Naming scheme for your ships! (0.24 edition)

[Navyguy]

I try to name mine in Latin.

[Piggius_Max]

Mine is even more abbreviated:

-P- = any type of probe (must be specified)

-L- = any type of lander (must be specified)

-M- = any type of manned craft (must be specified)

-T- = transport (aircraft eg: K-P.T - A probe based transport)

-K- = present in all craft (stands for Kerbal)

-R- = any type of rover (must be specified eg: K-M-R - Rover that is manned)

-LI- = any type of lifter design (must be specified eg: K-P-LI - Lifter designed to carry probes)

-LO- = any type of craft designed to travel to low orbit (must be specified eg: K-L-P-LO - A lifter designed to take a probe to low orbit

-HO- = any type of craft designed to travel to high orbit

-KER- = craft designed to go to/orbit Kerbin

-MUN- = craft designed to go to/orbit the Mun

The list could go on and on... here's a rather complex craft name:

K-MUN-LI(HO)-L-M/P

May be called Munlil for short, the craft is capable of being ran without being manned by a kerbal, is capable of high orbit around Kerbin without the need for an additional lifter and is capable of a Mun Landing.

[nerdboy64]

After posting here a couple pages back, I realized just how silly my classification system was. As such, I just drafted up a new, more efficient classification system that more accurately describes a craft. Here's the completely rewritten version, which I will begin converting all of my craft to follow:

FAVCS 2: Fusion Aerospace Vehicle Classification System 2

Every vehicle has a three-letter "major class" based on the kind of craft and the role it plays.
The major class is made up of two "minor classes" - the type and the role. The type is a two-letter
code and the role a one-letter code.

TYPE CODES:
AC - Aircraft - Anything which flies but does not leave the atmosphere.
SC - Spacecraft - Anything designed to operate entirely in space, and only enters the atmosphere
	at launch or landing.
HS - Hybrid Spacecraft - A craft designed to operate both in space and in the atmosphere
	(other than merely to pass through it, as with a pure spacecraft). Plane-style SSTOs
	belong in this category.
LV - Land Vehicle - Drives along the ground. May have small amphibious or flight capability for
	added versatility, but this may not be its main mode of propulsion.

ROLE CODES:
T - Transport - Transports nonliving cargo - Applies to all types
P - Passenger - Transports Kerbals beyond the required crew - Applies to all types
L - Launcher - Carries a payload to orbit; distinguishable from "T" class in that
	it does not carry them to a precise location - Only applies to type SC and HS vehicles
R - Research - Carries crew or equipment for the purpose of scientific research - Applies to all types
G - Generic - Designed to carry only the required crew and supplies - Applies to all types

If a vehicle is considered experimental or in development, a lowercase "p" is appended to the major class.

EXAMPLES:
A single-pilot, plane-style SSTO would be an HSG
A plane which transports cargo would be an ACT
A prototype launch stage would be an SCLp
A scientific rover would be an LVR

Every vehicle also has a model number. This is simply the order in which craft were registered
in their class, and is separated from the major class by a hyphen.

EXAMPLES:
The first single-pilot, plane-style SSTO would be an HSG-1
The twelfth plane which transports cargo would be an ACT-12
The fifth prototype launch stage would be an SCLp-5

Finally, minor revisions to a design that do not constitute an entirely new model are designated with
lowercase Roman letters after the model number. The original model is considered the "zero" revision,
so the lettering begins with "a" at the first revision, "b" at the second, and so on.

EXAMPLES:
The first revision of the first single-pilot, plane-style SSTO would be an HSG-1a
The original model of the twelfth plane which transports cargo would still be an ACT-12
The second revision of the fifth prototype launch stage would be an SCLp-5b

[AceofPengwins]

I try to go with Penguin themed names... so I have the Adelie, Humboldt, Magellenic, Fledgeling etc.. as spaceplanes, the Iceberg series of space stations and the Icicle series of probes. And then Space Whale and Orca class launch vehicles...

[Randox]

I seem to have gotten away from mythical and just started going with descriptors like Orbital Hub or Miner or K-Probe, appended with a Mk # corresponding to the major revisions in a development cycle. It's not perfect, especially considering that some of them don't correspond to their names (Orbital Hubs Mk 2 & 3 are orbital kethane refineries, not just docking hubs, for example). I've tried abbreviations before, and inevitably I just forget what they stand for and just get confused.

