In the interest of fairness in faction versus faction roleplay and to keep military forces proportional to their nations, the Star Army Roleplay has limits on military buildups. These limits are based on the number of industrialized star systems controlled by a particular faction.

The following limitations are created to:

• strictly manage the amount of vessels and military might of nations to a realistic degree.
• make sure nations don't become carried away.
• replace and update older warship limitations

Many individuals hate being the little person or the weak guy in a setting. This comes from the subconscious desire to keep one's creation safe from those who would cause it harm. But we must also remember that in roleplay, weakness is also necessary for both realism and, in most cases, having fun overcoming obstacles. Logistically, each solar system has its own limitations when it comes to resources. These resources are considered by the number of planets (both habitable and desolate), the number of asteroid fields, etc. The limitation system takes these into consideration, but simplifies them by setting a standard value per system.

For each star system controlled, which also has an established industrial base, a faction can support the following:

Mothballed ships still count against this limit. Factions over the limit will need to scrap the excess.

The combined total number of “extra” shuttles and fighters a faction can operate is equal to 100 times their maximum number of ships. This should be plenty since very few ships carry more than 100 shuttles and fighters each.

Military ground installations on planets are not restricted.

To count towards a faction's total

• The faction must be the controlling faction in a mostly non-contested system for a full month or more.
• The system should have a decent amount of inhabitants and some industrial facilities listed on its wiki page.
• Systems without wiki pages can not count toward a faction's resources.
• Ships and space stations may not count as star systems (at least for now).\

If the number of active factional players is less than the number of star systems controlled by that faction, the faction is unable to expand. For example, a faction with four active members would only be able to colonize new worlds if they had three or less. This is to prevent small players from having disproportionate influence on the SARP universe, and to keep factions from sending a ship to every planet on the map at once. Note: This is a general guideline, and does not need to be tracked or adhered to in an “exact” fashion. It should only be invoked in the face of an unjustified factional mass-expansion, particularly one that is not done through plot-based roleplaying.

• Huge Space Stations: A Star Fortress and/or ship-building station like the Iori or Zodiac types.
• Shipyards: Ship-building facilities that can build capital ships
• System Defense Platforms: Mostly immobile stations typically armed to the teeth which defend a system
• Capital Ships: Battleships, Carriers, and Cruisers
• Other Warships: Ships 200m or larger that are escorts or specialized ships like scouts and gunships
• Military Support Ships: Logistics craft like repair ships, freighters, etc.
• Additional Fighters/Bombers: Small craft that are not based on a carrier or other starship or station

Note: civilian orbital stations (agricultural, solar power collectors, trade hubs) are not counted as system defense platforms.

A starship is considered a warship if it meets two or more of the following criteria:

• The ship is owned and/or operated by a military or paramilitary organization
• The ship is primarily designed for combat
• The ship has
  • more than 4 weapons or offensive systems rated SDR 3 or above
  • more than 2 weapons or offensive systems rated SDR 4 or above
  • a SDR 5 weapon
  • a “main gun” that takes up a significant portion of the ship

Capital ships also meet two or more of the following conditions:

• Ships which have more than one SDR 5 Weapon
• Have More Than 500 Small Craft
• Have A Crew Larger Than 500 Active Persons
• Have An SP Value of 30+

Certain starships are exempt from the count. These are:

• Civilian freighters and transports not in the exclusive employ of the military
• Unique personal starships owned and operated by one or more player characters

Military ships and stations take two OOC days for every 5 base SP they possess.

These build times override any previously listed build times on ship stat pages.

Newly approved factions start out with one shipyard.

• Shuttles and Fighters that are part of a ship's complement do not count towards this limit.
• Mecha over 5 meters in height are counted as “fighters” for this count, UNLESS they are ground-only.