. They may stand in the line of battle in the absence of Battleships or Battlecruisers, or serve as flagships on distant colonial stations.
Destroyer: The “Destroyer” category of warship is specifically designed to carry strong torpedo armament to threaten capital ships and sufficient firepower to defend the fleet against smaller craft, such as Torpedo Boats. Destroyers are particularly effective versus battleships, because their small size, speed and maneuverability allow them to approach and launch devastating torpedoes against them.
Torpedo Boat: Designed solely to deliver the deadly new torpedo against capital ships, the Torpedo Boat is the smallest war vessel you may build. The Torpedo Boats combine small size, low freeboard and high speed, which help them approach dangerously close to battleships and unleash a powerful load of torpedoes. Evaluating their low cost versus their damage potential, they can be very effective in the early years of naval warfare, but lack the range and sea worthiness necessary to operate with the fleet in distant waters.
Hull Types and Technology
As technology develops, new hull types become available and older become obsolete. For example, in the early 1890s you may construct battleships with pre-dreadnought characteristics. When technology allows it in the 1900s, your battleships can be built bigger, stronger and carry heavier armament, replacing the older hull types.
Each hull has four basic characteristics which provide unique base statistics. These are: Resistance, Hull Form, Stability and Floatability.
Resistance: Affects the damage received from shell hits and torpedoes after armor penetration. Additionally, it applies special slope design that increases the ricochet chances of incoming shells.
Hull Form: Affects ship's acceleration, turning speed and the engine power needed to achieve top speed. Additionally, it affects the speed penalty from structural damage and influences ship maintenance costs.
Stability: The higher the “Stability” of the hull, the more accurate are the guns while under high speed and facing bad weather.
Floatability: Affects the impact of flooding on the hull. Raising this number reduces the probability of flooding after a hit and decreases the speed penalty from flooding.
All the above may be further modified by technology and ship design choices. For example, by balancing the placement of objects on your ships, Pitch/Roll factors are calculated which can penalize or improve the Stability and Floatability of the Hull.
The ship’s displacement determines how many tons of machinery, armor, armament and other important equipment can be fitted. The more tonnage, the larger and more powerful the ship at the cost of maneuverability, detectability and, of course, expense.
The maximum displacement of a hull cannot be exceeded during the design process so this is why you need to carefully utilize the available free space and take advantage of design choices that offer weight savings. The final built may have flaws and make the ship overweight or lighter than expected.
The ship’s propulsion system is integral, as it determines the ship's maximum speed, maneuverability, operational usefulness and survivability in many ways. The following aspects are directly controlled in the design process:
Speed: This determines how fast the ship travels over the sea, measured in nautical miles per hour (“Knots”). Fast warships can outmaneuver slower enemies or evade and withdraw when needed. Slow warships will not be able to keep a safe distance from torpedo-equipped enemies and cannot run down weaker targets to destroy them. Moreover, fast ships are capable of maintaining higher cruising speeds. Reduced engine vibrations at cruise speed increases ship gun accuracy, while higher speed makes the ship a more difficult target.
Range: Operational Range has major effect in campaign play but can also help in weight balancing for your ship. It measures how far the ship can travel away from friendly ports without refueling and is mainly determined by the ship’s fuel storage. As technology de