Once we get modules, I will think up a new naming scheme so that I can actually find the parts I want. Not sure what that will look like yet.

[Ryan3x]

I usually use mythological names for mine, and a few I've named for explorers and astronauts

[SRV Ron]

KSP Basic Probes. A,B,C,D. all built upon the same basic design. Higher the number, the greater the range. Design based upon NovaPunch mods.

Basic 2 stage. With the LV-909 just leaves launch pad but doesn't require a SAS controller. The RMA-3 is 50% more thrust but needs a SAS controller to fly.

Modified with three or four mini SRB, will easily reach Mun orbit; Note, the boosters are non vectoring. The SAS is sufficient to hold them on course where they are ejected at about 4500 meters.

Larger liquid booster with six mini SRB and lander on probe;

Three stage with KSP SRB interplanetary. The top two stages are the basic probe launcher. Only addition are the thruster pack and landing legs. The SRBs are vector-able.

And six asparagus design that will reach the Jool system.

In orbit around Duna with parachutes for landing the probe. Could easily reach the Jool System to land on Laythe.

Edited October 2, 2013 by SRV Ron

[NGTOne]

I design a vehicle of a given standardized class, with a fanciful name (Far Wanderer-class, for instance). Then I name individual members of the class with equally fanciful names along the theme of the class name, with a 3-letter prefix. KOS = Kerbin Orbital Station, KER = Kerbal Exploration Rover, KES = Kerbal Exploration Ship, etc.

[TheBladeRoden]

At first it was pretty random. Then I took the Kerbal X (stock), made some adjustments, saved it as Kerbal X nonstock, then it got reiterated as X2: Refueled, etc. But as each ship wasn't working right, each name got more frustrated, such as X4: C'mon, X5: You can do eet!, and up to Xex 15: Aaaahahrgh. By then I got annoyed having to scroll all the way to the bottom, so I started over with A1: Starting Over. But eventually I went back to my best performing spacecraft, the ironically called X13: The Lucky One.

[Needles_10]

ARS- = this prefix is present in all my ships (stands for Arstotzka; Glory to Arstotzka!)

"Give me your passports, your work permits. Your huddled masses yearning to be free and prosperous under the strict regime of a Communist country." That's Arstotzka for you.

Anyways, I used to use KMS (Kerbin Ministry of Space). Now I run what I call the Icarus program, due to their described use of wax in the construction process (and as interior and/or exterior parts) of the rockets. For space stations, the _____-Orbital Space Outpost (_OSS) is what I go for most often. I don't necessarily know what I do for planes, though. Hermes might do.

[leax256]

99% of my ships are called untitled space craft.

[Milo Kurtiss]

I usually name my ships using this strategy:

If it's going into orbit (or anywhere away from Kerbin) it's going to be named after an airborne disease.

E.G: Anthrax 1, 2, 3 etc.

If it's an aerocraft, I'll name it after a water borne disease.

E.G: Giardiasis Light Reconnaissance Vehicle

If it's a rover, I'll name it after a disease commonly associated with animals

E.G: West Nile Heavy Rover

This is my only naming scheme at the moment, but I'm slowly coming up with another.

[maltesh]

In my saves, interplanetary craft is a Deep-Space Operations Vehicle, or DSOV.

The primary DSOV in use in my game is the Kielbasa-Class DSOV, so named because they are long, rod-shaped craft that I decided resembled sausages. The DSOVs Bratwurst, Kielbasa, Knockwurst, and Frankfurter have seen use, with only the latter two currently in flight.

An In-System shuttle is a Cis-Kerbal Transfer Vehicle, or a CTV. Give the way things are going, I should probably split that into CKTV and CDTV.

The Hexa-class shuttles are so named because they seat six. Individual Hexa-class shuttles are named after the word for six in various fictional languages. Extant models include the CTVs Cesta, Tevoy, and Jav.

A lander is a Surface Transfer Vehicle, or STV.

The Cheddar-class LV-N powered six-man lander has been one of my most common designs. They're so named because the way I use Rarial Attachment points to hide the LV-Ns' red-hot bells inside the cryogenic LV-T400 tanks is slightly cheesy. Ships of the class have included the STVs Cheddar, Limburger, Jarlsberg, Gouda, Edam, Muenster, Roquefort, Camembert, and Casu Marzu.

I also have Autonomous Tanker Vehicles of the Citrus class (their primary structural element is the medium spherical tank), which strictly should not get individual names, but the ATV Tangerine is currently orbiting Ike, and the ATV Clementine is currently orbiting Duna.

