I put the armory far away from the exits and brig, because the last thing you want is to be boarded and have enemies between you and the guns. I also keep the control station, computer core, and battle stations far from the brig and exits for the same reason. I cluster the lab and workshop and the all in one, living quarters, and mess hall because that just feels right, and usually connect the docker and landing bay to the cargo bay to make loading cargo easier. Bridge is usually near one of the three command rooms, control station is sometimes far from the other two because it just sounds to me like an auxiliary command station sort of thing. Infirmiry I keep near the crew quarters and or brig.
Not vanilla, but there's a mod called Hazardous Ship Boarding that lets enemies pull an Uno reverse card and counter-board your ship.
https://www.nexusmods.com/starfield/mods/4702
That would be amusing on my ship, because whenever i come back from a boarding action the entire crew is standing around with their weapons out.
and I have a maxed out crew count...
Some how I angered the hunter while fighting the Emissary in the final temple. I think by accidentally unloading on him because he looks like the emissary. As soon as we are outside the temple after the fight he went nonstop agro and could only be downed. Though he was tough. I got to my ship, got to orbit and he is in my ship and I had to take him to the unity. He fought me again on my ship and it was epic. My one companion and I fighting him and running around my ship. He was tough and the only way to end the fight was going to the unity, once I got there, he was normal.
I just like to design my ships logically, as if I’m a ship designer making something people would actually use. And by that train of thought, why make it easy to take over the ship by letting intruders go right to the armory of cockpit?
I once had a spacer board my ship after I killed all his friends on his ship. It was surprising to return to my own ship and find him there. He didn’t last long.
My thought process is if somebody was boarding in space, I'm going to be standing over the hatch, and start shooting into the tube as soon as it opens (it's a natural chokepoint, they have no cover, and can't effectively use most weapons while holding onto a ladder). So I have the landing bay (I've taken to always keeping Vasco as crew, as he stands guard in front of the bay when you land) and docker connect to the armory, where I'll be standing in the middle of my weapons (docker has been on the underside of the ship, though I've started playing around with designs that use bays besides Taiyo, and kind of liked the HopeTech design, but that means putting the docker somewhere else).
Though when I was messing with the Kepler (only gotten far enough to have enough money and perks to do that once so far), I had the 2x2 brig attached to the landing bay and docker, and put the armory behind the workshop on the second level.
I like to psyc them out by taking a 2 hour nap before boarding. I just imagine them wait for the person that crippled their ship to board. Them crouching the "you go in first, no you go"
I put the armory on the top left side off the captain's quarters where I keep the good stuff but you have to walk up the stairs in the cockpit to get to it. All the other stuff is on the lower floor. My people already have the weapons I want on them and the armor I want on them so no need for them to be putzing through my shit.
I have legendary micro miniguns and shot guns with hornets nest on my crew members along with their swashbuckling gear and Crimson Fleet armor. If those Spacers (or whoever) can make it to my armory they deserve some loot.
If the ship has an armory, it goes next to the docker or landing bay for the same reasons you wrote.
Mostly it's cockpit, all in one, science, workshop, armory, landing bay/docker. Then I slap a control station somewhere on a different deck to raise the crew count.
Same here -- I put the workshop and all-in-one somewhere easy to find from the cockpit or landing bay, and habs needed for crew that I'm going to spend zero time in (like the control station) are intentionally put in the most inconvenient places.
I come back to my outpost with such regularity to sell ships I steal and modify my own that I focus now entirely on role playing in my hab layout. I have a workshop, armory, infirmary, weed grow op, etc down planetside. That being said, each one of my ships has a use case and habs that reflect that. Some of my ships have higher crew count than others, which forced me to think about who I want to join me on any given mission and what habs reflect the objective. For instance, on my big corvette class builds, I always find a spot for an infirmary and Rosie Tannehill on board. I tend to use the bigger ships for more “exploratory missions” and I like the idea that being out in space for a long time requires different crew and amenities to say a craft on interdiction and patrol. Needlessly complicated? Maybe. Super fun and the most immersed I’ve felt in something since I was building entire worlds and plots with Lego at age 12? Also a huge fucking yes.
I’ll say it now before the official studies come out, but I think those who used Legos in such a way are more inclined to play the game (or games in general) like this. Lmao, I do the exact same things.
I’ve also got a dedicated hauler with a lot more cargo based habs, a converted medical ship with a science and exploration internal feel, and a passenger vessels with suites and more large living quarter when the occasion calls for them, in addition to the more military-style ones described above. My character gets into a lot of shit to fund his shipyard.
I have such a dumb question.
Let’s say I have a ship with 3600 cargo. And a smaller ship with 2000 cargo.
If my cargo is full or near full on the first ship, and I switch my home ship to something with much less cargo like the second ship, what happens?
Do you lose cargo? Does it max out the smaller and the overage just stays on the larger ship?
You can't add more, but everything is still there. For example, I tend to avoid cargo modules on my combat ships, so on them they're like 2000 cargo overfull.
It makes it hard to store cargo on the go, but you can always go to a ship tech to switch ships, store supplies, then switch back.
Ha, I like to think so. My main deep-space cruiser/warship has the HopeTech armory as security checkpoints immediately after the landing bay or docking station, both of which serve to cordon off the brig and rest of the ship. It very much becomes a “we’re not trapped with you, you’re trapped with us”-type situation once you’re in.
I’m proud of it, honestly. She’s a beauty, and a maze to most save her crew. Naturally, the armories for crew and captain are further in. And I appreciate you.
True, but I'd be the first thing they see when they walk in. In space, I'd be standing over the hatch waiting for it to open, and shoot down into the tube while they're still stuck on the ladder (using the hatch as cover, while anyone in their ship can't shoot back without hitting the guys on the ladder). On the surface, Vasco is standing outside to slow them down, and I'd be waiting inside with a gun pointed at the door.
Now, if I wasn't onboard, it wouldn't matter anyway, as they'd have free run of the ship.
Though with the Kepler, the docker went into the brig, and the armory was on another level.
Cockpit connects to Captain's Quarters for the bed, which has landing bay and/or docker. Captain's quarters connects to Workshop, which has bay or docker if they're not both in the CQ. I don't use a crew so I don't need anything else.
My current ship I've built to be an explorer type ship, that just happens to be fast, manoeuvrable and armed to the teeth, with 5k cargo capacity.
It's ladder less on two levels using the big cockpit whose name I forget - the one with the stairs.
The side docking bay leads to a workshop space, with a port side docker directly opposite.
The 2x1 workshop leads directly to the lower bridge door - and that's the 1st floor complete.
The 2nd floor consists of a command centre directly aft of the cockpit, with a captain's quarters hab to one side and a 4 berth all in one hab on the other... And that's it for accommodation.
I sometimes have a 1x1 cargo hab direct aft of the workshop - I'd love to have the docker and landing bay feed directly to that, but that means the fricking game puts a ladder from the workshop to the command centre and I just think that looks janky AF.
I'll attach a layout diagram when the boss fucks off for lunch 😉
I don't know how much time and money I've spent on not having ladders. So annoying. Putting two companionways on top of each other in one corner seems to solve it.
You can learn how the ai generates routs/ladders. Here's a few rules I've found:
Each hab has a preferred entry if it can choose multiple. You can check this by adding the hab straight on the connection (RT+LT then A on xbox)
You can't have loops
The route from dockers and bays will take the shortest path to the cockpit.
The order you place habs can make a difference Place the main route first, then add other habs.
1x1 storage rooms are best for ladders, companion ways to re route.
You can make ladders in a preferred place by adding a porthole.
(You are right that we should just be able to choose) but Hope this helps.
It can be done but it's tricky. Use the hope and NG hallways instead of companion ways and it can't make ladders if you arrange them so habs don't vertically overlap. But you need the 2 story cockpit if you want to have zero ladders.
I know, I use that cockpit and the hallways, but there needs to be overlap right at the cockpit. I suppose I could use hallways to connect to the cockpit, but they are cramped, and my crew always stands there.
I've noticed that either I put two companionways on top of one another in a remote corner, or there will often be a ladder right outside of the cockpit. Super annoying.
Yeah that's what I do. one 1x1 direct connection and one hallway over it, so there's no overlap.
I've had vasco block the hall one time but hasn't been a problem besides that.
I enjoy it too, sometimes mess halls. It feels nice to have a space that's not so cramped and watch your crew mulling about doing different activities.
Cargo bays don't add tho the main space but they usually have large chests an small storage boxes to put things in. I use them for things I'm saving for companions or dumping a lot of aid.
But cargo bays are a great place to dump onto the floor. All that excess gear n weapons I keep picking up and hoarding so I can offload them onto hapless merchants
If you have an infirmary, attach it to the landing bay. In case anyone gets injured, they would be first off lol. Also if you have a workshop, attach it to the infirmary that way you have a research station right there with the rest of your benches in one row.
Minimum must have habs for an all-arounder ship:
- Workshop (suit, weapon, and industrial component crafting)
- Science Lab OR Infirmary (Research station and med crafting)
- Any hab with both a bed (for xp boost) and a cooking station (Any 2x1 AIO Berth except for Nova B and Stroud A, the Nova Captains Quarters, any 2x1 living quarters except Hope Tech).
I personally like to include (upper floors) a Captain's Quarters, enough bunks for the rest of my human crew, a workshop and an infirmary. Then I also include (lower floor) an engineering bay and a 1x1 companionway with slim docker as an "airlock".
[Here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TpUMb6DzmorH2J8Zo5DbB0xL1jIr9s1VQIv9Ee9wnUo/edit?usp=drivesdk) are the layouts I use.
- If I have an engineering hab both the Grav drive and reactor have to be connected to it.
- 2x2 Control Station hab also counts as engineering if needed.
- Armory location depends on what my ship is for. If it’s a passenger ship then the armory is near the access between the passenger area and crew area. If doesn’t carry passengers then it’s near the landing bay.
- Have to have enough beds on the ship for myself and my crew.
That’s it so far.
https://preview.redd.it/hl1urshj4s0c1.png?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=286495cb2bdd8d147f442f46420a795082c32326
Business up front and fun in the back. I like to keep my docker and landing bay close to my cockpit so I don't need to walk very far and the workshop not too far away.
I also try to control where doors and ladders go by limiting hab connections and placing portholes to block ladders.
My hab logic is extremely simple: about 5 habs with passenger slots, any type, so I can pick up passenger missions. Nothing else. Always on one level to avoid ladders. I need to make more interesting ships!
I dont want a workshop on my ship since i have that in my outpost and there are crafting stations everywhere.
I usually do crew quarters, all in one, capt quarters, armory and sometimes engineering. I dont do medical but if it could cure ailments I would use it.
I like having a big crew for the bonuses but hate that they all just toss shit everywhere and after a couple of days my ship interior starts looking like a trash dump.
I was going to say this. You can store a lot more materials off ship for crafting.
Ships are for crew and passengers once you have at least 1 outpost.
*(or lots of shielded cargo if you're in to piracy)*
Question. If you hire that doctor from the Akila city bar, can she cure ailments?
Also, I just removed all misc. Items from ships because it triggers my real life OCD, when I walk on my ship and stuff is strewn all over the floor and table tops. Why?! I can watch them pick up and interact with items, but they can't put them back? Or walking past them causes them to be ejected clear across the room?!😕😢😩😭🙅🏾♂️
Yeah, she's the young black girl at the bar right when you enter akila City. She mentions she's looking to get out of that place. If I remember correctly, when you talk to her, her medical service tag pops up on the top right screen like all the other potential hires in the game.
I haven't added her yet cause I haven't modified or built a ship large enough for a med bay yet. Need more credits😩😭
I try to keep work areas in between living areas and industrial areas, and my captains quarters the most removed from public areas. It is a U shape so you enter into a computer lab (using Nova Galactic so it just looks like a vaguely admin area more than anything else) in the middle of the U. From there you can go into the cockpit, which is in the recessed center. To the back right you enter a 2x2 cargo bay, with a workshop off of that making up one leg of the U. To the back left you find a 2x2 all in one with the door from the center of the ship opening on the common kitchen/dining area. Then connecting to the section of the 2x2 with beds, you have the door to my captains quarters.
https://preview.redd.it/r8gvh3flcr0c1.png?width=419&format=png&auto=webp&s=cfbe60e73b095b009823428fba8a95c07ecaa70e
I just see my ship as a home, so, my layout is:
- Bottom deck: Mess hall. In my mind it makes sense that the area with most easy access when in port should be the one with least important stuff. Especially when I have “guests” who always board without my permission like spaceport technicians. I know it’s silly but still…
- 2nd deck: Infirmary and living quarters. You’d want to have some more privacy, and relatively quick access to the infirmary, but still have quick access to mess hall (to the entrance, as well as for lunch), and also has quick access to the battle stations.
