In the interest of fairness in faction versus faction roleplay and to keep military forces proportional to their factions and corporations, the Star Army setting has limits on military buildups. For factions, these limits are based upon the number of industrialized star systems controlled by a faction; for corporations, these limits are based upon the number of star systems a corporation has a major presence in.

The following limitations were created to:

• Strictly manage the number of vessels and amount of military might factions and corporations have to a realistic degree.
• Make sure factions and corporations don't become carried away.
• Replace and update older warship limitations.

The buildup limitations are intended for factions and corporations. Civilian ships not involved in national defense are not limited.

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.

The number of assets an entity can support depends on whether or not it is a faction or a corporation.

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

Let's say that for the purposes of this example Section 6 is a faction that controls one industrialized star system. This means that Section 6 can support up to the following:

• 1x Huge Space Station¹⁾
• 10x Shipyards²⁾
• 25x System Defense Platforms³⁾
• 100x Capital Ships⁴⁾
• 150x Other Warships⁵⁾
• 250x Military Support Ships⁶⁾
• 25,000x Additional Small Craft⁷⁾

Let's say that for the purposes of this example the Democratic Imperium of Nepleslia is a faction that controls twenty industrialized star systems. This means that the Democratic Imperium of Nepleslia can support up to the following:

• 20x Huge Space Stations⁸⁾
• 200x Shipyards⁹⁾
• 500x System Defense Platforms¹⁰⁾
• 2,000x Capital Ships¹¹⁾
• 3,000x Other Warships¹²⁾
• 5,000x Military Support Ships¹³⁾
• 500,000x Additional Small Craft¹⁴⁾

• For each star system a corporation has a major presence in (i.e. a factory/refinery/etc. on one of the star system's planets), it can construct a shipyard and five system defense platforms.
• For every shipyard a corporation has, that corporation can maintain 1 capital ship, 100 starships, and 500 additional small craft for itself, which may be used for transportation and/or security.
• Corporations can have up to two additional shipyards for each star system they have a major presence in (for a total of three shipyards per star system they have a major presence in), however these additional shipyards do not allow for a corporation to maintain any additional capital ships, starships, or small craft.
• Corporations may not construct warships larger then a cruiser for their own use. This size limitation, however, does not apply to starships that are not warships or capital ships.
• Generally, the only corporations constructing starships should be those that specialize in starship construction - there is, for instance, no reason a clothing company should be constructing starships.

Let's say that for the purposes of this example the Frontier Service Corporation is a company that has a major presence in a single star system. This means that the Frontier Service Corporation can support up to:

• 3x Shipyards¹⁵⁾
• 5x System Defense Platforms¹⁶⁾
• 1x Capital Ship¹⁷⁾
• 100x Starships¹⁸⁾
• 500x Additional Small Craft¹⁹⁾

Let's say that for the purposes of this example the Tamahagane Corporation is a company that has a major presence in five star systems. This means the Tamahagane Corporation can support up to:

• 15x Shipyards²⁰⁾
• 25x System Defense Platforms²¹⁾
• 5x Capital Ships²²⁾
• 500x Starships²³⁾
• 2,500x Additional Small Craft²⁴⁾

• Mothballed ships still count against these limits. Factions and corporations over the limit need to scrap the excess.
• The combined total number of “extra” small craft a faction can operate is equal to 100 times its maximum number of warships. This should be plenty since very few ships carry more than 100 small craft.
• Military ground installations on planets are not restricted.
• Small craft that are part of a ship's complement do not count towards these limits.
• Mecha over 5 meters (16.4 feet) in height are counted as “small craft” for the purposes of this limit UNLESS they are ground-only.
• A subsidiary corporation's item counts are included in the item counts of its “parent” corporation for the purposes of these limits.
• Unique personal starships owned and operated by one or more player characters are not included in these limits.

To count towards a faction's total:

• The faction must be the controlling faction in a mostly non-contested system for a full OOC 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 a disproportionate influence on the SARP universe and to keep factions from sending a ship to every planet on the map at once.

Note: The above paragraph 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 shipbuilding station like the Iori-class Star Fortress or the Zodiac-class Star Fortress.
• Shipyards: Installations or starships that are capable of building capital ships and/or warships.
• System Defense Platforms: Mostly immobile stations typically armed to the teeth which defend a system.
• Capital Ships: Large and powerful military starships such as battleships, carriers, and heavy cruisers.
• Other Warships: Military starships such as cruisers, escorts, gunships, and scouts.
• Military Support Ships: Logistical starships such as freighters, repair ships, troop transports, etc.
• Additional Small Craft: Small craft that are not based on a carrier or other starship or station.

Civilian orbital stations (such as agricultural facilities, solar power collectors, trade hubs, and so forth) are not counted as system defense platforms.

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

• The starship is owned and/or operated by a military or paramilitary organization.
• The starship is primarily designed for combat.
• The starship has:
  • More than 4 weapons or offensive systems rated Tier 11 or above.
  • More than 2 weapons or offensive systems rated Tier 12 or above.
  • A Tier 13+ weapon or offensive system.
  • A “main gun” that takes up a significant portion of the starship.

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

• The starship has more than one Tier 13+ weapon or offensive system.
• The starship has a complement of more than 500 small craft.
• The starship has a crew larger than 500 active individuals.
• The starship has a Tier of 13 or greater.

Ships and stations take the following amount of time to build in the Star Army setting.

These build times override any previously listed build times on starship stat pages; similarly, the rules listed in the section below override any conflicting information found elsewhere on the wiki.

• Newly-approved factions and corporations may start out with one shipyard.
• The construction process of huge space stations, shipyards, starships, and system defense platforms cannot be “sped up” for any reason.