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Ship design is one of the core strategic pillars of Gameplay. Players construct and customize vessels by selecting from a range of weapons, utility modules, and other components. Each ship can be tailored to fill a specific role in a fleet or supply chain.
Combat Ship Classes
Falling Frontier features four main combat ship classes. The game contains over 20 distinct ship types spread across these classes, alongside an array of civilian vessels.
Class | Role |
|---|---|
Frigate | Smallest combat vessels; suited to fast strikes and patrol duties |
Destroyer | Mid-weight combatants balancing firepower and mobility |
Cruiser | Heavy combat vessels with greater armament and durability |
Battlecruiser | The largest combat class; heavily armed capital ships |
The development team noted that battleships and carriers are not present in the Frontier sector, as such vessels are considered too expensive to build during the early colonization of a new system.
Named Ship Classes
Several specific hulls have been shown in official materials. Names and class are confirmed; per-ship statistics have not yet been published and will be documented as they are revealed.
Ship | Class | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Berwick | Frigate | Shown painting targets at close range to guide friendly fire. |
Coventry | Frigate | Shown conducting electronic warfare to disrupt nearby missiles. |
Sheffield | Destroyer | Shown firing missile salvos from cover behind an asteroid. |
Sukula | Civilian / utility | An early ship design revealed during development. |
Civilian Ships
Civilian ships form the backbone of the logistics network. Supply ships transport food, munitions, and supplies to fleets operating away from allied stations. Cargo ships jump between stations carrying raw resources, requiring fuel for FTL travel. Destroying enemy civilian vessels is a key form of economic warfare.
Customization
Ships are assembled from modular components. Players select weapons, utility modules, and other fittings to shape each vessel's role. The development team noted that a shared color language exists across ship designs so players can identify a ship's function at a glance while still reflecting faction aesthetics in the visual design. In this scheme, white generally marks sensors, while orange marks maintenance or access points such as hatches, bays, or missile tubes. Each faction also has its own palette: Titan ships, for example, share a single orange-stripe scheme.
Combat Damage Model
Each ship has individual subsystems that can be damaged or destroyed by weapons fire. Hits to munitions storage can cause a chain reaction that destroys the ship instantly. When ships are destroyed, the internal decks become visible inside the wreckage. Fully physicalized ballistics mean that rounds follow realistic trajectories, can miss and strike other ships, and can ricochet off hulls.