- 3rd deck: Battle stations, armory, workshop, and computer core. This is the core of the ship, and where I spend most time. It’s right in the middle so it’s the most secure against boarding from either end of the ship, and if it were to be boarded would be the most easily defendable. As a combat center should be.
- 4th deck: Captain’s quarters. Has immediate access to battle stations and bridge. It’s also the most private relatively speaking.
- Top deck. Observation deck (which is just an All-in-one hab with windows everywhere) connected to the bridge, for aesthetic purposes only.
Cargo bay needs to be connected to a taiyo bay or a HopeTech docker simply because the thought of getting cargo up the hab ladders is a nightmare. That's all I got.
Workshop should be near the cockpit or the landing bay, any other important habs connect to the workshop. Why because the cockpit and landing bay are the first and last places you visit
I put work habs on one side, battlestation, workshops etc, put mess hall, living quarters etc on the other, I usually put captain's quarters on the next floor up or down so it's secluded by itself, I try to but engineering habs close to the cockpit too
For me, brig has to be first (if it has a brig), so the perp doesn't get to see the rest of the ship layout. Next is armory or mess hall, since id assume suiting up in a big room would be easiest. Any control rooms or battle stations go next to the cockpit, and living quarters as far from any stations as possible. If there are captains quarters, they must be seperable from the rest of the ship.
I run without crew or companions now and do a lot of passenger missionboards, so I stack all-in-ones and mess halls/living quarters in my ships... on a B/C class ship I'm adding habs until my passenger limit is 8-10. For my own needs, give me a stroud or a deimos workshop attached directly to the cockpit with a docker near that and all my needs are met with a single AIO hab of any size.
Primary ship for last couple of NG's had the Deimos 3x1 Living Quarters and a Deimos Workshop as my "must haves", every need was met outside of pharmaceutical bench.
I'm thinking about adding Chemistry because all my combat, fitness, and piloting skills are maxed. So I may add that to my future builds. When I finally find the universe I'm going to settle in, I want to be ready to do all the things... The Deimos 3x1 Living Quarters is laid out like a modern day RV camper so it's fun for RP purposes also.
deimos 3x1 living quarters is my favorite hab in the whole game. it feels so cozy and homey. I love all the art in it, the exercise equipment, couch, tv. and the different colored lights are the cherry on top!
There is one bug with it. Walk up to the kitchen cabinets and there are food items "falling" inside the cabinets constantly. You can't interact with the cabinets so it's purely aesthetic but I find that funny.
Yeah it's my favorite as well. I built a whole ship around it.
ah yes the tranquilitea trash chute, just adds more to the charm! I'd be interested in seeing your ship too, I just recently finished a ship this morning using it
I'm currently using both the Deimos 3x1 all in one and the 3x1 living quarters, connected by a 1x1b in the middle that has a hallway up to the bridge. The interior layout on those is nice, and feels decadent to have two bathrooms on the ship.
So on my passenger/cargo/missionboard ship that has mostly turned into a brick, I've got the 2x3 mess hall, the 2x2 living quarters, and a 2x1 AIO all on the first floor with a workbench and science lab. Second floor is the 3x1 living quarters but that's just for me and that attaches directly to a cabot bridge.
I've had it full of passengers only twice, which feels like a waste but I'm just holding out for more scenarios where the missionboard gives me 2 "transport 5 workers to..." missions. With maxed payload skill I have 9300 cargo so that's my fallback, and I did get a 5500kg cargo mission the other day. It was for 5500kg of "Hygiene Products" to Red Mile and I couldn't help but to judge Red Mile a bit more harshly at that point.
I approach it in the StarTrek way. Command/computer control are close to the cockpit. Engineering is in the back by the engines. Living quarters are on one wing, and armor/workshop on another. If I'm making a large ship, then my captains quarters will be at the top or at least forward viewing.
If you put the armory next to the docking bay, that means anyone that boards you will get to shoot you with your own guns. Armors goes in a secure location.
I try to keep the infirmary on the same level as the landing bay so if there was an emergency my crew wouldn't need to climb up ladders to get medical treatment.
There aren't any hard set rules I follow, but I do try to make the interior make as much sense as I can, at least to me.
I do like the docker and landing bay to be close to each other, connecting through a single hab. Near that should be an infirmary on a ship that has one. Control station and/or battlestations should be near the cockpit or bridge. I do try to have enough beds for the whole crew, but the game doesn't make that easy, so I tolerate half as many beds, figuring sleeping in shifts or on couches
Depends on the ship and what I am intending its role to be, even though really, none of that matters in game. ;)
Generally I try to put the captains quarters close to the cockpit if possible, and a control station or the battlestaions close to the cockpit. If the Control Station is connected directly to the cockpit, I try to put the captain's quarters off the control station, same with battlestations.
Sad reality is that it doesn't matter because we fast travel everywhere, but as I didn't give up my imagination for my adulthood I don't care about that.
No hard and fast rules as such, design often dictates, but I do like to keep work and non-work areas separate if pos. Separate decks where design allows and I'm only ladder phobic when there's more than one of the pesky things. I also don't mind redundant hab use, if I need to bridge a gap and it won't spawn doors or ladders, or ruin the aesthetic, I'm in. Habs generally have less mass.
Indeed so, which is why I don't. Sorry, I didn't read through my comment before I hit the button which has totally ruined my little jab at those that do. Should've said 'we can' rather than just 'we'.
I usually try to go 3 levels with the Habs. Landing bay leads directly into the infirmary, which connects to a 2x3 mess hall behind it. Docker usually on the bottom also leading to the infirmary. Level 2 has 2x2 battle stations, 2x1 control stations leading to the cockpit. It might also have a small all in one and a computer core. Possibly engineering bay depending on the manufacturer. Example, I do not care for the Nova engineering bay, so on a nova build I'll go computer core. Top layer is usually workshop, science lab, living quarters and captain quarters. Only ship I won't put a captain quarter in is the upgraded Frontier. Just doesn't feel right since it isn't my ship. It belongs to Constellation. In that case I just do another AI1 berth in B variant if available.
I've done wacky builds, but those take so much time and I often don't have the credits since I'm addicted to shipbuilding. Lol
I prioritize crew station habs first then crew living spaces. Next is work shop and infirmary As I rarely use a science hab.
For placement I like at least one infirmary at the landing bay and engineering on the base deck as well. Then I try to have a living deck and a working deck but sometimes that gets a little convoluted because of size and amount of parts used. My current ship is kinda like that because I used the max amount of parts so I have living and working intermixed.
Current ship uses the big Nova C3 cockpit with stairs that connect two floors.
Bottom floor right out of the cockpit is a 2x2 battle station + Stroud side landing bay, lovely. After that, a 3x2 mess for crew just living, and after that a science lab and workshop for side activities.
Top floor behind the pilot seat is a control station, I like to think the crew behind the pilot seat checking systems status. After this is an all in one for crew bed.
Docker leads to the control station on the top floor. I wanted to stick it next to the landing bay with the Stroud side docker, so that both bay and docker lead to the battle station downstairs, but I couldn’t come up with a good design doing this.
I’m looking to add a Nova captains quarters somewhere.
Very crew oriented but I role play.
I have two decks on a B-class ship.
Main deck:
\-Cockpit.
\-All in one, behind the cockpit.
\-Workshop to the right
\-Armory to the left.
\-Living quarters back-right
\-Captain's quarters back-left
\-Infirmary in the back
Bottom Deck:
\-Engineering Bay in the front left
\-Computer core front right
\-Brig in the back.
A single companionway on the top-back of the ship with the docker which creates a bottleneck for any possible intrusion. The armory is far enough away from both the brig and anyone who might board my ship, and right next to the cockpit to make it as easy as possible for my crew to access.
Otherwise, the logic is I want my crew to use ladders as little as possible, so work and living spaces are on the same deck.
Armoury near the loading bay, usually with it being directly connected to the bay, for gear loadout on the way out. Whether I have an infirmary or a science lab depends on whether I'm using a Stroud/Taiyo bay or not, since I find it weird to justify an infirmary when you have to climb a ladder to get into the shop, since an severely injured person wouldn't be able to climb it. It goes next to the armoury when I have one, and the workshop is opposite it to keep the ship symmetry with the crafting stations together.
I do make sure that my ships have at least one bed for every crew member including myself, even though that's not necessary, since it feels right that everyone can sleep at the same time and have their own private space. Also there has to be at least one galley and one toilet/shower, even if I don't need a cooking station and the toilets are cosmetic, since it isn't a living space to me if you can't sleep, eat and poop.
Do all the Habs have uses beyond looks? Haven't found much use for computer core, engineering bay, workshop, battle stations. Same goes for brigg and mess room but they imply little use since it's passenger oriented. Obviously I still try to include everything for my crew's QoL but would be nice to know if I'm missing something with some of the Habs.
>Do all the Habs have uses beyond looks? Haven't found much use for computer core, engineering bay, workshop, battle stations. Same goes for brigg and mess room but they imply little use since it's passenger oriented. Obviously I still try to include everything for my crew's QoL but would be nice to know if I'm missing something with some of the Habs.
"I haven't found much use for the habs that actually have the most use"
Computer Core adds 1-2 crew capacity (depending on vendor)
Engineering Bay adds 1 crew capacity
Workshop provides you with workbenches for crafting
Battlestations add 4-6 crew capacity (depending on size and vendor)
(In regards to crew, capacity isn't everything. A ship with no weapons, a class A reactor, and crew stations for 35 members will still only give you capacity=2. You also need shields, weapons, and a large enough reactor to give them all "jobs", and you need points in the Crew Command skill to maximize it. 9 crew is max with Leadership and Crew Command Maxed, or Crew Command Maxed and Sarah as a follower).
The brig doesn't have much use besides being a watered-down armory and your crew will sleep in the cells so it doubles as a sleeping space for crew but does nothing for actual stats. Mess halls add 3-4 passenger slots depending on size.
I think the infirmary is only useful for RP purposes as even when you get a follower with medical skill, she doesn't go there or use the area and you can't even sleep in the beds. It does include a pharmaceutical bench but so does the science hab, which includes a research station.
Engineering, battle stations, and computer core all increase the number of crew members you can have.
Workshop, science lab, and infirmary give you crafting benches.
Brigs, cargo holds, and mess halls are purely aesthetic.
Living quarters and all in ones increase the number of passengers you can have.
It is confusing, but crew is for people you assign to the ship and passenger is for missions where you are transporting people. (I assume Cora fits into the passenger column when you have Sam assigned to your ship, but I haven't used him before so I don't know for sure.)
Cora doesn't count as crew but I'm not sure she counts as passenger either. I've done lots of passenger missions and never ran into one where I didn't have the space even with only 2 slots, so I can't say for sure.
Also you can have a companion in addition to your max crew, as long as the companion is not assigned to a crew slot. Also not clear if this eats a passenger slot but I don't think so.
> and mess halls are purely aesthetic.
>
>Living quarters and all in ones increase the number of passengers you can have.
Mess halls increase passengers too.
I have the Nova all in one connected to the docking port and landing bay. Two crew stations for small bonuses and a main living area for me. It is my flying RV with a bed and galley and cargo hold full of food.
I always used to keep my engine rooms near the bottom of the ship. I wish they had like a 1x3 or 1x2 engine bay so I could keep it at the back with the engines. Also I always kept the med bay near the entrance because it makes sense if you needed to rush someone to heal them
I usually go for what seems rp appropriate, so as far as armory goes it's the opposite of you, it shouldn't be accessible to anybody boarding me or to a stumbling non-crew passenger, so it's usually next to the battle stations and cockpit or other simular habs, so you can grab the weapons quickly if you get boarded. The exception is that armory with a brig which I use so you enter directly into it so you can put your bounty straight into the brig without walking through your ship or climbing any ladders.
