With the battle viewer coming soon, we will all be thinking more about combat. With that in mind I'd thought I'd take a look at the ship roles* so we could all better understand what we are doing when we build our fleets.
*This information comes from the BattleBehaviorDefs.xml for Beta 3 and may be different in Beta 4
Attack Ships
Assault
Position: Front
Maneuver: Attack
Attack Priority: Escort, Capital
Further Targets: Assault, Interceptor, Guardian, Support
Interceptor
Position: Front
Maneuver: Attack
Attack Priority: Guardian, Support
Further Targets: Escort, Capital, Assault, Interceptor
Capital
Position: Mid
Maneuver: Attack
Attack Priority: Escort, Capital
Further Targets: Guardian, Support, Assault, Interceptor
Defense Ships
Escort
Position: Mid
Maneuver: Defense
Defense Priority: Capital, Support
Attack Priority: Assault, Escort
Further Targets: Capital, Interceptor, Guardian, Support
Guardian
Position: Rear
Maneuver: Defense
Defense Priority: Support, Capital
Attack Priority: Interceptor, Assault
Further Targets: Escort, Capital, Guardian, Support
Stationary Ships
Support
Position: Rear
Maneuver: Stationary
Attack Priority: Interceptor, Assault
Further Targets: Escort, Capital, Guardian, Support
Starbase
Position: Rear
Maneuver: Stationary
Attack Priority: Interceptor, Assault
Further Targets: Escort, Capital, Guardian, Support
Upgrading
Position: Rear
Maneuver: Stationary
Attack Priority: Interceptor, Assault
Further Targets: Escort, Capital, Guardian, Support
**note: All ships have Upgrading and Starbase as their final two targets.