I try to give my components interesting names, but it can be hard to think up new ones after a while. Inspired by some of the great fiction on the forum, I decided to collect some ideas here for people to draw from. Some of these are mine, while some are from designs and posts I've seen elsewhere on the forum.
If you have any you'd like to add, let me know and I'll edit them in!
Anatomy of a Name
Most names that I've seen have one or more of the following four parts: tag, descriptions, type, and features.
Tag - This is the most creative part of the name, and it's something pretty unique to the component. Examples include a specific name (calling a specific missile type the "Dart"), the scientist that researched it, the date it was invented, the company that sponsored it, the planet where it was invented, the ship name where it was first used, or just "Mark/Version [number]." You can even use a serial number or designation code to describe functional characteristics or mechanical features (see the last part of this section). There can be as many tags as you like: a company name and serial number, for example.
Description - What makes this component different from others of its type, such as a sensor's resolution or strength. A basic example would be "heavy" vs "light" weapons.
Type - The basic type of component, but not necessarily the word used by Aurora itself. You can call a laser a "lightbeam," a railgun a "light mass driver," or a fire control a "targeting array."
Features - Aurora automatically puts some of the component's mechanical features at the end of the name to make it easier to plan ships and read design summaries. I leave those on; some people even add to them, making things such as "NTE 75% 20HS 75EP 23.3L" engines that describe the power modifier, hull size, engine power, and fuel consumption per hour. You can turn these into a serial number to double as a tag and make the name look even more fleshed-out.
You can include as many of these things as you like, or as few. They can also be in any order. One thing to note is that you can reflavor things to keep them interesting. Aurora's active sensors use gravitational pulses while LADAR uses light, but the effect is largely the same: you "shoot" something to learn more about it, but doing so makes you more visible. Feel free to call your active sensors LADARs, and whatever else you can think of.
General
Low Tech or Quality - colonial, reserve, low-grade
High Tech or Quality - experimental, luxury, high-grade
Power and Propulsion
Engines - sublight, impulse, STL, repulsor, drive, turbine, thruster
Engine Size - could name by hull type, general size (small craft, warship, etc), vessel purpose (survey, scout craft, etc.)
Engine Tech - tech types could have different names, such as "Ion" becoming "Spark"
Low Power - sail, ramscoop, coaster, cruise, economy
High Power - overdrive, racing, high performance, over/turbo/super/hypercharged
Jump Drives - warp, hyperspace, slipspace, distortion, device, FTL
Power Plants - bank, reactor, chamber, supply, generator, unit
Sensors
General - scanner, array, detector/detection, dish, system, receptor
Active - pulse, LADAR/RADAR, combat
Thermal - heat, thermic, infrared, emissions
EM - light, electromagnetic, radio
ELINT - intelligence, spy, covert, surveillance, observation, listening
Fire Control - targeting, acquisition, guidance, director, tracking, prediction, computer, electronics, interception, trajectory
By Strength - standard, basic, augmented, high-power, high-performance, primary/secondary, commercial, civilian, naval, military
By Resolution - navigational, tactical, projectile, area, wide/narrow, point defense, hull size targeted (fighter/missile/destroyer/etc.)
By Range - short/medium/long, near/far, close quarters, point-blank
Weapons
General - battery
Kinetic - autocannon, light mass driver, coilgun, slugthrower, magnetic accelerator cannon (MAC)
Energy - lightbeam, beamer, blaster, ray, emitter
Microwave - non-lethal, disruption/disruptor, pacification
Caliber - heavy/light, defense/defensive, assault, high-power, standard, basic, PD/point defense
Missile - cruise, high-yield, interceptor, torpedo, bomb, drone, buoy, mine, probe
Missile Launcher - bank, bay, start ramp, firing tube, rack, mount, ignitor/ignition, pod
Turrets - mount, emplacement, barbette, hardpoint
Other
Shields - deflector, field, barrier, forcefield
Cloaking Device - stealth, camouflage, screen
Again, please let me know what your ideas are. Looking forward to reading them!