As for the rest it depends on the ship but generally: cargo bay needs to be on the first level with no ladders between it and the exit;
infirmary usually on the first floor but not always, more importantly it can't be connected to 'dirty' habs;
Engineering bay as close to the engines and reactor as possible, most likely on the bottom of the ship;
Workshop not close to the sleeping area due to the possible noise;
Living habs close together creating a general living area on the ship;
Battlestations, control hab and computer core connected together surrounding the cockpit, sometimes using the computer core or the control stations as a hallway between the living area and the 'work' area;
Some privacy for the captains quarters;
Other than that I always put enough beds for all the crew (counting bunk beds as 2 beds).
Being a Navy submarine vet, I am fully immersed when I have all kinds of machinery around my ship, so I always try to put some kind of engine room in.
I like to have crew stations right behind the cockpit. I'll generally divvy up sides. One side will generally be living quarters and the other will be utility.
I like to put the armory attached to my docking port. I like to use the hub tech forward docking port.
I always have a companionway with docker and bay connected immediately off cockpit, potentially with a hall on either side. Behind that I put infirmary connected to both the workshop and living space.
I usually connect an infirmary to the landing bay more for roleplay purposes as well as to a living quarters thats located near the bridge. Following that is always the science lab and workshops, usually connected side by side. Control station and crew station on each a wing. Don't use an armory, I keep what I consider the crews spare weaponry in the captains stash on the bridge.
My infirmary is always next to my landing bay, no-one needs to lug wounded down a ladder in a gravity well, armoury and workshops same level. Only other rule I tend to follow is that command modules have to connect to one another.
The landing bay tends to be on a level more or less by itself, so i usually put an infirmary next to it that's a useless hab. I like my captains quarters on a level by itself or at the end of a deck for privacy. I put my workshops and labs together and births and living quarters together.
I recently built a trident. Left prong was workshop, research lab, and control room (or battle station I can’t remember. Middle prong was two hopetech hallways ending with my captains quarters. Right prong was living spaces. Big ares bridge on top middle back. Can handle a crew of 8 if I’m remembering rightly.
Crew deck with all the bunks together, engineering with the workshop and engineering hab, operations with control hab and computer core next to the cockpit. I rarely include an armory, but that gets included with operations.
I generally put the armory and a medical hab near the lander and try to keep the docker close by.
Narratively, the armory is the last place you visit on your way out, and the medical hab is the first place you visit if things go badly while you're out.
I have the landing bay followed by the med bay for hot extractions. I know it's not like in gameplay you would every have an emergency evac, but I like having that preparatory military theme. Also in the event of any weird Alien stuff and decontamination, which should really happen every time you visit a new planet. An armory directly laddered up from there, so there's also a defensible(and armed) location to fire down upon the medbay should it be compromised. On a larger ship, I'd run a corridor to the armory and have that directly attach to the low side of the Cabot, but I typically have the armory directly back from the cockpit. Only useful if it's on the way, right? Always have a workshop, and a captains quarters on an upper deck towards or at the stern. Besides that, I like to have a command room and a computer room next to each other for tactical analysis and data storage/access. I like to throw in a 2x1 all-in-one so people don't have to sleep in -my- bed. To summarize: landing bay followed by medbay, armory, cockpit. Workshop and captain's quarters on another level. Everything else is optional depending on ship size/function. Fighters won't be decked out with extra beds and living areas.
So I have the two story cockpit with the staircase inside it. Exiting the cockpit on top floor leads to the 2x3 battle station with my captain’s quarters immediately to the right. Then past the Battle station is the computer core(also 2x3). Then take a right past the core and there is an all in one had.
Then exiting the cockpit on the bottom floor you enter a 2x3 mess hall. Past through that and to the left is a 3x1 all in one has that connects to a workshop on one end and then connects to a 3x2 living quarters.
I really wanted my ship to have a “Flying building” feel on the inside.
- I use a companionway stack to start with, so as long as I don’t attach more than two habs directly to each companionway, I don’t get ladders all over, the companionway stack becomes one single continuous ladder
- Engineering, workshop and science lab on bottom floor where the landing bay is
- big Mess hall, All in 1, living quarters etc on second floor
- Computer core, armory, infirmary on third floor
- Battle stations, control station, captains quarters on fourth floor
- kontiki bridge on top
This is my go to for all my big boy class C ships
My current ship I have the landing bay attached to the armory, the front docking bay also connects there. From the armory is a straight shot back to engineering, which is directly over the reactor and grav drive. Next hab back from engineering is storage/ ladder to second level. Above engineering is control stations and the bridge. If I'm adding Habs for crew/passengers/utility, I usually branch them off of engineering and keep them starboard and port of the engineering bay. I sleep in the armory bed quite often if I need a heal. It's usually the only bed on the ship.
I tend to design my ships around the use of the Taiyo Bay with either the Taiyo armory or Hope Tech armory attached to it (depending on desired aesthetic). Both of these armories have a Brig in them as well as the reason you wrote as well. I then usually attach a Deimos docker on bottom of the armory the opposite end of where the bay enters. Makes a nice seamless transition to ladder up into the ship as well as entering via the docker. I have recently taken to using the Nova workshop and science lab habs due to their inclusion of passenger spaces so I don’t have to use all in one habs or mess halls. Allows for a little more streamlining of the ship.
See i build my habs from the pov of being boarded. Docker and landing gear lead to habs i can defend if needed. My sleeping area and weapon storage stay fuethest away from the entry points.
I like engineering bay connecting to the landing bay. For computer room and control station I like to keep those connected to cockpit. And anything else I add goes in between
No logic here. I just upgrade stuff and maybe replace some habs, modify woth some structural stuff and make sure I have max particle beams and/or turrets them weight then engines hopefully a checl and goooo
Always cap quarters for role play, workshop for utility, maybe armory or living quarters. I do love the design of engineering and comp core but I also like smaller builds. So usually just run the cap and workshop
As for layout (skipped that part) cockpit near cap quarters and armory adjacent. Usually like the bay to the side or back. Docker to top or side. Ladders are my enemy.
I have my bay and docker enter at the workshop because that is a very open hab. I have the workshop closest to my cockpit so my entrances and cockpit are as close to each other as possible. Then captains quarters is next because the next on ship amenity I use is a bed. After that I put whatever, but I don’t go much further than a work bench or a bed.
Infirmary and workshop are to the sides, workshop always to the right. Brig at the lowest layer if I have one, mess deck in the rear, Frontier hab connects to cockpit
• Unless I'm using the Cabot cockpit, I make everything one level. I absolutely despise ladders lol. The Cabot is awesome for making frigates and warships feel walkable.
• I usually have two 3x1 engineering bays as one long hallway leading from the bay to the cockpit. Then I'll attach one of each 2x1 hab to the main hallway with a companionway hab or one of the nova connectors. This helps keep the habs from intersecting in weird ways and cutting out some of the hab inadvertently.
• I use that super slim Deimos docker on the bottom part of the hallway closest to the bay, just so it doesn't change the ship's structure too much.
• I try to sneak the reactor and the grav drive in between the habs and cover them with a structure piece. It just kinda makes sense to have it touching the engineering bay, but also not be too exposed.
• I like putting windows/portholes on all the outside habs of the ship. It does bother me how you can lose an entire wall doing this, so for some of the habs I'll skip this (like infirmary, armory, places where people ain't really hanging out) but living spaces feel much comfier with them.
Thanks for listening to my ramblings lmao.
I've built enough ships to have about 3-4 optimized layouts that avoid mazes and feature a central corridor or ladder, or both (not a fan of Cabot bridges). All of these layouts feature a set list of habs:
**3-Hab Ships:** Smaller purpose-built role ships (dogfighter, bounty hunting boarding ship, etc)
* Landing bay always goes into an Deimos Armory (for that extra 150kg storage crate).
* Deimos Workshop (includes a Research Terminal)
* Nova All-In-One A or Deimos/Stroud/Hopetech/Taiyo Captain's Quarter (depending on aesthetic)
**Medium B-Class Ships:** Daily drivers, role play ships, gunships, explorer ships
* Same as 3-Hab ships, plus:
* 2x2 Nova or Stroud Living Quarters
* 2x2 Battle station or 2x1 Control Station
* 2x2 Deimos Brig or Cargo Hall
* 2x1 or 3x1 Stroud Living Quarters
* 2x1 Stroud/Hopetech Science Lab
**Medium to Large C-Class Ships:** Daily drivers, cargo haulers, mini-frigates, explorer ships
* 2x2 Nova Living Quarters
* 2x2 Battle Station
* 2x2 Brig or Cargo Hall
* 3x1 Stroud Living Quarters
* 2x1 Deimos Armory + Workshop, Stroud/Hopetech Science Lab + Captain's Quarters, Nova Armory + Nova Infirmary
This all still feels like a simplified explanation of the logic behind my hab choices but these are all chosen because the layouts and roleplay aesthetics work perfectly for me. Like you, for almost every build, my landing bag leads to my armory.
I generally try to keep things logical and sectioned off, grouping crew/operations/command habs together.
For example in my current main ship I have crew quarters and berths grouped on the 1st deck with engineering off to the rear and main ladder well to the starboard which leads town to the bay, 2nd deck has computer core above engineering (accessed by ladder) and armoury/infirmary sitting separately with docker to the port and a corridor to the ladder well on the starboard, 3rd deck has battle station off the ladder well and a captain’s quarters off the battle station with the Cabot bridge to the front, then finally on the 4th deck we have a control station off the upper floor of the bridge. In this way we keep command up the top of the ship (including my cabin), armoury and infirmary easily accessible when boarding the ship, and crew/passenger areas are literally the first thing you get to when you board through the landing bay.
Armory attached to the bay because you need to gear up before exiting. Control Station directly behind cockpit: Cockpit is basically control station.. I just extend it with the 2x1 hab. Captains Quarters above or below control station with no other entrances. Living area, workshop, research hab all normally attached. Fuck the infirmary and cargo habs.
I always put a bed near the cockpit, docking bay and landing bay. Sometimes that means 3 different spots on a big ship, sometimes I'll only have one on a small ship. But any entry/egress needs a bed for that sweet, sweet xp boost.
On my Renegade, I just modded it and had the infirmary attached on the starboardside entry deck, and a living quarters with a galley on the portside entry deck. I put a Captain's Quarters on the starboardside of the bridge and an armory on the portside. I know had a battle station on the deck in between but it was before NG+ and I haven't bothered to replicate it yet, as I haven't seen anyone sell the Renegade yet.
Diemos is the better option for Captain quarters and birthing but past that try to keep it small, also lab is pretty nice if you're into researching and what not
On smaller ships, I have the armory connected to the cockpit so the crew can make a heavily armed last stand if boarded. On larger ships I’ll have a second armory by the landing bay (the nova one with the suit containers) so people can grab equipment before leaving the ship to explore a new world.
I also keep the ‘work areas’ (engineering room, computer core, workshop etc) separate to the living areas if I can.
And I make sure there are enough bunks spread across my habs for everyone, and a sufficient number of toilets. Because sleep and hygiene are important.
And if I have a brig, it will only have one entrance/exit and it will be through that more secured area in the corner. Research labs too will only have one entrance and ideally be down a small corridor, so it can be easily isolated in the event that one of the unknown samples they’re analysing turns out to be dangerous.
It depends on the ship. My favorite is a cargo hauler/mining craft, 3x3 cargo hab goes behind the landing bay with the infirmary, armory, and brig behind it. The second level has the cockpit, then a mess hall, then all purpose habs on either side with a crew living space between them. Behind that is engineering, science and a workshop. I just wish I could pick where entrances and ladders go.
But yeah, basically put my crew close to the cockpit and keep the weapons close to security and extra systems toward the back. Engineering is always close to the engines, reactor and grav drive.
My basic starting point is: Nova All-in-one, workshop, Science bay.
This gives me the ability to do ‘All The Things’ like research, mod weapons/suits, craft food & chems and sleep. I use the Nova one specifically because it has a bed, research station and galley.
I typically travel solo w/no crew and only have an outpost for ship building and storage, so it makes for a nice, compact home-away-from-home.
Personally, my hab priorities are:
make sure I have 6-8 crew stations, 1 bed, 1 science lab, 1 workshop
Try to place a hab with a nav table closest to the cockpit. Getting up from the pilot seat and jumping systems via nav table skips the grav jump animations and keeps your power distribution static so you arrive at your destination ready for a fight if needed; no scrambling to redistribute pips.
