Starships

“Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly at first, but in the end to conquer the whole of solar space.”

-Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (Epitaph)

Because we sure do! Welcome to Spaceship Week. In the next few days, we’ll be introducing the front-and-center representatives of Infinite Horizon, and everything they have to offer.

In Infinite Horizon, your starship is your chief embodiment and “avatar,” being both your game piece and information readout in one. The ships of 2108 are built from modular frames, almost infinitely customizable, though primarily based on three distinct chassis archetypes: The Courier, The Pathfinder, and The Vanguard. As your player token, your ship is probably the most important piece of the game; that’s why we’ve also made it the centerpiece of Infinite Horizon.

Ships can be built from any popular brand of plastic building bricks (such as LEGO), or really, anything else you have lying around. Everything you need to know in-game, such as armor points, fuel, installed modules and cargo, etc. are all visually represented on your ship, without the need for clumsy notepads or cluttered piles of tokens (though, in a pinch, those work as well). For example, in the ship above, the yellow 1×1 studs at the aft represent fuel points, and the raised 1×1 grey tiles on the main bulkhead represent armor points.

We’ll be going further in depth into resources and other ship-based accessories this week, but today we’ll take a look at the three chassis archetypes in Infinite Horizon. Each chassis type has its own strengths and weaknesses, and choosing a chassis wisely to match your preferred playstyle can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

A long-lasting and able bodied design, the Ptichka (little bird) chassis has served the Federated Eurasian Republics for decades. Originally built from a manned orbital defense satellite, this utilitarian Courier’s simple mechanics and ease of maintenance has made it a favorite of not only the FER space forces, but also privateers and fringers in need of a cheap but effective spacecraft.

The lifeblood of any survey operation in the Infinite Horizon, Courier-chassis ships are built primarily to haul copious amounts of freight. While its small amount of armor doesn’t give much breathing room during a combat situation, an additional cargo bay and extended fuel tankage allows a savvy Courier to broaden its tactical opportunities greatly.

A Courier has:

• 6 Armor slots
• 10 Fuel slots
• 3 Cargo slots
• 2 Module slots
• 1 Tactical slot

If you prefer subterfuge and more technologically-inclined solutions to your problems, the Courier is the ship for you. You won’t last long in a one-on-one slugfest, but your wide array of tactical options can give you an edge in the skies that few other ships can match.

Owned and operated by Jackson Gunn and Tory Vesper of the Royal Flush survey team, the Transient Slipstream is a heavily modified variant on the venerable Stingray-chassis Pathfinder. With a barrel “repurposed” from a Tranquility Republic Vanguard, the Slipstream makes use of a unique “revolver” action; up to six different munitions can be loaded into the cylinder and fired when ready, including coilgun slugs, missiles, or even one-off particle beam ultracapacitors.

The first type of ship to travel beyond the reach of our Solar System, this is the workhorse ship chassis for most space forces. While superbly balanced in all functions, this “jack-of-all-trades” mentality does prevent it from excelling in any specific role, though their balanced jumpdrive allows them to make standard FTL and emergency jumps without spending fuel, making them excellent exploration vessels.

The Pathfinder has:

• 8 Armor slots
• 8 Fuel slots
• 2 Cargo slots
• 2 Module slots
• 2 Tactical slots

Just because the Pathfinder is balanced, doesn’t mean it’s boring! This versatile chassis type is perfect for hotshot explorers who want to get a taste of every aspect of the Infinite Horizon, from scientific and technological pursuits to two-fisted combat.

The Tranquility Republic spent decades after their initial secession from the governments of Earth on incredible industrialization and militarization efforts, anticipating an inevitable conflict with their deposed masters. As a result, the combat prowess of their ships is unmatched by any national or corporate space force. The Dagger is their workhorse Vanguard, built around a fierce mass driver, and is the product of years of buildup to a war that never came.

Vanguard-chassis ships are built for a singular purpose: combat. Their enormous armor capacity makes them second to none in dragged-out fights of attrition, and their advanced combat engineering allows them to attack and counterattack without spending their limited fuel reserves.

A Vanguard has:

• 10 Armor slots
• 6 Fuel slots
• 2 Cargo slots
• 1 Module slot
• 3 Tactical slots

If you think war is the answer to all life’s problems, then the Vanguard is definitely the chassis for you. Sure, you’re going to be short on fuel occasionally, but that’s okay because once properly kitted out, your opponents are going to be short on armor the rest of the game.

In the next few days, we’ll be covering resources and other ship-related accessories, so stay tuned!