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.