Ships

Before windmill energy was used, the first energy balloons were created, using specific features of the Planet Archipelago’s suns and stratosphere. In the upper part of the sky, large amounts of flashing energy could be seen, occurring also in the form of particular Archipelago Auroras. Scientists were surprised by how easy it was to store them in a balloon filled with hot air. Each balloon produces a certain amount of energy per hour.

With the development of energy balloons, it was thought how to use them to scan land, and this is how the idea of a spying balloon was born. A spying balloon is equipped with the latest audio surveillance equipment. With this unit you can obtain intelligence information, e.g. data about the movement of enemy fleets.

The prototypes of Light Fighters – the Vincis (named after its Ancient inventor) were established at the beginning on the basis of the remaining works of the Ancient Leonardo da Vinci. They were, however, slow units, heavily dependent on wind and mechanical wings. The Vincis were gradually modernized using the power of the Crystal and steam engines. Now the ship is agile and light - although not very durable in a direct confrontation.

Red Baron was created by certain eccentric inventor - aristocrat. He is the only manufacturer of these machines in the Archipelago, hence their number is small. However, due to aircraft’s agility and maneuverability, it is awarded to the best pilots, which makes this unit very dangerous and difficult to shoot down. Red Baron is a special unit available only through the expeditions carried out on a social network.

The first heavy fighter was created during the work on a prototype class Arth X bomber. It was quickly noted that despite the large costs incurred for its design and production, the heavy fighter is an ideal combat weapon. It was credited not only to its design, but also to the application of the newly discovered computer systems known as Crystal Logical Systems (CLS). As one might easily guess, the Crystal was also used in this technology for storage of program information. Today, the heavy fighter K-Arth X9 is a true defender of the fleet.

Equiped with stronger weapons version of Heavy Fighter. The design of this machine is in the prototype stage. Hunter is a special unit available only through the expeditions carried out on a social network.

Even before the discovery of Crystal Logic Systems (CLS), it was possible to create an efficient air fleet, but it did not possess a sufficient attack force. The only unit feared by the enemies was a Torpedo Boat. This relatively small ship, operating by means of the Crystal and steam systems, has a powerful attack force, often exceeding the attack force of units larger than itself.

The first Frigate was designed on the basis of the remains of the Ancient Interplanetary Ship. By applying the so-called Crystal graviters, or the Crystal micro generators of gravity, this relatively large and heavy unit is agile enough to cope well with light units. Its design is also open enough to make many improvements in it, which makes it the favorite ship of pirates and smugglers. Frigates, however, are designated for combat, and not for the services of the black market.

Unofficially it is known that the first raiders were suicidal reconnaissance raiders. Their noses were equipped with Crystal bombs, whose unstable design made it impossible to use them in conventional rockets or regular bombs. Sometimes, under the influence of vibrations and overloads, bombs exploded by themselves so the pilot had to fly as soon as possible into a sufficiently large concentration of enemy ships and die in a spectacular fashion, to the glory of Emperor of the Three Planets. Current raiders are reconstructed units which resemble its prototype only by name. These large ships are comparable in size to armored ships and are faster than them thanks to their new generation Crystal graviters. Unfortunately, to reduce the cost of their production, they are equipped only with light weapons and light armor. Today the Raider is an excellent supplement to light units that do not possess adequate attack force. Perhaps, that is why many people serving on these ships calls them ‘engines with weapons’.

Cruisers were built during the famous War of the Five Kingdoms, 300 years after the landing, and, in fact, they determined the situation on the war front. Due to their sturdy armor and high firepower, Cruisers were perfectly suited for breaking the defence of enemy ships. A typical tactic in the War of the Five Kingdoms was to sacrifice the Cruisers and send Frigates and Fighter squadrons through holes made by them. Many years later investments were made to increase defence abilities of the Cruisers, which resulted in the concentration of the enemy’s attack force on these units.

They say that the first Battleships were built from the funds of the Trade Guild. At first they were called the Certimuses, as a reference to Emperor of the Three Planets Certimus Magnus. This former ruler wanted to use them to consolidate his power. The ship is called the king of battle ships, and only a Flying Fortress can easily match that unit. The first Battleships, after the Emperor’s resignation, became the determinants of the Trade Guild’s power. The Trade Guild, currently headed by the mysterious Queen Gandha, extends now its influence not through military force, but by the power of money.

Destroyer Zero is horrible and extremely dangerous unit. Firepower is based on the gravitational destruction means zero gravity. Technology is based on the ability to generate focused beams of gravity, enabling the disruption of individual molecules. Unusual weapons is extremely dangerous for both the victim and for flying the ship. The Destroyer Zero is a prototype and officially banned because of the gravity explosion danger and also harmful radiation found in the gravitational cylinder. The cost of its production is very high due to - the prototype - the material needed (metal and crystal).

Transports were designed by relying directly on the works of the Ancient Leonardo da Vinci, mainly on the technology of steam engines, supporting it only with the simplest anti-gravitational properties of the rough Crystal. Relatively low construction costs make little freighters not only a good choice for the transportation of wood, which is the principal fuel for a steam engine, but also for the transportation of land units and spoils gained in battle.

The big brother of the Small Transport. It is a more powerful unit, which can take significantly larger load.

