Hatel ship classes are initially given a numeric code indicating the production facility and a non-descending serial number. After the first ship is produced of its type and selects a name for itself, the class is named after the ship. For diplomatic reasons, namesake ships are legally required to use short and inoffensive names. They may change their names later, but this does not affect the name of the class. Classes are only renamed under extraordinary circumstances.
Ship classes each belong to a ship category. This is a short name that suggests the role of a class and its size, and is often (although not always) comprehensible to a layperson. There are approximately one hundred known ship categories in use. Many older vehicles from the time of the Hatelese Republic have never been assigned a class or category.
¹ Maximum allowed minimum crew complement
² Minimum allowed evacuation capacity
³ Only classes currently in widespread use near Thet are listed. Thousands of Hatel Commonwealth ship types exist, and no one database contains an exhaustive list.
Ship classes each belong to a ship category. This is a short name that suggests the role of a class and its size, and is often (although not always) comprehensible to a layperson. There are approximately one hundred known ship categories in use. Many older vehicles from the time of the Hatelese Republic have never been assigned a class or category.
| Category | MCC¹ | EVACC² | Classes³ | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| basestar | 10,000 | 10,000,000 | Dymaxion, Bottomless, Sideshow | Mobile base of operations for sector-scale theatre actions |
| general vehicle | 500 | 200,000 | Messier, Escher, Anatoly Dyatlov, Lemon, Lada, Terrace | Self-sufficient long-range exploration craft |
| flagship | 6000 | 1,000,000 | Ann Druyan, Economy, Second, Braggart, Hubris | Multi-role main combat platform |
| host ship | 600 | 800,000 | Tedium, Narcissus | Hotel ship (conferences, live concerts, long-distance travel, celebrations, etc.) |
| ring station | 20,000 | 900,000,000 | n/a | Permanent space habitat |
| picket | 0 | 200 | Harmless, Innocuous, Frivolous, White, Pocket | Small, manoeuvrable combat vehicle |
| tactical element | 0 | 3500 | Obstacle, Barbarian, Queasy, Inconvenient, Bulk | Heavily-armoured combat craft expected to draw fire and hold territory |
| force projection platform | 0 | 500 | Unsolicited, Twig, Impending Hangover, Indelicate, Point-and-Shoot, Spawncamper | Low-mobility vehicle with maximized firepower |
| technical craft | 100 | 200 | Pocket Protector, Salutatorian, Under-Achiever, Percussive Maintenance | Engineering craft, usually based on pickets with some weapons swapped out for mission-specific gear (detection, mine-laying, etc.) |
¹ Maximum allowed minimum crew complement
² Minimum allowed evacuation capacity
³ Only classes currently in widespread use near Thet are listed. Thousands of Hatel Commonwealth ship types exist, and no one database contains an exhaustive list.