[aceassasin]

Well, in some way or another most of my mission/ship names are pony related, making them all automatically 20% cooler.

[xzxvrx]

I commonly base my names off of real launchers, like Atlas- Katlas, Delta- Kelta (yes yes K syndrome). I designate them similar to the Atlas, how Atlas 542, 5m faring, 4 SRB, 2 engine upper stage. So, in KSP there are no stock fairings, and in Procedural fairings mod, you cant really get a standard type of faring so i use the diameter (or radius whatever) of the first stage and round up. Also, since there are no dual-nozzle engines in KSP, i go off of the number of stages (not including the payload). So a Katlas with a 2.5m first stage, and 1 upper stage with strap-on boosters will be called a Katlas 314. I sometimes also just strap on 2 of the first stages to the core stage (like the F9H), and that would be called the Katlas Heavy.

[Guest]

How do I name my ships? Inconsistently, save that none of the names begin with the letter K.

[jchad]

Mine are usually "I hope this works"...."I really hope this works"...."I really hope this works mkII" etc

[swiftgates24]

Whatever comes to mind.

[Ravyne]

I have a serious thing for ordered naming systems, so here goes. I work on a tiered naming system. First is the range and area of the vehicle:

• Vehicle Operations on Kerbin: KV (Kerbin Vehicle)
  
• Vehicle Operations inside of Kerbin SOI: SRSV (Short Range Space Vehicle)
  
• Vehicle Operations outside of Kerbin SOI but closer than Jool: MRSV (Medium Range Space Vehicle)
  
• Vehicle Operations at Jool and beyond Jool: ERSV (Extreme Range Space Vehicle)
  
  
• Bases/Stations Within Kerbin SOI: PE (Proximal Establishment)
  
• Bases/Stations Outside Kerbin SOI: DE (Distant Establishment)
  
  

Then the intended purpose of the vehicle:

• Scientific Operations: SCI
  
• Exploration Operations: EXP
  
• Utility Operations: UTL
  
• Testing Operations: TES
  

Then the rank within a mission, (if it's being launched as part of a coordinated mission. If not, this doesn't exist)

• First ten missions: A-I though A-X
  
• Second ten missions: B-I though B-X
  
• And so on and so forth.
  

And then a descriptive name based on the vehicle or its performance or whatever I come up with. For example, I have a very nimble and light plane series that is named 'KV EXP 'Feather'', and my current Mun station mission is 'PE SCI/UTIL A-IV 'Annoying''.

[Gods315Pawn]

I had the same basic idea. I've been naming mine after Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (and Hobbit and Silmarillion and his other works). I was kind of jumping around randomly at first, but I have started to specify on some things. My space stations are named after the Valar or Maiar, the planetary bases are named after locations, and then my rovers, landers, orbiters, or satellites are named after whatever character I think is fitting. The "Bilbo" is obviously only for round trip manned missions ("There and Back Again").

After that basic name I throw in the model number with minor updates as well. Instead of Mk I I tend towards more of a software model and say 1.1 or 1.2 for the minor overhauls. If I have to redo it entirely I switch to 2.1 and so on.

[r4pt0r]

my Ike lander was named Eisenhower 1

[ArmchairGravy]

Fictional pigs for mine. I have the Old Major tug pulling Napoleon station out to Jool with the landers Snowball and Squealer attached to Napoleon station. Okkoto and Nago did Duna, Arnold and Wilbur did Minmus and Mun respectively.

Edited December 26, 2013 by ArmchairGravy

[Pixel of Life]

I prefer using a name generator. I either use the exact name it gives me or change it a bit. My latest one - and most likely the best one as well - is "New Horizons". It's the name of a colony ship I'm currently building.

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

My Naming Sheme is very intentional.

First I figure out why the hell I had build that Thing and then I search for an analoge in mythology

[tntristan12]

My general format is rather long and verbose, but at least I can tell my designs apart! It goes something like:

technical name (colloquial name) Mk [design number]-[variant designator][minor change identifier]/M (if modded).

A good example is my crew orbit transfer shuttle. I had to scrap the design three times to get to the Mk. IV, which I then had to enhance thrice from the a variant to get to d. Then I swapped out for different configurations of landing gear three times, which was too small a change to really give its own variant. Adding a descriptor for the fact that it uses mechjeb and the final name is:

Crew to Orbit Transfer Shuttle (COTS) Mk IV-d4M