Ships

All spaceships are built in the Weapons factory. Every level shortens the build time per unit, and the Microsystem accelerator speeds things up even more. Which ships you can build depends on your weapons factory level and your research – every ship page lists its requirements.

Build orders

A single build order may take at most 48 hours – if you order more, the amount is reduced automatically. Each planet can have up to five orders in its queue at the same time, and ships and defenses share that queue.

Engines and flight behavior

In SpaceInvasion 2 every ship has three flight values: setup time (the preparation before launch), acceleration and maximum speed. Every level of the matching engine adds +5% speed and +10% acceleration:

• Rocket engine: Small transport ship, Large transport ship, Small fighter, Warship, Colony ship, Spy probe, Jammer probe, EMP-Bomb, Scanner ship
• Diffusion engine: Transmitter, Star cruiser, Phoenix, Recycler
• Warp engine: Battle ship, Stealth bomber, Destroyer, Imperial star base

A fleet is only as good as its weakest link: the longest setup time, the lowest acceleration and the lowest maximum speed. On short trips setup time and acceleration matter most, on long ones the maximum speed. The Flight model explains how it all fits together.

Transport, combat and alien missions

Combat ships bring attack, shield and hull: they raid, protect your planets and fight aliens. Transport & support ships haul resources, found colonies, spy or collect debris – with hardly any firepower, except the Transmitter. You need the third group for alien planets: the Jammer probe, the EMP-Bomb and the Scanner ship.

Bonus damage

Many ships deal extra damage to certain defenses – every ship page lists them under "Bonus damage against". The more of those defenses your opponent has, the more it pays off. In turn, many guns deal bonus damage to certain ships. A fleet that matches the enemy defense therefore often beats a bigger but one-sided one.

What matters in battle

A battle lasts up to five rounds. Shields absorb damage first, only then is the hull hit. A unit's hull comes from the material it is built from – so expensive ships can take more punishment. Weapons technology, Shield technology and Defense systems raise attack, shield and hull by 10% per level each. Read more under Combat system.

How to read the stat hexagon

Every ship page shows a hexagon with six axes – just like in the game. The further a point reaches outwards, the stronger the ship is in that area:

• Hull – how much damage the ship can take before it is destroyed.
• Attack – its firepower per round.
• Shield – how much damage is blocked before the hull suffers.
• Speed – the maximum speed without engine research. The hexagon does not show setup time or acceleration.
• Cargo – how many resources the ship can carry.
• Economy – fuel efficiency: a long point means the ship is thrifty, a short one means it burns a lot of spice per flight.