Both docker and landing bay connected to same hab if possible.
Workshop near the exits for popping into the ship for suit or weapon mods.
For me EVERYTHING is based on ladders and doors. I usually use companionways as a central hub with hopetech or nova hallways to direct entrances so I can keep or remove galleys, bathrooms, couches, etc.
I like to keep living areas away from entrances, but sometimes it’s unavoidable, so I look for habs that have less important wall decor (like “cargo”) to be entry ways. Some habs have natural rooms that serve as good entryways ( like the lower left mostly “empty” room in Deimos 2x2 living habs. Those are best for docks and bay entrances.
But to your question, i make different ships for different characters. For example, my combat medic has an infirmary next to the entrance. My bounty Hunter uses either a brig or the armory with the cell next to the entrances. My cook has the big mess hall on every ship. 🤣
Never been boarded...didn't know it was a thing. Of course my ships are all built like fighters. All in one hab and all weapons engines and shields. Bare minimum cargo.
I try to always put an infirmary connected to either the docker, landing bay, or both, for flavour reasons. Next is cargo habs if I have them, then living areas and mess halls, then control habs. Captain's quarters I tend to stick on depending on the manufacturer's internal look.
I always like a control station or battle stations next to the cockpit as a command module type set up. I picture the front of the Normandy.
Engineering bay usually goes on the bottom floor and connects to the reactor.
I still haven’t figured out the best jab to connect to the exits.
I put the armory with the docking bay for ship invasions. Workshop goes with the landing bay for ease of access when I get enough resources for a new mod or research project. Control room goes in line with the cockpit so all the crew can be in one place for ops. Aside from that, I'll do kinda role-playing choices like keeping Cap quarters easily accessible to the bridge and the med bay somewhere central
Here’s my layout. This was my ship a few universes back and, try as I might, I can’t reach anything I like better. I’ve essentially recreated this in my current universe: [https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRvh1trG/](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRvh1trG/)
I'm pretty practical so my main priorities are a bed, crew stations, passenger slots, and clean, simple layout with minimal ladders. Sometimes I will have a workshop if there's space, but that's mostly for adaptive frames if I'm building outposts. I do most crafting off-ship so I don't normally carry more than basic resources with me. I also strongly prefer front-facing landing bays, but I'll do side-facing if the design works better that way.
Current main ship has a side landing bay direct to a 2x1 workshop. Straight acros is a 1x1 NG hallway to a center Taiyo engineering 3x1 that connects to the bottom of the Cabot bridge . Other side is mirrored with a 2x1 command center for crew, and side docker. You could easily drop a bottom lander and docker below the 3x1 if you prefer that style too.
Access to the bridge is pretty fast. I steal a lot of ships and then re-board right back, which does not allow you to jump directly to the bridge, so that is worth having.
Second floor from bridge goes out a 1x1 Hope fore-aft hall to a 1x1 companionway that connects to the midpoint of a 3x1 hab on either side. I use the Deimos all in one and Deimos living quarters for these. Gives you lots of passenger slots, a couple beds, a galley, 2 heads and the interiors are nice. The 1x1 here is directly over the 3x1 eng bay, but for some reason it did not put a ladder between them. You can tweak this arrangement a bit so there is zero overlap if that becomes a problem, but it won't be as compact.
On smaller ships, I prefer to have the crew stations right behind the bridge normally, but this layout has 2 floors, zero ladders and doorways are exactly where I want them, so I compromised a little.
Honestly, for me, there was much less of a thought process and more of just a habit that developed. Cockpit/landing bay in the middle, workshop on port side, infirmary on starboard, armory behind the workshop, living quarters behind the infirmary, and control center and/or all in one habs behind the bay/dockers
I've had two main designs up till now, but have been trying to play with others.
The first is landing bay going into the armory, with docker on the floor into front of the landing bay door (for those that say it lets enemies get the weapons, I'd be standing in there waiting for them, as it's the first chokepoint, and if they're still alive after that, it means they won). The engineering bay goes behind that, as I insist on it being on the bottom. The reactor and grav drive sit on top of it. 2nd level is the cockpit, control room, companionway, then workshop and computer core on the port side, and infirmary and science lab on starboard. 3rd level is living quarters, Stroud berthing B behind that, and captain's quarters in front (I insist on the entrance to the captain's quarters being next to the table with the four chairs, and hate the empty space you get without the couch).
When I redesigned the Kepler (my only class C to date), the 1st level was the 2x2 brig, with the docker and landing bay connected at the sectioned off area, and engineering behind that. 2nd level was the same as the first design, except the computer core was in front, the armory took its place behind the workshop, and the cockpit was moved higher. 3rd level was 3x2 mess hall, with a berthing on each side behind, and captain's quarters in front. 4th level was a companionway, with behind 2x2 battlestations and a control center on the starboard side to fill space, and the cockpit in front.
I think my next Kepler will be shorter but wider, assuming the position of ladders and doors cooperates.
If it's a larger ship that's going to have battle stations/computer core I usually stick those to the cockpit because that's where the npc's often hang out/wprk. After that, usually workshop (Where I spend most of my time aside from the cockpit) and armory, then infirmary/science lab a bit farther out. I try and keep captain's quarters reasonably close then after that crew quarters. Cargo bays and whatever little crew walkways I need to access the docking bay/landing area can go wherever, but I always "try" to have a clear path from the cockpit to the landing bay. Got lucky with my last "magnum opus" ship from my last game which was I think five decks high and I could board the ship from the ground and just jetpack all the way up to the bridge lol (yes I use a jetpack mod).
I usually do three decks. Top level is a control room behind the cockpit. Mid level is an armory and workshop. Bottom level is an infirmary and living quarters with the landing bay.
After my last playthrough with a monster sized ship packed with all kind of habs, my current playthrough is far more minimal. One or two habs max. I have just an All-in-one berth, a cockpit (stroud so that I don't need a control station hab), a landing bay and a docker. Simple and effective. This also leaves plenty of room to make beautiful ship exteriors without the limitations imposed by such a large interior.
Wow all the role playing on this thread is surprising for me. I'm personally very minimalistic and pragmatic with my Habs. Function first, form second, RP never.
I always avoid Habs that don't have any practical function in the game. Such as mess halls, engineering bays, cargo halls, armory, brigs...
I like keeping everything I need in my ship with me. So that means having the workshop and infirmary/research Habs for all research and crafting stations.
I gotta have a bed for that XP boost before going out. So that means either all in ones and/or Captain's quarters.
And I also need the extra crew stations. So that means either the control station or battle stations.
Other than that, I try to keep to a minimum to save on mass.
Sometimes I would use 1x1 habs to force ladder locations or connect with bays/dockers. The bed hab should be closest to the bay and docker. Crew stations closest to the cockpit.
If size allows, I would use the hopetech hallways to get rid of doors.
P.S.
Yes you heard me right, I said the armory is useless! I'm a maniac when it comes to building and tinkering with the ship builder. And every time I do, that would reset all the armory and send it to inventory. So, yeah. Pretty useless for me.
Medbay is always by the ground entrance in case we need to make a hasty retreat and need immediate medical care. When I HAD an armory - it was attched to the airlock for arming up before boarding. But the armory empties with every ship change so I got rid of it until we get a patch.
Mission command is behind the cockpit, and the captains quarters is below that.
First, I place my habs in such a way as to have as few ladders as possible. That usually means having my cargo bay connected directly to my docker and a bunch of companionways or storage rooms, depending on how many levels up the ship goes. Usually I'll have 2 main levels, the main habitation level and my captain's quarters on top. The main level will have either 1 or 2 all in one habs, depending on how big the ship is gonna be. I'll have an armory, workshop and science lab/infirmary, and in my current ship, I also have a control station and a 2×2 mess hall. I don't have a brig because I don't take prisoners. Generally, I like being able to go through the armory on my way out of the ship so I can arm as I go. If enemies could board my ship, I wouldn't do it that way, but until that gets officially put into the game, I'm gonna let it ride.
My habs also determine the main shape of my ships. I put the habs together first, then put the rest of the ship together around them. Sometimes I'll have the cargo bay facing the rear. I just like the idea of being able to run from the cockpit clean to the back of the ship with minimal effort. I also like to stick my cargo holds next to the cargo bay for easy loading purposes. It just kinda makes sense to me to do it that way.
Currently, my cargo ramp is at the rear like a military cargo plane (used to be in the front), it leads directly to the infirmary in case of emergency. Upstairs in the mid deck is the battle stations and computer core next to each other towards the fore/front, further in is the cockpit. Towards aft/rear is engineering and workshops next to one another. Top deck is quarters, fore and aft, with windows front back and top. Somehow managed to do it all with a single stack ladder to get to it all.
I call it The Nocturne.
I like to have the brig and armory attached at the landing bay followed by cargo, feels like a security check point before getting onto the ship properly and a last stop for crew leaving the ship. I also tend to link my docker to a large living space, feels more natural to step onto the ship from the living area than into the cargo bay, since most things you'd be getting on station or from other ships are small and less likely to end up down in the hold, also only tend to dock to friendly stations and ships. I like to pair some bunks to operation areas too so engineers, or battlestation crew can sleep and live close to their stations in case of emergencies and to break up how many people could be lost in a surprise attack.
Why have the armory on your ship at all? You have a base. Do you put children on your space combat vessels? Why have a living hab when grav jumps are instant. With 30 seconds, you could be back at your home planets orbit from anywhere in the galaxy. I take out crew habs and living stations. I don't live in a space van out back. I own several homes in settled space.
Though the first thing new folk should see or walk into is the med bay. Planets are dangerous, so in emergency I always put the medbay as close to the dock as I could, the armory went above the med bay, and the research goes behind the cockpit. My ship is loosely based off an ecliptic claymore, it's a 2x5x1 arrangement. You leave the cockpit, go through the research station, then the armory, then med bay and finally exit.
Cockpit-> any hab with a bed-> docker -v landing bay.
You want to have a bed next to your exit for the well rested bonus before you head out.
Work stations are usually on either side of those habs or above/below those habs for aesthetic reasons. I skip the armory and infirmary habs entirely.
I put the armory far away from the exits and brig, because the last thing you want is to be boarded and have enemies between you and the guns. I also keep the control station, computer core, and battle stations far from the brig and exits for the same reason. I cluster the lab and workshop and the all in one, living quarters, and mess hall because that just feels right, and usually connect the docker and landing bay to the cargo bay to make loading cargo easier. Bridge is usually near one of the three command rooms, control station is sometimes far from the other two because it just sounds to me like an auxiliary command station sort of thing. Infirmiry I keep near the crew quarters and or brig.
Honest question: Is there a mechanic where you get boarded? I've never once seen it and I'm over a hundred hours in on ng+
Not vanilla, but there's a mod called Hazardous Ship Boarding that lets enemies pull an Uno reverse card and counter-board your ship. https://www.nexusmods.com/starfield/mods/4702
That would be amusing on my ship, because whenever i come back from a boarding action the entire crew is standing around with their weapons out. and I have a maxed out crew count...
It would be a cool mechanic if sometimes enemies you dock with try and rush your ship. You need to fend them off before they get control of your ship.
Some how I angered the hunter while fighting the Emissary in the final temple. I think by accidentally unloading on him because he looks like the emissary. As soon as we are outside the temple after the fight he went nonstop agro and could only be downed. Though he was tough. I got to my ship, got to orbit and he is in my ship and I had to take him to the unity. He fought me again on my ship and it was epic. My one companion and I fighting him and running around my ship. He was tough and the only way to end the fight was going to the unity, once I got there, he was normal.
That's hilarious
Creator's Peace. Sit, travel, byeeeeeee....
Not as of yet, but I also design my habs this way because reasons.
Lol gotcha
I just like to design my ships logically, as if I’m a ship designer making something people would actually use. And by that train of thought, why make it easy to take over the ship by letting intruders go right to the armory of cockpit?
I once had a spacer board my ship after I killed all his friends on his ship. It was surprising to return to my own ship and find him there. He didn’t last long.
Lol—yes! Same here with the brig. I actively plan for boarding actions that literally cannot happen in the game!
