IllusiaVH Does NSCodes: Guide to Making Ship Classes

The first thing you'd have to know is that the template starts with the name of your ship class:

Let's break it down by piece, shall we?

Pretty basic, is it not? Here's an example, with the color schemes to familiarise yourself easily.

There you go! Now, you may be asking: why is the name italicised while everything else is fine? Good question, really. It's on your own call if you want to italicise it or not - NS itself does not have a Manual of Style. However, if you are insisting on being formal for the sake of aesthetics, then please do go on - no one will stop you. I, personally, prefer italicising then names for the sake of formality. Our mileages may vary!

Once you have your name and type done, it is now time for basics 2.

Like national histories and stories, your ship class also must have a lore to begin with. Essentially, writing a lore for your naval vessel would involve three basic frameworks in the form of three wh- questions:

Most common lore that are used for their construction are to either naval arms races, competition, countering looming threats, and so on. You can make up your own if you wish.

PROTIP: If you find it too hard or difficult to make any sort of lore about it, you can temporarily just list the date and purpose of the class.

What's that, you want a example? No problem! Alright, let's take the Enigmastadt class from earlier. As it exists within my canon, I have an existing lore for it. Here it is - and will serve as an example:

All WH questions there are answered - in case you never caught it: the class was built from 1936 to 1991 and 2018. The class was built for the sake of modernisation, and currently the purposes they are fulfilling are either museum ships, or in service in the case of North Armatas. Yes, making lore is not simple - you could ask for help if you wish.

Alright, let's move on to the next basic!

This is the part where you can really exhibit your personal preferences. At this point, I will not offer much rules or guide in this section - but for the sake of this being a guide, I will put a major guideline. Let's say you have decided the name, type, and has made the lore of your ship class. Congratulations! You are now ready to be introduced to the world of navy worldbuilding. Or is it shipbuilding? (lol)

Tasteless jokes aside... alright. Personally, I recommend going to these sites:

Shipbucket - a pretty helpful site with ship illustrations made by many people. A must-see website.
Navweaps - for everything related to naval weapons and technology.
Wikipedia - if you need more basis, you can always search in Wikipedia and take pictures from the Commons.
Google / any search engine, really - if all else seems unproductive, Google is your friend. Or whatever search engine you use.

Go ham in what you think. What you produce is up to you.

That's right: a template!

Make sure to follow it carefully, because this is going to be tough. I speak that from experience.

This is the hardest part to do, in general. Making your own template can prove to be hard. There are others as well that you can use; you can use them if you wish, but if you want to see my own take on a ship class template and want to use it, then get ready. This is going to be a wild ride!

[sidebar][center][img]https://www.nationstates.net/images/placeholder.png[/img]
[i]Image caption[/i]

[background-block=#C3D6EF][b]Class overview[/b][/background-block][/center]
Builders: <builder>
Operators: <navy name>
Preceded by: <preceding ship class>
Succeeded by: <succeeding ship class>
Subclass: <subclass name>
Built: <year range>
In commission: <commission year range>
Planned: <number planned>
Completed: <number of ships completed>
Active: <number of ships active>
Lost: <number of ships lost>

[center][background-block=#C3D6EF][b]General characteristics[/b][/background-block][/center]

Type: <ship type>
Displacement: <ship weight in tons (depending on measurement)>
Length: <ship length, o.a./perpendiculars>
Beam: <ship width>
Draft: <ship's vertical distance between keel and waterline (depending on measurement)>
Propulsion: <ship propulsion system>
Electronic systems: <ship electronic systems>
Speed: <ship speed; in knots>
Range: <ship range>
Complement: <ship crew in total>
Armament: <bulleted list; total armament>
Armor: <ship armour/protection (depending on measurement>
Aviation facilities: <ship aviation facilities, i.e. helipad>[/sidebar]

Sample time? Sample time!

