Laser: High burst damage for ambushes.

• Plasma Cannon: Area-of-effect damage for crowd control.

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Progression System

Tiered Upgrades

Ships progress through 10 tiers, unlocking new abilities and increasing their stats. The first five tiers are accessible early, while tiers 6–10 introduce higher costs and unlock Advanced Traits.

Tier	Crelyte	Telemetry	HELLX	XP Requirement
2	500	250	50	100 XP
3	1,000	500	100	300 XP
4	2,000	1,000	200	600 XP
5	3,500	1,500	300	1,000 XP
6	5,000	2,000	250	1,500 XP
7	7,500	3,000	500	2,000 XP
8	10,000	5,000	750	3,000 XP
9	15,000	7,500	1,000	4,500 XP
10	20,000	10,000	1,500	6,000 XP

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Special Note: Ship Builders Union and Station Guild Owners

Previous blueprint holders will gain exclusive membership in the Ship Builders Union, granting them 25% of all ship upgrade fees collected as a tax at stations. This system rewards early supporters by integrating them into the game’s economy, offering a consistent stream of earnings tied to player progression.

In addition, Station Ownership token holders will earn 50% of all fees collected within their station, incentivizing strategic station control and management. The remaining 25% of station upgrade fees will be allocated to the treasury, ensuring ongoing support for future developments, events, and economic stability.

This structure fosters a dynamic and interdependent economy, providing tangible rewards to early adopters and key contributors while maintaining balance and sustainability for the game's ecosystem.

• A Union Token will be distributed to all blueprint holders.

• Distribution will be based on holdings, with a weighting system where smaller ships (e.g., fighters) receive less than larger ships (e.g., capital ships).

• This ensures fair distribution among contributors and early supporters.

• Further details regarding Union Token distribution will be released in the future.

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Conclusion

The ship system in Space is Hell provides diverse options for players, catering to different playstyles and strategic needs. Each ship’s unique traits and upgrade paths encourage experimentation and teamwork, creating depth and replayability. With a balanced progression system, faction-specific strengths, and the added incentive of the Ship Builders Union, the design lays the foundation for engaging and competitive gameplay.