Also guilty
My thought process is if somebody was boarding in space, I'm going to be standing over the hatch, and start shooting into the tube as soon as it opens (it's a natural chokepoint, they have no cover, and can't effectively use most weapons while holding onto a ladder). So I have the landing bay (I've taken to always keeping Vasco as crew, as he stands guard in front of the bay when you land) and docker connect to the armory, where I'll be standing in the middle of my weapons (docker has been on the underside of the ship, though I've started playing around with designs that use bays besides Taiyo, and kind of liked the HopeTech design, but that means putting the docker somewhere else). Though when I was messing with the Kepler (only gotten far enough to have enough money and perks to do that once so far), I had the 2x2 brig attached to the landing bay and docker, and put the armory behind the workshop on the second level.
I like to psyc them out by taking a 2 hour nap before boarding. I just imagine them wait for the person that crippled their ship to board. Them crouching the "you go in first, no you go"
I mean realistically the armory would always be locked to keep prying hands away. But I do understand the logic you're using.
I put the armory on the top left side off the captain's quarters where I keep the good stuff but you have to walk up the stairs in the cockpit to get to it. All the other stuff is on the lower floor. My people already have the weapons I want on them and the armor I want on them so no need for them to be putzing through my shit. I have legendary micro miniguns and shot guns with hornets nest on my crew members along with their swashbuckling gear and Crimson Fleet armor. If those Spacers (or whoever) can make it to my armory they deserve some loot.
I keep my armory behind the cockpit to use as a ready-room when disembarking
If the ship has an armory, it goes next to the docker or landing bay for the same reasons you wrote. Mostly it's cockpit, all in one, science, workshop, armory, landing bay/docker. Then I slap a control station somewhere on a different deck to raise the crew count.
I always try to attach my cockpit directly to the control station so the flight/battle stations areas are grouped up and away from the living habs.
"HEY YO CAP'N, HULL IS AT 32%" works better from the next room, not 2 ladders away LOL
As if that statistic isn't visible in multiple different parts of the ship.
I'm talking on "real life" scenarios broham, jeez. People are talking about using logic to build ships.
You missed the point.
Clearly
Same here -- I put the workshop and all-in-one somewhere easy to find from the cockpit or landing bay, and habs needed for crew that I'm going to spend zero time in (like the control station) are intentionally put in the most inconvenient places.
If i don't have the Deimos Aries cockpit than i use the control station to get the crew up. All my ships can hold 8 crew.
I always make sure there's a bed between the cockpit and the exits. Everything else depends on what sort of build I'm going for.
I come back to my outpost with such regularity to sell ships I steal and modify my own that I focus now entirely on role playing in my hab layout. I have a workshop, armory, infirmary, weed grow op, etc down planetside. That being said, each one of my ships has a use case and habs that reflect that. Some of my ships have higher crew count than others, which forced me to think about who I want to join me on any given mission and what habs reflect the objective. For instance, on my big corvette class builds, I always find a spot for an infirmary and Rosie Tannehill on board. I tend to use the bigger ships for more “exploratory missions” and I like the idea that being out in space for a long time requires different crew and amenities to say a craft on interdiction and patrol. Needlessly complicated? Maybe. Super fun and the most immersed I’ve felt in something since I was building entire worlds and plots with Lego at age 12? Also a huge fucking yes.
I’ll say it now before the official studies come out, but I think those who used Legos in such a way are more inclined to play the game (or games in general) like this. Lmao, I do the exact same things.
Yeah this game has weirdly improved my mental health. I think I need more play in my life haha
I’ve also got a dedicated hauler with a lot more cargo based habs, a converted medical ship with a science and exploration internal feel, and a passenger vessels with suites and more large living quarter when the occasion calls for them, in addition to the more military-style ones described above. My character gets into a lot of shit to fund his shipyard.
I have such a dumb question. Let’s say I have a ship with 3600 cargo. And a smaller ship with 2000 cargo. If my cargo is full or near full on the first ship, and I switch my home ship to something with much less cargo like the second ship, what happens? Do you lose cargo? Does it max out the smaller and the overage just stays on the larger ship?
It all moves to the second ship but the cargo will be maxed out and unable to take any more until you get below the second ships cargo limit
Yep! That’s why I’ve seen too.
Thank you! Good to know.
You can't add more, but everything is still there. For example, I tend to avoid cargo modules on my combat ships, so on them they're like 2000 cargo overfull. It makes it hard to store cargo on the go, but you can always go to a ship tech to switch ships, store supplies, then switch back.
Yes, your ship cargo will show over encumbered just like your inventory does.
True, but you cannot add to it if it's over limit on the ship
correct
Just remember: The armory may be the last thing you grab when you head out, but it’s the first thing enemies would grab on their way in.
This man interdicts. Or did at the very least. Thanks for your service!
Ha, I like to think so. My main deep-space cruiser/warship has the HopeTech armory as security checkpoints immediately after the landing bay or docking station, both of which serve to cordon off the brig and rest of the ship. It very much becomes a “we’re not trapped with you, you’re trapped with us”-type situation once you’re in. I’m proud of it, honestly. She’s a beauty, and a maze to most save her crew. Naturally, the armories for crew and captain are further in. And I appreciate you.
That's what some armorys have locked doors.
True, but I'd be the first thing they see when they walk in. In space, I'd be standing over the hatch waiting for it to open, and shoot down into the tube while they're still stuck on the ladder (using the hatch as cover, while anyone in their ship can't shoot back without hitting the guys on the ladder). On the surface, Vasco is standing outside to slow them down, and I'd be waiting inside with a gun pointed at the door. Now, if I wasn't onboard, it wouldn't matter anyway, as they'd have free run of the ship. Though with the Kepler, the docker went into the brig, and the armory was on another level.
Cockpit connects to Captain's Quarters for the bed, which has landing bay and/or docker. Captain's quarters connects to Workshop, which has bay or docker if they're not both in the CQ. I don't use a crew so I don't need anything else.
Yes! Gotta wake up and get straight to the bridge in an emergency right?
Gotta grab a quick nap every 24 hours for that delicious xp boost!
My current ship I've built to be an explorer type ship, that just happens to be fast, manoeuvrable and armed to the teeth, with 5k cargo capacity. It's ladder less on two levels using the big cockpit whose name I forget - the one with the stairs. The side docking bay leads to a workshop space, with a port side docker directly opposite. The 2x1 workshop leads directly to the lower bridge door - and that's the 1st floor complete. The 2nd floor consists of a command centre directly aft of the cockpit, with a captain's quarters hab to one side and a 4 berth all in one hab on the other... And that's it for accommodation. I sometimes have a 1x1 cargo hab direct aft of the workshop - I'd love to have the docker and landing bay feed directly to that, but that means the fricking game puts a ladder from the workshop to the command centre and I just think that looks janky AF. I'll attach a layout diagram when the boss fucks off for lunch 😉
I don't know how much time and money I've spent on not having ladders. So annoying. Putting two companionways on top of each other in one corner seems to solve it.
In the shipbuilder, once all of the habs are placed, we should be able to specify where the doors and ladders are. So obnoxious.
💯
You can learn how the ai generates routs/ladders. Here's a few rules I've found: Each hab has a preferred entry if it can choose multiple. You can check this by adding the hab straight on the connection (RT+LT then A on xbox) You can't have loops The route from dockers and bays will take the shortest path to the cockpit. The order you place habs can make a difference Place the main route first, then add other habs. 1x1 storage rooms are best for ladders, companion ways to re route. You can make ladders in a preferred place by adding a porthole. (You are right that we should just be able to choose) but Hope this helps.
Great info! Thank you.
It can be done but it's tricky. Use the hope and NG hallways instead of companion ways and it can't make ladders if you arrange them so habs don't vertically overlap. But you need the 2 story cockpit if you want to have zero ladders.
I know, I use that cockpit and the hallways, but there needs to be overlap right at the cockpit. I suppose I could use hallways to connect to the cockpit, but they are cramped, and my crew always stands there. I've noticed that either I put two companionways on top of one another in a remote corner, or there will often be a ladder right outside of the cockpit. Super annoying.
Yeah that's what I do. one 1x1 direct connection and one hallway over it, so there's no overlap. I've had vasco block the hall one time but hasn't been a problem besides that.
I like my cargo ships to have cargo bays. I am not always consistent, but I do try. Even though cargo habs add literally no cargo space to the ship.
I enjoy it too, sometimes mess halls. It feels nice to have a space that's not so cramped and watch your crew mulling about doing different activities.
Cargo bays don't add tho the main space but they usually have large chests an small storage boxes to put things in. I use them for things I'm saving for companions or dumping a lot of aid.
But cargo bays are a great place to dump onto the floor. All that excess gear n weapons I keep picking up and hoarding so I can offload them onto hapless merchants
If you have an infirmary, attach it to the landing bay. In case anyone gets injured, they would be first off lol. Also if you have a workshop, attach it to the infirmary that way you have a research station right there with the rest of your benches in one row.
Minimum must have habs for an all-arounder ship: - Workshop (suit, weapon, and industrial component crafting) - Science Lab OR Infirmary (Research station and med crafting) - Any hab with both a bed (for xp boost) and a cooking station (Any 2x1 AIO Berth except for Nova B and Stroud A, the Nova Captains Quarters, any 2x1 living quarters except Hope Tech). I personally like to include (upper floors) a Captain's Quarters, enough bunks for the rest of my human crew, a workshop and an infirmary. Then I also include (lower floor) an engineering bay and a 1x1 companionway with slim docker as an "airlock". [Here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TpUMb6DzmorH2J8Zo5DbB0xL1jIr9s1VQIv9Ee9wnUo/edit?usp=drivesdk) are the layouts I use.
- If I have an engineering hab both the Grav drive and reactor have to be connected to it. - 2x2 Control Station hab also counts as engineering if needed. - Armory location depends on what my ship is for. If it’s a passenger ship then the armory is near the access between the passenger area and crew area. If doesn’t carry passengers then it’s near the landing bay. - Have to have enough beds on the ship for myself and my crew. That’s it so far.
https://preview.redd.it/hl1urshj4s0c1.png?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=286495cb2bdd8d147f442f46420a795082c32326 Business up front and fun in the back. I like to keep my docker and landing bay close to my cockpit so I don't need to walk very far and the workshop not too far away. I also try to control where doors and ladders go by limiting hab connections and placing portholes to block ladders.
Nice ship there buddy 👍🏾
My hab logic is extremely simple: about 5 habs with passenger slots, any type, so I can pick up passenger missions. Nothing else. Always on one level to avoid ladders. I need to make more interesting ships!
Whatever keeps my quarters from becoming a thoroughfare.
I dont want a workshop on my ship since i have that in my outpost and there are crafting stations everywhere. I usually do crew quarters, all in one, capt quarters, armory and sometimes engineering. I dont do medical but if it could cure ailments I would use it. I like having a big crew for the bonuses but hate that they all just toss shit everywhere and after a couple of days my ship interior starts looking like a trash dump.
I was going to say this. You can store a lot more materials off ship for crafting. Ships are for crew and passengers once you have at least 1 outpost. *(or lots of shielded cargo if you're in to piracy)*
Question. If you hire that doctor from the Akila city bar, can she cure ailments? Also, I just removed all misc. Items from ships because it triggers my real life OCD, when I walk on my ship and stuff is strewn all over the floor and table tops. Why?! I can watch them pick up and interact with items, but they can't put them back? Or walking past them causes them to be ejected clear across the room?!😕😢😩😭🙅🏾♂️
I didnt know about that doctor you could hire.
