Common Ship Types
Class | Acronym | Description |
---|---|---|
General Systems Vehicles | GSV | Mobile habitats and / or factory ships, largest Culture ship type. May be home to billions of people. |
Medium Systems Vehicle | MSV | Smaller versions of the above. Sometimes former GSVs downgraded as larger GSV classes were developed. |
Limited Systems Vehicle | LSV | Smaller versions of the above. Sometimes former GSVs or MSVs downgraded as larger GSV classes were developed. |
General Contact Vehicle | GCV | Larger, more capable Contact craft between the size of a GCU and Systems Vehicle; plays similar role to GCUs (see below) |
General Contact Unit | GCU | Ambassadors, scouts and light transports; also main warship in peacetime |
Limited Contact Unit | LCU | Smaller versions of the above. |
General Offensive Unit | GOU | Dedicated main warships |
Rapid Offensive Unit | ROU | Dedicated fast warships |
Limited Offensive Unit | LOU | Dedicated warships, smaller than GOUs |
Demilitarized ROU | (d)ROU | Civilianised ROUs used as courier ships, all or most weaponry removed |
Very Fast Picket | VFP | A euphemism for (d)ROU, used in the same role. |
Heavy Lifter | HL | Dedicated materials mover, smaller than GCUs. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Spacecraft In The Culture Series
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