Tractor Beam
This article contains information relevant to both the C# and VB6 versions of Aurora. Where differences exist, they are noted in the appropriate sections.
| Component Information | |
|---|---|
| Type | Core |
| Class | Commercial |
| Tech Branch | Logistics |
| Specifications | |
| Size (HS) | 10 |
| Crew Required | 10 |
| Cost | |
| Wealth | 100 |
| Duranium | 25 |
| Neutronium | 0 |
| Corbomite | 0 |
| Tritanium | 0 |
| Boronide | 0 |
| Mercassium | 75 |
| Vendarite | 0 |
| Sorium | 0 |
| Uridium | 0 |
| Corundium | 0 |
| Gallicite | 0 |
The Tractor Beam (known in VB6 as the Ship to Ship Tractor) is a ship component that projects a tractor beam capable of attaching one ship to another. These are commonly employed to create Tugs, which are dedicated ships that help guide large ships and space stations to their work site, such as: Jump gate constructors, terraforming stations, Orbital Mining Modules, and/or Sorium Harvester platforms.
Tugs are also the only way to move shipyards between colonies. (However, note that you must bring it all the way to a new colony - stopping the tug partway through will permanently destroy the shipyard.)
Towing
You only need one tractor component to be able to tow, and ships are limited to one tractor beam each.
- Open the Naval Organization window F4 (or, in VB6, the Task Groups window F12).
- In the Orders tab, ensure that the "Fleets" (or "Task Groups") box is checked, so you can select fleets as targets for orders.
- Select the fleet containing the ship you wish to tractor.
- In Actions Available, select "Tractor Specified Ship" or "Tractor Any Ship in Fleet". If you want to specify a ship, select the ship you wish to tractor.
- Double-click, or click "Add Move", to queue the order.
- Select your destination or route as you normally would for transit.
- Once your route is plotted, choose the Release Tractored Ships option to deactivate the tractor beam.
Tractored ships are automatically moved from their fleet into the fleet of the tractoring ship or ships. Multiple ships may be tractored in one set of orders as long as multiple tractoring ships are present. Upon release, tractored ships automatically form their own fleet as if they were split under the Special Orders / Organization tab.
Shipyards may be selected similarly to the process above, with the initial target being the planet currently hosting the shipyard rather than a fleet.
Ships may be transported normally through Jump Gates using tractor beams.
Uses
Ships built to utilize a tractor beam tend to have a disproportionately large engine and fuel allotment relative to other ships of their size, to account for the increased load of the towed ship. If engines are present on the ship being towed, they will be used as well during the towing. Overall the Tug speed is calculated as (SumOfEnginePowers)/(SumOfMasses) of the two ships.
- Tip: military engines will offer more speed, but they will chew more fuel then you can imagine. Better to go full size max civilian power engines and put more on there instead.
Tugs can act as "rescue" ships for refueling stranded ships. Additionally, Terraformers, sorium harvesters and asteroid miners tend to be ships that move only rarely, so building engine-less designs which will be towed into place by dedicated tugs greatly reduces build cost for these types of ships. Other more creative uses are also possible, such as a towed point defense pod intended to protect commercial convoys. By collecting the military equipment into a separate towed module, the ship may remain commercially-classed and the military module is spared the maintenance costs for the engines and functional modules aboard the commercial vessel.
List of Components
Engines and Power Plants: Engine • Fuel Storage • Jump Engine • Power Plants
Beam Weaponry: Beam Fire Control • Lasers • Particle Beams • Mesons • High-Powered Microwave • Plasma Carronade • Railguns • Gauss Cannons
Missile Weaponry: Missile Fire Control • Missile Launchers • Magazines
Defensive Systems: Armor • Shields • CIWS • Sensor Jammer • Fire Control Jammer • Missile Jammer • Decoy Launcher • Cloaking Device
Maintenance and Repairs: Engineering Spaces • Maintenance Storage Bay • Damage Control • Maintenance module
Carriers and Fighters: Hangar deck • Fighter Pod Bay
Sensors: Active Sensor • EM Sensor • Thermal Sensor • Geological Survey Sensors • Gravitational Survey Sensors • ELINT Modules
Command and Control: Bridge • Flag Bridge • Auxiliary Control • Science Department • Main Engineering • Combat Information Centre • Primary Flight Control
Transportation: Cargo Hold • Troop Transport Bay • Cryogenic Transport • Passenger Accommodation
Logistics: Cargo Shuttle Bay • Refuelling System • Ordnance Transfer System • Tractor Beam
Production: Orbital Mining Module • Sorium Harvester • Terraforming Module • Jump Point Stabilisation Module • Salvage Module