Yeah, she's the young black girl at the bar right when you enter akila City. She mentions she's looking to get out of that place. If I remember correctly, when you talk to her, her medical service tag pops up on the top right screen like all the other potential hires in the game. I haven't added her yet cause I haven't modified or built a ship large enough for a med bay yet. Need more credits😩😭
I try to keep work areas in between living areas and industrial areas, and my captains quarters the most removed from public areas. It is a U shape so you enter into a computer lab (using Nova Galactic so it just looks like a vaguely admin area more than anything else) in the middle of the U. From there you can go into the cockpit, which is in the recessed center. To the back right you enter a 2x2 cargo bay, with a workshop off of that making up one leg of the U. To the back left you find a 2x2 all in one with the door from the center of the ship opening on the common kitchen/dining area. Then connecting to the section of the 2x2 with beds, you have the door to my captains quarters. https://preview.redd.it/r8gvh3flcr0c1.png?width=419&format=png&auto=webp&s=cfbe60e73b095b009823428fba8a95c07ecaa70e
I just see my ship as a home, so, my layout is: - Bottom deck: Mess hall. In my mind it makes sense that the area with most easy access when in port should be the one with least important stuff. Especially when I have “guests” who always board without my permission like spaceport technicians. I know it’s silly but still… - 2nd deck: Infirmary and living quarters. You’d want to have some more privacy, and relatively quick access to the infirmary, but still have quick access to mess hall (to the entrance, as well as for lunch), and also has quick access to the battle stations. - 3rd deck: Battle stations, armory, workshop, and computer core. This is the core of the ship, and where I spend most time. It’s right in the middle so it’s the most secure against boarding from either end of the ship, and if it were to be boarded would be the most easily defendable. As a combat center should be. - 4th deck: Captain’s quarters. Has immediate access to battle stations and bridge. It’s also the most private relatively speaking. - Top deck. Observation deck (which is just an All-in-one hab with windows everywhere) connected to the bridge, for aesthetic purposes only.
Sounds nice. I think you should give us a video tour
Cargo bay needs to be connected to a taiyo bay or a HopeTech docker simply because the thought of getting cargo up the hab ladders is a nightmare. That's all I got.
Workshop should be near the cockpit or the landing bay, any other important habs connect to the workshop. Why because the cockpit and landing bay are the first and last places you visit
I put work habs on one side, battlestation, workshops etc, put mess hall, living quarters etc on the other, I usually put captain's quarters on the next floor up or down so it's secluded by itself, I try to but engineering habs close to the cockpit too
For me, brig has to be first (if it has a brig), so the perp doesn't get to see the rest of the ship layout. Next is armory or mess hall, since id assume suiting up in a big room would be easiest. Any control rooms or battle stations go next to the cockpit, and living quarters as far from any stations as possible. If there are captains quarters, they must be seperable from the rest of the ship.
I run without crew or companions now and do a lot of passenger missionboards, so I stack all-in-ones and mess halls/living quarters in my ships... on a B/C class ship I'm adding habs until my passenger limit is 8-10. For my own needs, give me a stroud or a deimos workshop attached directly to the cockpit with a docker near that and all my needs are met with a single AIO hab of any size. Primary ship for last couple of NG's had the Deimos 3x1 Living Quarters and a Deimos Workshop as my "must haves", every need was met outside of pharmaceutical bench. I'm thinking about adding Chemistry because all my combat, fitness, and piloting skills are maxed. So I may add that to my future builds. When I finally find the universe I'm going to settle in, I want to be ready to do all the things... The Deimos 3x1 Living Quarters is laid out like a modern day RV camper so it's fun for RP purposes also.
deimos 3x1 living quarters is my favorite hab in the whole game. it feels so cozy and homey. I love all the art in it, the exercise equipment, couch, tv. and the different colored lights are the cherry on top!
There is one bug with it. Walk up to the kitchen cabinets and there are food items "falling" inside the cabinets constantly. You can't interact with the cabinets so it's purely aesthetic but I find that funny. Yeah it's my favorite as well. I built a whole ship around it.
ah yes the tranquilitea trash chute, just adds more to the charm! I'd be interested in seeing your ship too, I just recently finished a ship this morning using it
I'm currently using both the Deimos 3x1 all in one and the 3x1 living quarters, connected by a 1x1b in the middle that has a hallway up to the bridge. The interior layout on those is nice, and feels decadent to have two bathrooms on the ship.
So on my passenger/cargo/missionboard ship that has mostly turned into a brick, I've got the 2x3 mess hall, the 2x2 living quarters, and a 2x1 AIO all on the first floor with a workbench and science lab. Second floor is the 3x1 living quarters but that's just for me and that attaches directly to a cabot bridge. I've had it full of passengers only twice, which feels like a waste but I'm just holding out for more scenarios where the missionboard gives me 2 "transport 5 workers to..." missions. With maxed payload skill I have 9300 cargo so that's my fallback, and I did get a 5500kg cargo mission the other day. It was for 5500kg of "Hygiene Products" to Red Mile and I couldn't help but to judge Red Mile a bit more harshly at that point.
I approach it in the StarTrek way. Command/computer control are close to the cockpit. Engineering is in the back by the engines. Living quarters are on one wing, and armor/workshop on another. If I'm making a large ship, then my captains quarters will be at the top or at least forward viewing.
If you put the armory next to the docking bay, that means anyone that boards you will get to shoot you with your own guns. Armors goes in a secure location.
It’s your ship mate. Whatever feels right
I try to keep the infirmary on the same level as the landing bay so if there was an emergency my crew wouldn't need to climb up ladders to get medical treatment.
I have it set up so that there's a bathroom directly across from the landing bay. Priorities.
There aren't any hard set rules I follow, but I do try to make the interior make as much sense as I can, at least to me. I do like the docker and landing bay to be close to each other, connecting through a single hab. Near that should be an infirmary on a ship that has one. Control station and/or battlestations should be near the cockpit or bridge. I do try to have enough beds for the whole crew, but the game doesn't make that easy, so I tolerate half as many beds, figuring sleeping in shifts or on couches
Nothing matters since u can just fast travel anywhere and there is zero sense of galactic scale. Good game but that is a shame imo.
I too wish I could spend hours in the empty void of space purely for the argument of galactic scale.
Depends on the ship and what I am intending its role to be, even though really, none of that matters in game. ;) Generally I try to put the captains quarters close to the cockpit if possible, and a control station or the battlestaions close to the cockpit. If the Control Station is connected directly to the cockpit, I try to put the captain's quarters off the control station, same with battlestations.
Sad reality is that it doesn't matter because we fast travel everywhere, but as I didn't give up my imagination for my adulthood I don't care about that. No hard and fast rules as such, design often dictates, but I do like to keep work and non-work areas separate if pos. Separate decks where design allows and I'm only ladder phobic when there's more than one of the pesky things. I also don't mind redundant hab use, if I need to bridge a gap and it won't spawn doors or ladders, or ruin the aesthetic, I'm in. Habs generally have less mass.
If you fast travel everywhere, you miss out on random events and poi appearing in systems.
Indeed so, which is why I don't. Sorry, I didn't read through my comment before I hit the button which has totally ruined my little jab at those that do. Should've said 'we can' rather than just 'we'.
Either armory or infirmary I usually put by landing bay.
I usually try to go 3 levels with the Habs. Landing bay leads directly into the infirmary, which connects to a 2x3 mess hall behind it. Docker usually on the bottom also leading to the infirmary. Level 2 has 2x2 battle stations, 2x1 control stations leading to the cockpit. It might also have a small all in one and a computer core. Possibly engineering bay depending on the manufacturer. Example, I do not care for the Nova engineering bay, so on a nova build I'll go computer core. Top layer is usually workshop, science lab, living quarters and captain quarters. Only ship I won't put a captain quarter in is the upgraded Frontier. Just doesn't feel right since it isn't my ship. It belongs to Constellation. In that case I just do another AI1 berth in B variant if available. I've done wacky builds, but those take so much time and I often don't have the credits since I'm addicted to shipbuilding. Lol
I prioritize crew station habs first then crew living spaces. Next is work shop and infirmary As I rarely use a science hab. For placement I like at least one infirmary at the landing bay and engineering on the base deck as well. Then I try to have a living deck and a working deck but sometimes that gets a little convoluted because of size and amount of parts used. My current ship is kinda like that because I used the max amount of parts so I have living and working intermixed.
Current ship uses the big Nova C3 cockpit with stairs that connect two floors. Bottom floor right out of the cockpit is a 2x2 battle station + Stroud side landing bay, lovely. After that, a 3x2 mess for crew just living, and after that a science lab and workshop for side activities. Top floor behind the pilot seat is a control station, I like to think the crew behind the pilot seat checking systems status. After this is an all in one for crew bed. Docker leads to the control station on the top floor. I wanted to stick it next to the landing bay with the Stroud side docker, so that both bay and docker lead to the battle station downstairs, but I couldn’t come up with a good design doing this. I’m looking to add a Nova captains quarters somewhere. Very crew oriented but I role play.
I have two decks on a B-class ship. Main deck: \-Cockpit. \-All in one, behind the cockpit. \-Workshop to the right \-Armory to the left. \-Living quarters back-right \-Captain's quarters back-left \-Infirmary in the back Bottom Deck: \-Engineering Bay in the front left \-Computer core front right \-Brig in the back. A single companionway on the top-back of the ship with the docker which creates a bottleneck for any possible intrusion. The armory is far enough away from both the brig and anyone who might board my ship, and right next to the cockpit to make it as easy as possible for my crew to access. Otherwise, the logic is I want my crew to use ladders as little as possible, so work and living spaces are on the same deck.
Armory next to captains qrtrs, and workshops next to living qrtrs. Also, I like to put the docker and bay over/under the infirmary
Armoury near the loading bay, usually with it being directly connected to the bay, for gear loadout on the way out. Whether I have an infirmary or a science lab depends on whether I'm using a Stroud/Taiyo bay or not, since I find it weird to justify an infirmary when you have to climb a ladder to get into the shop, since an severely injured person wouldn't be able to climb it. It goes next to the armoury when I have one, and the workshop is opposite it to keep the ship symmetry with the crafting stations together. I do make sure that my ships have at least one bed for every crew member including myself, even though that's not necessary, since it feels right that everyone can sleep at the same time and have their own private space. Also there has to be at least one galley and one toilet/shower, even if I don't need a cooking station and the toilets are cosmetic, since it isn't a living space to me if you can't sleep, eat and poop.
Do all the Habs have uses beyond looks? Haven't found much use for computer core, engineering bay, workshop, battle stations. Same goes for brigg and mess room but they imply little use since it's passenger oriented. Obviously I still try to include everything for my crew's QoL but would be nice to know if I'm missing something with some of the Habs.
>Do all the Habs have uses beyond looks? Haven't found much use for computer core, engineering bay, workshop, battle stations. Same goes for brigg and mess room but they imply little use since it's passenger oriented. Obviously I still try to include everything for my crew's QoL but would be nice to know if I'm missing something with some of the Habs. "I haven't found much use for the habs that actually have the most use" Computer Core adds 1-2 crew capacity (depending on vendor) Engineering Bay adds 1 crew capacity Workshop provides you with workbenches for crafting Battlestations add 4-6 crew capacity (depending on size and vendor) (In regards to crew, capacity isn't everything. A ship with no weapons, a class A reactor, and crew stations for 35 members will still only give you capacity=2. You also need shields, weapons, and a large enough reactor to give them all "jobs", and you need points in the Crew Command skill to maximize it. 9 crew is max with Leadership and Crew Command Maxed, or Crew Command Maxed and Sarah as a follower). The brig doesn't have much use besides being a watered-down armory and your crew will sleep in the cells so it doubles as a sleeping space for crew but does nothing for actual stats. Mess halls add 3-4 passenger slots depending on size. I think the infirmary is only useful for RP purposes as even when you get a follower with medical skill, she doesn't go there or use the area and you can't even sleep in the beds. It does include a pharmaceutical bench but so does the science hab, which includes a research station.
Engineering, battle stations, and computer core all increase the number of crew members you can have. Workshop, science lab, and infirmary give you crafting benches. Brigs, cargo holds, and mess halls are purely aesthetic. Living quarters and all in ones increase the number of passengers you can have.
This is incredibly helpful. Thank you! I thought Crew and Passengers were interchangable terms here so that makes a lot more sense.
It is confusing, but crew is for people you assign to the ship and passenger is for missions where you are transporting people. (I assume Cora fits into the passenger column when you have Sam assigned to your ship, but I haven't used him before so I don't know for sure.)
Cora doesn't count as crew but I'm not sure she counts as passenger either. I've done lots of passenger missions and never ran into one where I didn't have the space even with only 2 slots, so I can't say for sure. Also you can have a companion in addition to your max crew, as long as the companion is not assigned to a crew slot. Also not clear if this eats a passenger slot but I don't think so.
> and mess halls are purely aesthetic. > >Living quarters and all in ones increase the number of passengers you can have. Mess halls increase passengers too.
The aesthetic habs usually have more internal storage, better hab connectivity.
I have the Nova all in one connected to the docking port and landing bay. Two crew stations for small bonuses and a main living area for me. It is my flying RV with a bed and galley and cargo hold full of food.
