Zombie Ships and Space Stations in Infinite Space: Do They Make Sense?

 Zombie Ships and Space Stations in Infinite Space: Do They Make Sense?

My analysis of the combat system in the Infinite Space trilogy continues with a new topic: zombie ships. I got the term from BattleTech, in which a zombie 'Mech is one that can continue to attack even after receiving enormous amounts of damage. To that end, it must also have no ammunition-dependent weapons or explosive components (and hence an all-energy loadout), in addition to having at least one of those energy weapons in the head or center torso. In addition to those, it must not have an extralight (or Inner Sphere light) engine; such engines can be damaged or destroyed if either (or both) side torso section(s) are blown off. Such a 'Mech can therefore only be destroyed if its head, center torso, or legs are taken out. This had me wondering: Would the same idea work in Infinite Space, especially Sea of Stars?

This Urluquai Carrier has lost most of its systems to critical hits from a Calatian destroyer, but its fighter bay is still fully intact and functional. Is this enough to make it a zombie ship?

The answer, in most cases, would be no. A zombie ship (or space station) in Sea of Stars is one that can continue attacking even if it is heavily damaged and has only one usable weapon (of which some ships can have up to seven) left with which to attack. This is especially relevant because if a ship's thrusters are disabled, it will still be able to move during the current battle, but not the next one (unless those thrusters are repaired). However, Infinite Space does not split hulls and shields into sections as BattleTech does: if a ship's shields are fully eroded away, then its whole hull is exposed; if the hull is destroyed, then so is the entire ship. Moreover, every component on a ship or space station can be damaged or destroyed, except for the fighter bays on carriers and space stations.

An example of a zombie ship or space station in Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars. The Terran station highlighted above has had most of its equipment disabled and has received severe hull damage, but can still attack other vessels, since its fighter bays cannot be damaged or destroyed, and will therefore remain fully intact until the station's hull has been completely destroyed.

Speaking of which, the fact that these ships and structures are the only ones in the game to have these features makes them more dangerous than any other ship type when you encounter them in combat, since they will continue to disgorge fighters until their hulls have been completely destroyed. This is one more reason to have at least one dedicated anti-fighter weapon installed on your capital ships in most situations. However, you can use the poptart trick (decloak, attack, then cloak again) if you have a cloaking device installed on one of your capital ships, to more easily counter the fighter spam that carriers and stations rely on to survive. Even so, they are the closest thing the Infinite Space trilogy has to the equivalent of a zombie 'Mech... with the exception of all Tchorak ships and the Kawangi Dreadnought, all of which are immune to critical hits, and may fit the profile of a zombie ship even more closely than any carrier or space station.

The Kawangi Dreadnought (above) and all Tchorak vessels (below; Vent Mother pictured) are the only ships in the entire Infinite Space trilogy to be completely immune to critical hits, and as such may well be considered zombie ships. In fact, they may be more worthy of the term than any carrier or space station in those games will ever be.

Carriers, however, have the advantage of being compatible with upgraded equipment, something that is never true of any Tchorak ship (whose armaments are integrated into their hulls and cannot be replaced). The Kawangi Dreadnought, however, combines the Tchorak immunity to critical hits with the ability to be upgraded in the Combat Simulator, although it cannot be acquired by the player in a normal game; as such, it is the most dangerous ship of any kind in the entire trilogy, and is without doubt the ultimate zombie ship, although even it is not totally indestructible.

Last but not least, Ravian capital ships (Seeker Scarabs, Battle Beetles, Hive Lords, and Moon Mutants) take the definition of a zombie ship one step further by having detachable Bug Heads that detach from the rest of the ship when their main hulls are destroyed. However, these Bug Heads have very fragile hulls, no shields, and only a Gluon Web for offense; as such, they are generally not much of a threat in actual combat, especially if you explicitly target them.

In short, zombie ships (and space stations) are much rarer than zombie 'Mechs in BattleTech, but they can still cause a lot of trouble for anyone who is not prepared for them. That said, I have never had to field a zombie ship (such as the Garthan Light Carrier) in a regular game so far; superior combat tactics and strategy will generally tend to negate the need for such units. In fact, whenever I have an opportunity to trade in a Garthan capital ship, I always trade up from a Garthan Scout to a Garthan Corvette or Frigate (or from a corvette directly to a frigate), but never to a Light Carrier from any lesser Garthan ship. This exposes a second problem with zombie carriers in Infinite Space - the fighters spawned from carriers and space stations cannot be upgraded, and always use their default loadouts exclusively, which makes them easier to counter. So although the idea of controlling a zombie ship is tempting, you're not missing out on much by not fielding them in your fleet.