EDIT: Several corrections to ship descriptions and ammo added, courtesy of TrainTrack and NotSoLoneWolf.

To identify an enemy contact, you must first know what ship hulls there are in the game, know what their shape and size is, and what weapons they carry.

Here is a list of all hulls for both factions.
(I purposely excluded the carrier hulls, as they always hug rocks at the back of the map and are usually last to be identified)




The radar contact indicator is located in the ship's center mass, so seeing where the ship's guns are located in relation to the indicator can help you identify a hull when it fires.

Next, we also need to know what the different types of ammo look like when fired, as this plays a big role in early identification.

Below is a list of every single tracer in the game, excluding point defense weapons. Some of these tracers are faction-specific.



HE-HC is indistinguishable from regular 100mm HE, as it has the same tracer, however, you can tell which type of ammo it is by the ship that's firing it. Ferrymen and Tugs tend to fire regular 100mm HE. Monitors and Liners equipped with 100mm almost always fire HE-HC, as it deals massive damage to areas incinerated by plasma beforehand.

Now that we've covered ship hulls and tracers, it's time to go through the 3 ways of identifying ships.

You can identify ships as they land on the map.
The size of their flare, and the formation they land in is often enough to tell what to expect and where to expect it.


Capital ships are the easiest to identify, so we will start from largest to smallest.

The Solomon Battleship (ANS) and the Mooreline Container Liner (OSP) have the largest flares.
- The Solomon is often escorted by supporting Point-Defense Sprinters, so if you spot a massive flare with 1-2 flares in formation, that's how you will know it's most likely a battleship.
- The Mooreline almost always lands alone. If you see a massive flare landing with no escorts behind rocks somewhere in the middle of OSP's spawn, you are likely seeing a Container Launcher, or a Carrier.

The second largest flares are those of the Axford Heavy Cruiser (ANS), the Marauder Liner (OSP), and the Ocello (OSP)
- Axfords often land in pairs when used as frontline. If you see two large flares in formation, it is certain that's a CH pair.
- Marauders rarely land alone, but you also don't see them landing often in close formation. If you see two or three relatively spaced out flares, you can make an educated guess whether those are liners or Ocellos.
- Ocellos have a slightly smaller flare than Marauders. They also frequently land in pairs, as they have the exact same role as an Axford heavy cruiser when played as frontline. If you see two flares in close formation, it's very likely they are Ocellos, rather than liners.

The medium flares belong to the Vauxhall Light Cruiser (ANS), the Keystone Destroyer (ANS), and the Monitor (OSP).
- Vauxhalls most often land in formation of 3 when used as gunships. If you see two medium flares in close formation, which seem too small to be Axfords, it's possible you are looking at a missile Vaux pair, a hybrid Vaux pair with guns and missile backpacks.
- Keystones land either in formations of 3 to 5 ships, or individually all over ANS's spawn. If you see them landing in formations of 3 or more high and far from cover, they are likely equipped with rails. If they are scattered, or landing in formations close to cover, ANS intends to place them behind cover for beam ambushes.
- Monitors almost never land alone. Most often you will see them in formation of 3, if used as mass drivers (rails), or in formation of 5 when used as frontline. The latter is a surefire way to identify them immediately. If you see 5 radar contacts in very close proximity to each-other, you are likely looking at a pentabrick.
Monitors also land as escorts to an Ocello. If you see a large contact with 2 medium escorts, it's likely a Plasma Ocello with 2 Gun Monitors, or a Gun Ocello with Plasma Monitors.

Second to last are the flares of the Raines Frigate (ANS) and the Draugr Tug (OSP).
- Raines sometimes land as escorts to bigger ships, or in formation of 2-3 in ANS's backline if used as missile launchers. Occasionally you may see a blob of small contacts - those could either be a Raines blob, or a Sprinter missile blob.
- Draugr tugs are most often used as EWR, so if you see a lone small flare landing way off in the distance, and you get spotted a minute after you spawn, it is most likely EWR. Occasionally OSP uses them in formation of 8-9 ships. If you see such a formation spawning, stay away from it.

Lastly, the Sprinter (ANS) and the Ferryman (OSP) cappers.
- Sprinters are occasionally used as bombers (S2 or S3 missile boats) and you may see them land in formations of 3 or as a blob of 8-10 contacts. It is difficult to figure out if their flares belong to a Sprinter or a Raines, because they are very similar in size.
- Ferryman's signature is tiny, and easily recognizable. Although not common in the current patch, you may see a blob formation of 9-10 of these landing behind cover. If they are packed so closely together, you'll know for certainty they are carrying rockets and will be gunning for your backline and the frontline hiding close to rocks.

You can identify a ship by the type of ammunition it fires, the caliber of its guns, and where they are positioned in relation to its radar contact indicator.



Starting off with capitals, as they are priority targets to ID, and are the most recognizable.

