A Comparison between Infinite Space Ship Sizes and BattleTech BattleMech Classes

A Comparison between Infinite Space Ship Sizes and BattleTech BattleMech Classes

After spending hundreds of hours playing various games in the Infinite Space trilogy of sci-fi spaceflight roguelikes, I came to the realization that the series' capital ship size structure reminded me of a similar unit mass system used in BattleTech, a tabletop game set in the distant future (spanning a period of time from the late 20th century to the mid-32nd century as of this writing) and themed mostly about giant mechanized walkers (known as BattleMechs) with masses of under 10 tons to well over 100 tons (although rules for other vehicles, such as tanks, aircraft, spacecraft and boats also exist). Infinite Space, however, only allows players to control small spacecraft (all of which are fighters), capital ships (anything that isn't a fighter or a space station), and space stations (large, immobile structures that launch several fighters at a time). This also applies to its tabletop game spin-off, Eat Electric Death!

Much like BattleTech, Infinite Space has four main categories for the type of vehicle most prominently featured (BattleMechs in the former, capital ships in the latter). In BattleTech, they are referred to as Light (20-35 tons), Medium (40-55 tons), Heavy (60-75 tons), and Assault (80-100 tons); in Infinite Space, they are referred to as Scout (small), Corvette (medium), Frigate (large), and Destroyer (huge). In both games, larger and heavier units are generally slower and less maneuverable than smaller ones in exchange for having more space for weapons, armor, and other equipment. So here's a brief summary of each size class from both games.

Small and Light

Scout ships in the Infinite Space trilogy are the smallest, lightest, fastest and nimblest class of capital ship in the series, but have less capacity for weapons, cargo, armor and equipment. Therefore, they generally fulfill a role similar to light 'mechs in BattleTech: their speed, affordability, maneuverability and small size makes them ideal for scouting and reconnaisance. All scout ships, however, can either be configured for direct combat roles, although some, such as the Calatian Destroyer (which is classified as a scout in-game due to being the same size as one), are built that way from the outset.

Happy Mediums

In the Infinite Space franchise, a corvette is a type of capital ship larger than a scout, but smaller than a frigate or destroyer. They generally fall in between the two in terms of speed, firepower, armor, and maneuverability. This makes them the equivalent of medium 'Mechs in BattleTech: their balanced stats gives them a high degree of versatility. Faster units in these classes are often used for leading smaller ones into battle. The Calatian Cruiser is a special case: it's classed as a corvette, and sized appropriately, but the Calatians call it a cruiser simply because it's larger than their destroyers, while also being smaller than their two other capital ships (Dreadnought and Superdreadnought).

Heavy Hitters

Frigates in Infinite Space are the second largest class of ship; they are larger than corvettes and scouts but smaller than destroyers. Compared to smaller capital ships, they tend to sacrifice cargo space, speed and maneuverability for superior firepower and armor, as well as generally having more equipment slots. Although the extra size generally makes them more expensive than smaller capital ships, it also makes them well-suited to a wide variety of frontline combat roles, which makes them somewhat reminiscent of heavy 'Mechs in BattleTech in terms of strategic value, in that they can either be generalists or specialists, with the latter trading overall versatility for improved combat performance in a specific area. Note that Calatian Dreadnoughts are classified as frigates in-game due to being larger than every other Calatian vessel other than the Superdreadnought.

Assault Destroyers

Destroyers (and other similarly sized ships such as carriers, including those fielded by the Urluquai) are the largest and heaviest playable ships in Infinite Space. They are the slowest and least maneuverable ships available, but have more capacity for weapons and armor than smaller ships, and they also have good cargo space. Their lack of speed and agility means they are often escorted by smaller allied ships. Destroyers commonly serve as command units on the battlefield. However, they are expensive to build and purchase, and are therefore rare. In general, the role and abilities of destroyers in Infinite Space brings to mind that of assault 'Mechs in BattleTech: big, slow, but heavily armed and armored units often seen leading a frontal attack or guarding a vital defensive position, for which they are best suited. It is worth noting that due to their immense firepower and heavy armor, both the Yellow Kawangi dreadnought and the Calatian Superdreadnought are classified as destroyers, despite being larger and smaller, respectively, than most other ships in that category.

Other Classes

Fighters are to Infinite Space as battle armor (including Elementals) is to BattleTech: small units that have much less capacity for weapons than larger ones. However, whereas BattleTech's battle armor is always slower than a BattleMech, Infinite Space's fighters are far more maneuverable than capital ships, and much faster to boot. They cannot be assigned the role of flagship, and rarely have their own superluminal (i.e. faster-than-light) drive, but they are commonly used for hit-and-run attacks on capital ships, as well as dogfighting against hostile fighters. Space stations in Infinite Space serve as bases for fighters, and have built-in turrets for defense, but they have no direct equivalent in BattleTech (although some adaptations feature turrets as stand-alone defensive structures).

Conclusion

Both Infinite Space and BattleTech rely on a tiered system of unit classification, not just to distinguish them based on their size, firepower, speed, and mass, but also for their general combat roles. In both games, although it is possible for a formation to consist solely of units from one size category, this results in a specialized set of units that performs better in some roles than others, although there are exceptions. On the other hand, a formation comprised of units of varying sizes tends to be more versatile, although it is quite rare for such formations to have units from three or more different size classes. But no matter which of these two games you are playing, your choice of units (and how you configure them) is only part of what constitutes a successful strategy; tactics and positioning are also important, and combining all of these elements into a cohesive whole is essential for victory.