Name-class <type>

Image caption

Class overview

Builders: <builder>
Operators: <navy name>
Preceded by: <preceding ship class>
Succeeded by: <succeeding ship class>
Subclass: <subclass name>
Built: <year range>
In commission: <commission year range>
Planned: <number planned>
Completed: <number of ships completed>
Active: <number of ships active>
Lost: <number of ships lost>

General characteristics

Type: <ship type>
Displacement: <ship weight in tons (depending on measurement)>
Length: <ship length, o.a./perpendiculars>
Beam: <ship width>
Draft: <ship's vertical distance between keel and waterline (depending on measurement)>
Propulsion: <ship propulsion system>
Electronic systems: <ship electronic systems>
Speed: <ship speed; in knots>
Range: <ship range>
Complement: <ship crew in total>
Armament: <bulleted list; total armament>
Armor: <ship armour/protection (depending on measurement>
Aviation facilities: <ship aviation facilities, i.e. helipad>

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Author's Note: The lorem ipsum is just a depiction of how it will look like if you put enough information about the ship class. This is in no way a legitimate ship class summary. Let your own creative juices flow freely once you do so. Also see: lorem ipsum.

TIPS: As much as possible, keep the picture for the ship class at around an acceptable square of 300x300 pixels - the sidebar has a tendency to expand to account for the image's large size. You can use image hosting sites such as Imgur to help you out. Using image editors such as Paint.NET are also allowed to resize your image properly.

Alright, let's say you are extensively confused on what the hell did you just see above here. Illusia, the template is too hard to understand! Okay, I got you. I hear it. I feel the pain personally. There are just so much texts on screen that you don't know what to do. Is it all that technical detail? Alright, we'll go one by one and I will do my best to explain it in the easiest and simplest way possible, you hear? Alright. Good.

Destructuring the Template
Placeholder image - this is where you put the ship's image.
Image caption - the caption of the image. Usually a brief explanation.

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Class overview - this area will show brief details about the ship class.
Builders - the shipyards/companies responsible for constructing the class.
Operators - the operators of the class. Usually your navy.
Preceded by - the ship class prior to the existing one.
Succeeded by - the ship class after the existing one.
Subclass - if the ship class had a number of modifications that made them different, they are known as subclasses, and this space is such reserved for them.
Built - the timeframe - usually in years - when the ship classes were built. If still ongoing, put "-present" (e.g. 1996-present).
In commission - the timeframe that the class were on commission/in service. If still ongoing, put "-present" (same protocol as above).
Planned - the total number of ships initially planned to be built.
Completed - the number of ships completed, accounting cancellations.
Active - the number of ships in the class that are in active service.
Lost - the number of ships in the class that were lost (destroyed). Different from scrapped or retired.

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General characteristics - this area will show technical details about the class.
Type - the ship type of the class. See the basics above.
Displacement - the weight of the ship. Usually measured in standard and full loads.
Length - the length of the ship. Usually measured in o.a. or overall, or between perpendiculars.
Beam - the width of the ship.
Draft - the vertical distance between the keel (bottom of the ship) and the waterline.
Propulsion - states the system and engines the ship uses to move around.
Electronic systems - navigational or military radars, or any form of electronic warfare used by the class.
Speed - the speed of the class. Measured in knots; usually on design speed.
Range - a distance that the class can cover.
Complement - the total crew of the class.
Armament - the weaponry set of the class. Use bulleted lists.
Armor - the protection of the class. Measured in thickness.
Aviation facilities - states if the class has an aviation facility, such as a helipad.

I hope you learned something from there. If not, you can always use an existing real life ship for inspiration or derivation.

Honestly, all I can say is - I won't ever stop rephrasing it - be creative. Always keep exploring and exploring new options, may it be a bit too insane or not. It is your own ship class, and you worked hard for it. Remember to accept criticism as well, for that is where you will improve. Also, work with others. Find those who have expertise in the subject to help you. It always never hurts to ask. :)

With that, this concludes the Guide to Making Ship Classes.

This has been IllusiaVH for this edition of IllusiaVH Does NSCodes. Until next time!

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Authored by Illusia and Neverendia