The Solomon Battleship, Axford Heavy Cruiser, the Ocello, and the Marauder liners are the easiest to identify early.
- The Solomon and the Axford most often fire 450mm shells, which fly through space slower than 250mm and 120mm shells. 450mm guns do not fire simultaneously, so if you see double or triple 450s firing from the same gun, you can immediately ID the target as either a BB, or a CH.
If the contact has an escort firing the same caliber, it's a CH pair. If it fires alone, but you see two turrets firing from one side, it's a Battleship.
- Similarly, Ocellos also fire 450mm guns from 3 turrets. If you see 450mm tracers fired out of sync, it can't be anything but an Ocello.
The Ocello is also the only ship on OSP that can carry the Aurora green laser PD. If a radar contact is not firing its guns, but you see green lasers shooting down missiles fired at it, you can label it as an Ocello.
- Liners are very easy to ID, because their guns and PD are placed along their entire broadside, and fire simultaneously. If you see rapid simultaneous fire form a row of guns in a straight line across the contact, it's a liner.

Side note: The Solomon, the Axford, the Ocello, and the Marauder can all be used as railgun platforms, which fire from high up at very long range.

Next - Vauxhalls, Keystones and Monitors.
- Vauxhalls can be identified early if you see them fire 250mm HE-RPF (Fragmentation) ammo at your cappers. They have 5 medium weapon slots - 3 top side, and 2 bottom side. Unlike the Axford Heavy Cruiser, Vauxes can only mount a single-barrel 250mm gun (while the CH and BB can mount a triple barrel 250mm turret). If the contact is firing rapidly from multiple turrets, and is escorted by two other contacts, it's safe to assume it's a Vaux trio.
- Keystones can be identified by the beam they fire. The Axford Heavy Cruiser and Solomon Battleship can mount 5k range Beam turrets and their beams are a bit thicker than that of the Keystone. The Keystone's beam fires at 6k range. If they are not high in the sky used as railstones, you can assume you're looking at a keystone if the contact is sluggishly moving very close to cover.
- Monitors can be identified by the 600mm gun they most commonly mount in the nose. Only this ship can fire a 600mm shell, which is significantly larger than a 450 shell.
It is also a gun that fires only once every 8-10 seconds. If your cappers are hit by shrapnel from a huge bomb shell explosion next to them, or you see a formation of 5 / escort of 2 firing plasma along with 600mm shells, it's a Monitor brick.

Second to last - Raines and Draugrs
- Raines can mount a combination of 2x 120mm + 2x 250mm, or 4x 120mm guns. They are almost exclusively used as EWAR escorts, missile launchers, or cap defenders. It's somewhat difficult to ID them, as they have a similar hitbox to that of the Sprinter and fire the same calibers a Sprinter can mount.
- Draugr tugs can be identified by the nose cannon. It can mount a 100mm / 250mm spinal gun, which fires straight from its nose, some distance away from its radar indicator. Its hitbox is significantly larger than that of the Ferryman, so if you see its PD firing a fair distance away from its target indicator, it is likely a tug, or a Monitor.

Lastly, Sprinters sand Ferrymen
- Sprinters are almost always first to cap. They carry 120mm guns and almost never carry the 250mm, as it fires very slowly even with an ammo elevator. The 120mms are placed very close to the radar indicator - one at the bottom, one below the nose.
- Ferrymen are also fairly easy to ID - if they are not carrying rockets, they fire bursts of 100mm from one or two turrets, placed on the top and bottom side of the hull. They have the tiniest hitbox of all ships in the game, so if you see a stationary radar contact almost touching a rock, you'll know it's a Ferryman.

The third way of identifying a contact is by seeing where your shells are hitting.



This is where memorizing the ship hulls comes into play.
In rare instances, where a radar contact is not firing at you, but you are firing at it, you can determine what type of ship it is by where the shells are hitting in relation to the radar contact.

Battleships, Heavy Cruisers, Ocellos, and Liners have large, long hitboxes.
All aforementioned hulls, with exception of the liner, will be facing you head-on, unless caught out of position. If your shells land some distance in front of the contact, or in a straight line across it, you'll know you are shooting at a capital hull.

Monitors, Vauxes, and Keystones have elongated profiles and are a bit smaller than capital hulls.

Raines and Tugs have a relatively small box-like shape.

Sprinters and Ferrymen are tiny, so you will see your fire concentrate neatly right at the radar indicator.

The larger the hull, the further away your guns will fire from the radar contact, trying to hit multiple components across the ship.

If you are playing ANS, you can also determine the hull if you fire HE-RPF at it.
When an HE-RPF shell detonates next to the hill, it showers it with tiny pellets, which explode on the surface.

If you have any 120s or 250s which mount HE-RPF, it is best you use those guns to ID a radar contact before you fire your main HE / AP ammo at it.
OSP can launch decoy containers, which can be easily ID'd with HE-RPF - if the shell detonates, but you don't see any mini explosions on the radar contact, it means it's a decoy and you should mark it as DEAD.