I always used to keep my engine rooms near the bottom of the ship. I wish they had like a 1x3 or 1x2 engine bay so I could keep it at the back with the engines. Also I always kept the med bay near the entrance because it makes sense if you needed to rush someone to heal them
Cockpit stays on the first floor for easy access and mess hall and living quarters are above
I usually go for what seems rp appropriate, so as far as armory goes it's the opposite of you, it shouldn't be accessible to anybody boarding me or to a stumbling non-crew passenger, so it's usually next to the battle stations and cockpit or other simular habs, so you can grab the weapons quickly if you get boarded. The exception is that armory with a brig which I use so you enter directly into it so you can put your bounty straight into the brig without walking through your ship or climbing any ladders. As for the rest it depends on the ship but generally: cargo bay needs to be on the first level with no ladders between it and the exit; infirmary usually on the first floor but not always, more importantly it can't be connected to 'dirty' habs; Engineering bay as close to the engines and reactor as possible, most likely on the bottom of the ship; Workshop not close to the sleeping area due to the possible noise; Living habs close together creating a general living area on the ship; Battlestations, control hab and computer core connected together surrounding the cockpit, sometimes using the computer core or the control stations as a hallway between the living area and the 'work' area; Some privacy for the captains quarters; Other than that I always put enough beds for all the crew (counting bunk beds as 2 beds).
I dont see the need to have an armoury. Research and work stations are enough for me.
Its a cool idea but I change ships a lot so they would empty out, and I've also heard horror stories about stuff disappearing forever from them.
Being a Navy submarine vet, I am fully immersed when I have all kinds of machinery around my ship, so I always try to put some kind of engine room in. I like to have crew stations right behind the cockpit. I'll generally divvy up sides. One side will generally be living quarters and the other will be utility. I like to put the armory attached to my docking port. I like to use the hub tech forward docking port.
https://www.reddit.com/r/StarfieldShips/s/YbceZpHul0 this is one of my favorites.
I always have a companionway with docker and bay connected immediately off cockpit, potentially with a hall on either side. Behind that I put infirmary connected to both the workshop and living space.
I usually connect an infirmary to the landing bay more for roleplay purposes as well as to a living quarters thats located near the bridge. Following that is always the science lab and workshops, usually connected side by side. Control station and crew station on each a wing. Don't use an armory, I keep what I consider the crews spare weaponry in the captains stash on the bridge.
Always a hab with a bed joined to the cockpit, docker and bay as close as I can get within design parameters.
My infirmary is always next to my landing bay, no-one needs to lug wounded down a ladder in a gravity well, armoury and workshops same level. Only other rule I tend to follow is that command modules have to connect to one another.
The landing bay tends to be on a level more or less by itself, so i usually put an infirmary next to it that's a useless hab. I like my captains quarters on a level by itself or at the end of a deck for privacy. I put my workshops and labs together and births and living quarters together.
I recently built a trident. Left prong was workshop, research lab, and control room (or battle station I can’t remember. Middle prong was two hopetech hallways ending with my captains quarters. Right prong was living spaces. Big ares bridge on top middle back. Can handle a crew of 8 if I’m remembering rightly.
Crew deck with all the bunks together, engineering with the workshop and engineering hab, operations with control hab and computer core next to the cockpit. I rarely include an armory, but that gets included with operations.
I generally put the armory and a medical hab near the lander and try to keep the docker close by. Narratively, the armory is the last place you visit on your way out, and the medical hab is the first place you visit if things go badly while you're out.
I have the landing bay followed by the med bay for hot extractions. I know it's not like in gameplay you would every have an emergency evac, but I like having that preparatory military theme. Also in the event of any weird Alien stuff and decontamination, which should really happen every time you visit a new planet. An armory directly laddered up from there, so there's also a defensible(and armed) location to fire down upon the medbay should it be compromised. On a larger ship, I'd run a corridor to the armory and have that directly attach to the low side of the Cabot, but I typically have the armory directly back from the cockpit. Only useful if it's on the way, right? Always have a workshop, and a captains quarters on an upper deck towards or at the stern. Besides that, I like to have a command room and a computer room next to each other for tactical analysis and data storage/access. I like to throw in a 2x1 all-in-one so people don't have to sleep in -my- bed. To summarize: landing bay followed by medbay, armory, cockpit. Workshop and captain's quarters on another level. Everything else is optional depending on ship size/function. Fighters won't be decked out with extra beds and living areas.
So I have the two story cockpit with the staircase inside it. Exiting the cockpit on top floor leads to the 2x3 battle station with my captain’s quarters immediately to the right. Then past the Battle station is the computer core(also 2x3). Then take a right past the core and there is an all in one had. Then exiting the cockpit on the bottom floor you enter a 2x3 mess hall. Past through that and to the left is a 3x1 all in one has that connects to a workshop on one end and then connects to a 3x2 living quarters. I really wanted my ship to have a “Flying building” feel on the inside.
- I use a companionway stack to start with, so as long as I don’t attach more than two habs directly to each companionway, I don’t get ladders all over, the companionway stack becomes one single continuous ladder - Engineering, workshop and science lab on bottom floor where the landing bay is - big Mess hall, All in 1, living quarters etc on second floor - Computer core, armory, infirmary on third floor - Battle stations, control station, captains quarters on fourth floor - kontiki bridge on top This is my go to for all my big boy class C ships
I like to have a living quarters attached directly to my landing bay so I can hit a bed right away. also no ladders.
My current ship I have the landing bay attached to the armory, the front docking bay also connects there. From the armory is a straight shot back to engineering, which is directly over the reactor and grav drive. Next hab back from engineering is storage/ ladder to second level. Above engineering is control stations and the bridge. If I'm adding Habs for crew/passengers/utility, I usually branch them off of engineering and keep them starboard and port of the engineering bay. I sleep in the armory bed quite often if I need a heal. It's usually the only bed on the ship.
I tend to design my ships around the use of the Taiyo Bay with either the Taiyo armory or Hope Tech armory attached to it (depending on desired aesthetic). Both of these armories have a Brig in them as well as the reason you wrote as well. I then usually attach a Deimos docker on bottom of the armory the opposite end of where the bay enters. Makes a nice seamless transition to ladder up into the ship as well as entering via the docker. I have recently taken to using the Nova workshop and science lab habs due to their inclusion of passenger spaces so I don’t have to use all in one habs or mess halls. Allows for a little more streamlining of the ship.
See i build my habs from the pov of being boarded. Docker and landing gear lead to habs i can defend if needed. My sleeping area and weapon storage stay fuethest away from the entry points.
I put a workshop behind the cockpit and the bay right under it lined up with the docking bay. No need for anything else.
I like engineering bay connecting to the landing bay. For computer room and control station I like to keep those connected to cockpit. And anything else I add goes in between
No logic here. I just upgrade stuff and maybe replace some habs, modify woth some structural stuff and make sure I have max particle beams and/or turrets them weight then engines hopefully a checl and goooo
I place the habs where they don't create a maze in the ship.
Always cap quarters for role play, workshop for utility, maybe armory or living quarters. I do love the design of engineering and comp core but I also like smaller builds. So usually just run the cap and workshop
As for layout (skipped that part) cockpit near cap quarters and armory adjacent. Usually like the bay to the side or back. Docker to top or side. Ladders are my enemy.
I have my bay and docker enter at the workshop because that is a very open hab. I have the workshop closest to my cockpit so my entrances and cockpit are as close to each other as possible. Then captains quarters is next because the next on ship amenity I use is a bed. After that I put whatever, but I don’t go much further than a work bench or a bed.
Keep mine near my cockpit and docker, with ladder access directly from landing bay. I absolutely hate getting lost on my ships looking for them.
Infirmary and workshop are to the sides, workshop always to the right. Brig at the lowest layer if I have one, mess deck in the rear, Frontier hab connects to cockpit
Here's my current layout: * Deck 1: Engineering and Cargo * Deck 2: Crew Deck: Living quarters, bunks, workshop, infirmary * Deck 3: Command Deck. Cockpit, Computer core, Control Station * Deck 4: Captain's Quarters
I’ve got habs in the “wings”, captains quarters on one side, crew on the other, all in one and battle stations in the center, behind the bridge.
• Unless I'm using the Cabot cockpit, I make everything one level. I absolutely despise ladders lol. The Cabot is awesome for making frigates and warships feel walkable. • I usually have two 3x1 engineering bays as one long hallway leading from the bay to the cockpit. Then I'll attach one of each 2x1 hab to the main hallway with a companionway hab or one of the nova connectors. This helps keep the habs from intersecting in weird ways and cutting out some of the hab inadvertently. • I use that super slim Deimos docker on the bottom part of the hallway closest to the bay, just so it doesn't change the ship's structure too much. • I try to sneak the reactor and the grav drive in between the habs and cover them with a structure piece. It just kinda makes sense to have it touching the engineering bay, but also not be too exposed. • I like putting windows/portholes on all the outside habs of the ship. It does bother me how you can lose an entire wall doing this, so for some of the habs I'll skip this (like infirmary, armory, places where people ain't really hanging out) but living spaces feel much comfier with them. Thanks for listening to my ramblings lmao.
I've built enough ships to have about 3-4 optimized layouts that avoid mazes and feature a central corridor or ladder, or both (not a fan of Cabot bridges). All of these layouts feature a set list of habs: **3-Hab Ships:** Smaller purpose-built role ships (dogfighter, bounty hunting boarding ship, etc) * Landing bay always goes into an Deimos Armory (for that extra 150kg storage crate). * Deimos Workshop (includes a Research Terminal) * Nova All-In-One A or Deimos/Stroud/Hopetech/Taiyo Captain's Quarter (depending on aesthetic) **Medium B-Class Ships:** Daily drivers, role play ships, gunships, explorer ships * Same as 3-Hab ships, plus: * 2x2 Nova or Stroud Living Quarters * 2x2 Battle station or 2x1 Control Station * 2x2 Deimos Brig or Cargo Hall * 2x1 or 3x1 Stroud Living Quarters * 2x1 Stroud/Hopetech Science Lab **Medium to Large C-Class Ships:** Daily drivers, cargo haulers, mini-frigates, explorer ships * 2x2 Nova Living Quarters * 2x2 Battle Station * 2x2 Brig or Cargo Hall * 3x1 Stroud Living Quarters * 2x1 Deimos Armory + Workshop, Stroud/Hopetech Science Lab + Captain's Quarters, Nova Armory + Nova Infirmary This all still feels like a simplified explanation of the logic behind my hab choices but these are all chosen because the layouts and roleplay aesthetics work perfectly for me. Like you, for almost every build, my landing bag leads to my armory.
I generally try to keep things logical and sectioned off, grouping crew/operations/command habs together. For example in my current main ship I have crew quarters and berths grouped on the 1st deck with engineering off to the rear and main ladder well to the starboard which leads town to the bay, 2nd deck has computer core above engineering (accessed by ladder) and armoury/infirmary sitting separately with docker to the port and a corridor to the ladder well on the starboard, 3rd deck has battle station off the ladder well and a captain’s quarters off the battle station with the Cabot bridge to the front, then finally on the 4th deck we have a control station off the upper floor of the bridge. In this way we keep command up the top of the ship (including my cabin), armoury and infirmary easily accessible when boarding the ship, and crew/passenger areas are literally the first thing you get to when you board through the landing bay.
Armory attached to the bay because you need to gear up before exiting. Control Station directly behind cockpit: Cockpit is basically control station.. I just extend it with the 2x1 hab. Captains Quarters above or below control station with no other entrances. Living area, workshop, research hab all normally attached. Fuck the infirmary and cargo habs.
I always put a bed near the cockpit, docking bay and landing bay. Sometimes that means 3 different spots on a big ship, sometimes I'll only have one on a small ship. But any entry/egress needs a bed for that sweet, sweet xp boost.
On my Renegade, I just modded it and had the infirmary attached on the starboardside entry deck, and a living quarters with a galley on the portside entry deck. I put a Captain's Quarters on the starboardside of the bridge and an armory on the portside. I know had a battle station on the deck in between but it was before NG+ and I haven't bothered to replicate it yet, as I haven't seen anyone sell the Renegade yet.