The Colonization Ship, a huge unit designed for the immediate colonization of other islands, was created approx. 260 years after the landing. The designers had to cope not only with the problem of creating a large unit (and therefore the structure based on large Crystal graviters, i.e. anti-gravity generators based on the Crystal), but also with equipping it with basic building blocks enabling immediate population of an island and the commencement of basic production on it. Therefore, the first Colonization Ships became prototypes of an Interplanetary Ship, since this high-tech unit was created on their basis fewer than 40 years later. Today, Colonization Ships are still produced on the basis of old construction designs, and there is no need to improve them.

This unit, a weaker version of the Raider, was called at the beginning the Microraider. It is used for the training of new pilots, as it is small and nimble. It only serves for land reconnaissance. With time, it was used by more skilled pilots. The Microraider also quickly became a favorite ship of the Spying Guild, of course, after having been equipped with shady improvements.

Little is known about the construction designs of the first Flying Fortress, the only unit capable of destroying platforms by means of a massive shot from a giant Super Gun. Queeen Gandha, heading the Trade Guild, is alleged to be responsible for the creation of this gigantic super unit. The first Flying Fortresses were introduced less than twenty years ago, and their technology was based on the Old Earth’s forbidden technological data, stolen from the Citadel. The creation of the Flying Fortress would have not been possible without the discovery of many years ago the technology for the creation of Interplanetary Ships. Flying Fortresses were designed to allow the Trade Guild to take full control of the Planet Archipelago. The threat that these units posed was so high that it resulted in a precedent - the formation of the First Infiltration Alliance between the majority of the then ruling island empires. The Alliance enabled the stealing of the data from the Guild and broke its monopoly on the production of fortresses. As one can imagine, it caused a rapid disintegration of the Alliance and the mobilization of various empires, which began their own production of fortresses. This situation has not changed until the present day. Here are the memories of Admiral Ythep about seeing for the first time a Flying Fortress (diaries of Ythep Amortoz): ‘I remember that first we saw a shadow, and our Frigates disappeared in it as if they were mere fighters. Later, we felt the accumulated energy of many Crystals passing through the air. Blue flashes tore the sky, and a loud bang and a thunderous bass rumble came to our ears. And then, suddenly we saw it. It looked like a giant egg lying on its side, bristling with sensors and guns, flashing with thousands of lights. In its nose rested the Super Cannon. And it was the last thing our soldiers had seen before they died.’

The first Towing Units, bristling with Crystal graviters, were used for the transportation of raw materials. With time, they were improved for the transportation of ships. Modern Tow Units are huge, anti-gravity units that can move even a fleet of 100 ships between two locations. It’s a very economical unit, as it is the only unit that burns fuel only during the transportation of a specific group of ships.

At the beginning, collectors were to be fast probes equipped with artificial intelligence software based on the data contained in the Crystals. Small probes called the V-34 were to find the enemy’s software systems in the post-war scrap in order to steal the data. With time, it was realized that it is worth more collecting the scrap than the data. The Collector became a transportation unit based on the probe’s systems, collecting valuable raw material directly from the battlefield. It is also one of the most important units in Tauri World in terms of efficiency.

Refineries are still prototypes, only recently put into mass production. The aim of a refinery is to get raw materials from deposits located outside the island. After filling its ramp, the refinery returns to its home island. These highly complex ships are manned by convicted criminals, whose brains are partially plugged into software systems, contained in the adjusted Crystal, which makes it possible to control them. Controlled inmates were the most sensible solution following mass thefts of extracted raw materials.

The Interplanetary Ship, based largely on the Ancient Interplanetary Ship, is a modern vehicle that makes it possible to travel between the planets of the Planet Archipelago and their colonization. The first Interplanetary Ships were built many years after the landing, during the reign of Emperor of the Three Planets Magnus Certimus. Their construction caused a rebellion that spread across the entire planet. Only the construction of the first armored ships helped suppress the rebellion and interplanetary riots of a religious and historical nature. Humanity remembered the effect of an unsuccessful start of one of the first Interplanetary Ships – the extinction of the Old Earth. The concerns, however, proved to be unnecessary - the first flights were successful and thanks to them, Certimus Magnus declared himself Emperor of the Three Planets.

The engines of the first Interplanetary Ships were created based on the technology of the Ancient Interplanetary Ship. At first, scientists worked on their invention in secret, remembering about the strong controversy concerning the destruction of the Old Earth caused by one of the first ships. Interplanetary Ship engines are only part of a complex technology based on the singularity generated by the Crystals; its current form is not as dangerous as before.

Made of steel and crystal solutions and chemical explosives, missiles are used as ammunition for large caliber cannons. They are excellent weapons to weaken the enemy’s defence.

Like missiles, anti-missiles are also made of the Crystal and steel solution; however, they are much larger and less mobile because basic systems based on probing technology are installed on them. Anti-missiles search and lure enemy missiles by emitting appropriate temperature beams. This is the first line of defence against enemy missiles. Remember that they allow you to save many lives.

From the very onset of the armed conflicts on the Planet Archipelago, it was plain to see that supplying the troops in combat was a very serious problem. The Trade Guild proposed a solution, creating the first supply balloons, which, for an appropriate fee, transported wood to the battlefield. The Guild’s monopoly was broken, however, when the first Tankers were produced in the Shipyards. These double-crew vessels, equipped with crystal graviters enabling them to fly, are able to provide timber needed by the fleet. With the help of the tankers, the fleet’s operating range increases significantly.