Basic Trope: Space works just like an ocean, with trade, space navies and marines.
- Straight: The United Federation of Troperia has a space fleet. The fleet conists of Standard Sci-Fi Fleet ship classes, but there are also freighters, Space Pirates, and Space Marines, all of which have a ranking system similar to that of Earth's waterborn navies.
- Exaggerated: Sail ships fly around in space, engage in battle using old-fashioned cannons, and are often menaced by space krakens and void sharks.
- Downplayed:
- While there is spaceships, most of them are designed realistically and don't have Artificial Gravity, Faster-Than-Light Travel and the like.
- Space works realistically (with the possible exception of Minovsky Physics), but at least one In-Universe culture does treat any aspect of space travel like the closest sea-based equivalent, to the point of using antiquated terminology for spaceship parts (rudder, sails...), and having old-timey navy uniforms for ceremonial purposes.
- Justified:
- In order to increase their power, the United Federation of Troperia invests in a space fleet, that gives them the ability to travel between planets and extract their resources.
- The Federation space fleet initially used Air Force or NASA-inspired terminology, but as spacecraft (and their crew sizes) got bigger, it made more sense to just reuse naval traditions rather than come up with new words for the same thing IN SPACE!
- In the Federation universe, space is literally filled with a fluid-like substance called aether.
- Inverted: An ocean acts like space.
- Subverted: There appears to be spaceships in orbit, but they are just regular space shuttles flying to and from space stations.
- Double Subverted: But it later turns out these shuttles are capable of traveling to Mars, Venus and beyond.
- Parodied: A Space Marine gets seasick aboard a spaceship, forcing him to take an Escape Pod and 'row' to a nearby space station.
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Enforced: "How are we supposed to make a good sci-fi movie without space battleships? We need space battleships, end of story!"
- Lampshaded: "Our jump in technology has really made our spaceships act like regular ships. Amazing what technology can achieve!"
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: The spaceship designers take careful steps to make the spaceships look as different from seafaring ships as possible.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: A man who's been to space tells awe-struck listeners about giant dreadnoughts and incredible ship-to-ship battles.
- Implied: A wife says goodbye to her husband, dressed up in fancy navy attire and wishes goodbye as he leaves on a four-year tour. He waves from a window as a massive ship fires its engines and ascends into the heavens.
- Played For Laughs: Spaceships cruise around in space like real ships, but it's later revealed to be toys an alien plays with.
- Played For Drama: An Insane Admiral makes an entire fleet turn on the United Federation of Troperia, blocking the home planet and forces the government to pay tribute to the families who have family members killed in duty, or else.
Space Is an Ocean, report for duty, star-sailor.
