There are many different corvettes, frigates (only in Terran Conflict not Reunion), carriers, and destroyers available in X3 as well as transport vessels and fighters. They cost a fortune to buy in the game (upwards of 100 million credits to buy a destroyer and outfit with proper equipment), but X3 is a game that focuses on long term goals. Don't buy this game an expect to fly a destroyer your first day (or maybe your first week or more) without cheats. Patience and the ability to make your own long term goals are required to enjoy X3. 

There are also different camera modes except the cockpit view. However trying to fight anything outside of cockpit view in a fighter is suicidal.

damn forum double post

In X3 are jumpgates the only means to go from one star system to the next or can ships jump without the gate?

X3 is one of the most complicated games I have ever laid my hands on. I hated it at first but I grew to love it. And now I'm my own CEO, VDK Corp

I have a Weapons Manufacturing Complex, Energy Producing Complex, Computer Chip Manufacturing complex and some other stuff and have a balance sheet of close to 3 billion Credits.

You will need lots and lots of patience to get into this game.

Pros
1) Lots of scripts to automate processes. For instance, my trading fleet of 30 or so vessels are all doing the trading by themselves. And the bulk of my income comes from there earning close to a million or two million credits per hour.

2) You can be whatever you want to be, a pirate, policeman, trader or just a regular fighter, anything.

3) You don't have to do any of the missions at all

4) Dozens and dozens of ships to choose from, and you can pilot every single one.

Cons
1) Complete lack of tutorial for the more advanced functions of the game. For example, I had no idea how to make use of the auto-trading script. Lol who knew you had to dock the freighter at a station and then run the script because you could not hire a pilot when the ship is in space.

2) Commanding a wing of ships is a pain. Lucky there are some 3rd party scripts that allow me to assign hot keys.

3) Equipping battleships is a huge huge pain. Especially if you're equipping 3 or 4 battleships at once. These ships come bare naked out of the factory and have no weapons and shields at all. There are scripts that allow you to assign a transport ship to 'copy' the configuration of a fully armed battleship to another bare naked one. The transport ship would then go on its own to buy the weapons and equip the ship for you. A lifesaver script this is.

That's the few I can think of the top of my head.

You can use any ship that you want if you have the credits for it. However, it's funny if you get a battleship to chase down cargo freighters that are carrying illegal goods.

All you need is just an M3 Class fighter, attach a police scanner to your ship and then take missions to scan for illegal cargo and you get money that way. However, do note that you don't have to be stuck to being a policeman forever, you can do anything that you want in this game, total sandbox.

How about a being a pirate to one race and then a policeman to another race? Very possible. It's limitless really.

Yeah. I captured 2 ATF Odins. Beautiful ships but the horrible fighter AI keeps crashing into them. LOL.

http://www.xfire.com/video/6fe33/

Hey VoodooKing                         

  No law enforcement agency would budget enough money for a battleship   but fighters, frigates, corvettes and maybe a destroyer or two are decent.

Private or company security forces don't usually have batttleships, but fighters, and frigates are not out of the question.

Only governments have the money to support a navy with dreadnaughts and battleships!

Are there any empires out there for me to join where I can become a naval officer and captain a battleship?