Commercial vessels

This article contains information relevant to both the C# and VB6 versions of Aurora. Where differences exist, they are noted in the appropriate sections.

Commercial vessels are Ships that are not intended for combat or combat-related operations. To support these designs, Aurora has a number of special rules for commercial vessels, which make them cheaper and easier to maintain than military vessels.

• Commercial ships can be built in a Commercial Shipyard Complex. These are ten times larger than their military versions for the same cost, and use 1/10th the workforce per ton.
• Commercial ships can use commercial Jump drives, which are cheaper than military jump engines (though also larger and less capable).
• Commercial ships do not need to worry about Ship Maintenance, and do not suffer breakdowns.

In order for a ship to be considered commercial, it must meet all the following criteria:

• No components on the ship can be military components.
• The Deployment Time of the class must be at least 3 months.
• The ship must have at least 50 tons of Engineering Spaces.

The Class Design window will tell you if a ship is considered commercial, with "This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes" being the second-last line of the ship's description.

In most cases, commercial ships will use conscript crew in the Class Design window (to save your highly-trained combat crew for combat ships).

The following components are considered military, and will prevent a ship from being considered commercial.

• Any weapon that is capable of damaging another ship.
  • Note: CIWS are not offensive weapons, since they can only fire at incoming missiles, so they can be used by commercial ships.
• Any system explicitly described as "Military".
• Any magazine or hangar deck not explicitly described as "Commercial".
• Fire Control systems.
• Power Plants.
• Shields
• Gravitational Survey Sensors are military components in both versions of the game. Geological Survey Sensors are military in C# and commercial in VB6.
• Any engine with a power ratio higher than 50%, or with a size below 1250 tons (25 HS).
• Any sensor larger than 50 tons (1 HS).
• Certain specialized modules (ELINT Modules, Flag Bridges, etc.)

Note that Troop Transport Bays and Armor are never considered military, regardless of transport bay type or armour thickness.