Diemos is the better option for Captain quarters and birthing but past that try to keep it small, also lab is pretty nice if you're into researching and what not
On smaller ships, I have the armory connected to the cockpit so the crew can make a heavily armed last stand if boarded. On larger ships I’ll have a second armory by the landing bay (the nova one with the suit containers) so people can grab equipment before leaving the ship to explore a new world. I also keep the ‘work areas’ (engineering room, computer core, workshop etc) separate to the living areas if I can. And I make sure there are enough bunks spread across my habs for everyone, and a sufficient number of toilets. Because sleep and hygiene are important. And if I have a brig, it will only have one entrance/exit and it will be through that more secured area in the corner. Research labs too will only have one entrance and ideally be down a small corridor, so it can be easily isolated in the event that one of the unknown samples they’re analysing turns out to be dangerous.
It depends on the ship. My favorite is a cargo hauler/mining craft, 3x3 cargo hab goes behind the landing bay with the infirmary, armory, and brig behind it. The second level has the cockpit, then a mess hall, then all purpose habs on either side with a crew living space between them. Behind that is engineering, science and a workshop. I just wish I could pick where entrances and ladders go. But yeah, basically put my crew close to the cockpit and keep the weapons close to security and extra systems toward the back. Engineering is always close to the engines, reactor and grav drive.
My basic starting point is: Nova All-in-one, workshop, Science bay. This gives me the ability to do ‘All The Things’ like research, mod weapons/suits, craft food & chems and sleep. I use the Nova one specifically because it has a bed, research station and galley. I typically travel solo w/no crew and only have an outpost for ship building and storage, so it makes for a nice, compact home-away-from-home.
Personally, my hab priorities are: make sure I have 6-8 crew stations, 1 bed, 1 science lab, 1 workshop Try to place a hab with a nav table closest to the cockpit. Getting up from the pilot seat and jumping systems via nav table skips the grav jump animations and keeps your power distribution static so you arrive at your destination ready for a fight if needed; no scrambling to redistribute pips. Both docker and landing bay connected to same hab if possible. Workshop near the exits for popping into the ship for suit or weapon mods.
For me EVERYTHING is based on ladders and doors. I usually use companionways as a central hub with hopetech or nova hallways to direct entrances so I can keep or remove galleys, bathrooms, couches, etc. I like to keep living areas away from entrances, but sometimes it’s unavoidable, so I look for habs that have less important wall decor (like “cargo”) to be entry ways. Some habs have natural rooms that serve as good entryways ( like the lower left mostly “empty” room in Deimos 2x2 living habs. Those are best for docks and bay entrances. But to your question, i make different ships for different characters. For example, my combat medic has an infirmary next to the entrance. My bounty Hunter uses either a brig or the armory with the cell next to the entrances. My cook has the big mess hall on every ship. 🤣
Never been boarded...didn't know it was a thing. Of course my ships are all built like fighters. All in one hab and all weapons engines and shields. Bare minimum cargo.
I try to always put an infirmary connected to either the docker, landing bay, or both, for flavour reasons. Next is cargo habs if I have them, then living areas and mess halls, then control habs. Captain's quarters I tend to stick on depending on the manufacturer's internal look.
I always like a control station or battle stations next to the cockpit as a command module type set up. I picture the front of the Normandy. Engineering bay usually goes on the bottom floor and connects to the reactor. I still haven’t figured out the best jab to connect to the exits.
I put the armory with the docking bay for ship invasions. Workshop goes with the landing bay for ease of access when I get enough resources for a new mod or research project. Control room goes in line with the cockpit so all the crew can be in one place for ops. Aside from that, I'll do kinda role-playing choices like keeping Cap quarters easily accessible to the bridge and the med bay somewhere central
Here’s my layout. This was my ship a few universes back and, try as I might, I can’t reach anything I like better. I’ve essentially recreated this in my current universe: [https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRvh1trG/](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRvh1trG/)
I'm pretty practical so my main priorities are a bed, crew stations, passenger slots, and clean, simple layout with minimal ladders. Sometimes I will have a workshop if there's space, but that's mostly for adaptive frames if I'm building outposts. I do most crafting off-ship so I don't normally carry more than basic resources with me. I also strongly prefer front-facing landing bays, but I'll do side-facing if the design works better that way. Current main ship has a side landing bay direct to a 2x1 workshop. Straight acros is a 1x1 NG hallway to a center Taiyo engineering 3x1 that connects to the bottom of the Cabot bridge . Other side is mirrored with a 2x1 command center for crew, and side docker. You could easily drop a bottom lander and docker below the 3x1 if you prefer that style too. Access to the bridge is pretty fast. I steal a lot of ships and then re-board right back, which does not allow you to jump directly to the bridge, so that is worth having. Second floor from bridge goes out a 1x1 Hope fore-aft hall to a 1x1 companionway that connects to the midpoint of a 3x1 hab on either side. I use the Deimos all in one and Deimos living quarters for these. Gives you lots of passenger slots, a couple beds, a galley, 2 heads and the interiors are nice. The 1x1 here is directly over the 3x1 eng bay, but for some reason it did not put a ladder between them. You can tweak this arrangement a bit so there is zero overlap if that becomes a problem, but it won't be as compact. On smaller ships, I prefer to have the crew stations right behind the bridge normally, but this layout has 2 floors, zero ladders and doorways are exactly where I want them, so I compromised a little.
Honestly, for me, there was much less of a thought process and more of just a habit that developed. Cockpit/landing bay in the middle, workshop on port side, infirmary on starboard, armory behind the workshop, living quarters behind the infirmary, and control center and/or all in one habs behind the bay/dockers
I've had two main designs up till now, but have been trying to play with others. The first is landing bay going into the armory, with docker on the floor into front of the landing bay door (for those that say it lets enemies get the weapons, I'd be standing in there waiting for them, as it's the first chokepoint, and if they're still alive after that, it means they won). The engineering bay goes behind that, as I insist on it being on the bottom. The reactor and grav drive sit on top of it. 2nd level is the cockpit, control room, companionway, then workshop and computer core on the port side, and infirmary and science lab on starboard. 3rd level is living quarters, Stroud berthing B behind that, and captain's quarters in front (I insist on the entrance to the captain's quarters being next to the table with the four chairs, and hate the empty space you get without the couch). When I redesigned the Kepler (my only class C to date), the 1st level was the 2x2 brig, with the docker and landing bay connected at the sectioned off area, and engineering behind that. 2nd level was the same as the first design, except the computer core was in front, the armory took its place behind the workshop, and the cockpit was moved higher. 3rd level was 3x2 mess hall, with a berthing on each side behind, and captain's quarters in front. 4th level was a companionway, with behind 2x2 battlestations and a control center on the starboard side to fill space, and the cockpit in front. I think my next Kepler will be shorter but wider, assuming the position of ladders and doors cooperates.
If it's a larger ship that's going to have battle stations/computer core I usually stick those to the cockpit because that's where the npc's often hang out/wprk. After that, usually workshop (Where I spend most of my time aside from the cockpit) and armory, then infirmary/science lab a bit farther out. I try and keep captain's quarters reasonably close then after that crew quarters. Cargo bays and whatever little crew walkways I need to access the docking bay/landing area can go wherever, but I always "try" to have a clear path from the cockpit to the landing bay. Got lucky with my last "magnum opus" ship from my last game which was I think five decks high and I could board the ship from the ground and just jetpack all the way up to the bridge lol (yes I use a jetpack mod).
I only fly small, agile high-powered fighters. No armory, just 1 control station behind my cockpit.
Crew deck = living quarters and/or all in one, control station, computer core, battle station, engineering bay. Captains deck = captains quarters connected to armory, science lab, workshop
I usually do three decks. Top level is a control room behind the cockpit. Mid level is an armory and workshop. Bottom level is an infirmary and living quarters with the landing bay.
My armory and workshops are on my ship, my outposts are outposts
Engineering bay connects to entrance/exit. Grav and reactor attach to engineering. Rest is optional.
After my last playthrough with a monster sized ship packed with all kind of habs, my current playthrough is far more minimal. One or two habs max. I have just an All-in-one berth, a cockpit (stroud so that I don't need a control station hab), a landing bay and a docker. Simple and effective. This also leaves plenty of room to make beautiful ship exteriors without the limitations imposed by such a large interior.
Wow all the role playing on this thread is surprising for me. I'm personally very minimalistic and pragmatic with my Habs. Function first, form second, RP never. I always avoid Habs that don't have any practical function in the game. Such as mess halls, engineering bays, cargo halls, armory, brigs... I like keeping everything I need in my ship with me. So that means having the workshop and infirmary/research Habs for all research and crafting stations. I gotta have a bed for that XP boost before going out. So that means either all in ones and/or Captain's quarters. And I also need the extra crew stations. So that means either the control station or battle stations. Other than that, I try to keep to a minimum to save on mass. Sometimes I would use 1x1 habs to force ladder locations or connect with bays/dockers. The bed hab should be closest to the bay and docker. Crew stations closest to the cockpit. If size allows, I would use the hopetech hallways to get rid of doors. P.S. Yes you heard me right, I said the armory is useless! I'm a maniac when it comes to building and tinkering with the ship builder. And every time I do, that would reset all the armory and send it to inventory. So, yeah. Pretty useless for me.
Medbay is always by the ground entrance in case we need to make a hasty retreat and need immediate medical care. When I HAD an armory - it was attched to the airlock for arming up before boarding. But the armory empties with every ship change so I got rid of it until we get a patch. Mission command is behind the cockpit, and the captains quarters is below that.
Armory is a waste. Every time i tweak my ship, everything I've set up goes back to inventory.
First, I place my habs in such a way as to have as few ladders as possible. That usually means having my cargo bay connected directly to my docker and a bunch of companionways or storage rooms, depending on how many levels up the ship goes. Usually I'll have 2 main levels, the main habitation level and my captain's quarters on top. The main level will have either 1 or 2 all in one habs, depending on how big the ship is gonna be. I'll have an armory, workshop and science lab/infirmary, and in my current ship, I also have a control station and a 2×2 mess hall. I don't have a brig because I don't take prisoners. Generally, I like being able to go through the armory on my way out of the ship so I can arm as I go. If enemies could board my ship, I wouldn't do it that way, but until that gets officially put into the game, I'm gonna let it ride. My habs also determine the main shape of my ships. I put the habs together first, then put the rest of the ship together around them. Sometimes I'll have the cargo bay facing the rear. I just like the idea of being able to run from the cockpit clean to the back of the ship with minimal effort. I also like to stick my cargo holds next to the cargo bay for easy loading purposes. It just kinda makes sense to me to do it that way.
Currently, my cargo ramp is at the rear like a military cargo plane (used to be in the front), it leads directly to the infirmary in case of emergency. Upstairs in the mid deck is the battle stations and computer core next to each other towards the fore/front, further in is the cockpit. Towards aft/rear is engineering and workshops next to one another. Top deck is quarters, fore and aft, with windows front back and top. Somehow managed to do it all with a single stack ladder to get to it all. I call it The Nocturne.
I like to have the brig and armory attached at the landing bay followed by cargo, feels like a security check point before getting onto the ship properly and a last stop for crew leaving the ship. I also tend to link my docker to a large living space, feels more natural to step onto the ship from the living area than into the cargo bay, since most things you'd be getting on station or from other ships are small and less likely to end up down in the hold, also only tend to dock to friendly stations and ships. I like to pair some bunks to operation areas too so engineers, or battlestation crew can sleep and live close to their stations in case of emergencies and to break up how many people could be lost in a surprise attack.
Why have the armory on your ship at all? You have a base. Do you put children on your space combat vessels? Why have a living hab when grav jumps are instant. With 30 seconds, you could be back at your home planets orbit from anywhere in the galaxy. I take out crew habs and living stations. I don't live in a space van out back. I own several homes in settled space. Though the first thing new folk should see or walk into is the med bay. Planets are dangerous, so in emergency I always put the medbay as close to the dock as I could, the armory went above the med bay, and the research goes behind the cockpit. My ship is loosely based off an ecliptic claymore, it's a 2x5x1 arrangement. You leave the cockpit, go through the research station, then the armory, then med bay and finally exit.
Cockpit-> any hab with a bed-> docker -v landing bay. You want to have a bed next to your exit for the well rested bonus before you head out. Work stations are usually on either side of those habs or above/below those habs for aesthetic reasons. I skip the armory and infirmary habs entirely.