Re: Starbase tactics
 

SE4 is a currently a game about ships and planets. Planets provide materials for ships and ships do the rest. Bases (at least currently) are good for very few things. Check out an old post for more details. We did manage to get MM to allow bases longer ranges but that's about all. So far http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/ima...ons/icon12.gif

Starbase tactics
 

OK, I had my fleet of 4 carriers with a few destroyers gallanting through the serengetti empire when I ran into his homeworld. I figure, "What the heck! I've been moping the floor with every fleet I come across, I'll just wipe out his homeworld now, even if I take heavy losses.".

::sniff:: ::sniff:: That was the Last time I heard from my fleet, but before they went down in a blaze of glory, they did get a scan of the Battle Station. It had about 6 Heavy mounted Polaron (?I think?) weapons that do like 150 dmg at range 6 or so, 4-5 point defenses and about 6 Shield V's (yikes! I'm only on shield II). I don't have the temporal tree researched (I'm ging heavy crystaline weaponry, I'm at lev 7 now).

I could make a butload of fighter-seekers to take it out out of range of his guns but I was wondering what everyone else does against those pesky heavily shielded Battle Stations? Am I just in for a slug-Fest?


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Regards,
KiloOhm

Re: Starbase tactics
 

my single answer to every major tactical challenge remains the same:

blow up the sun.

Re: Starbase tactics
 

If you really want to give Bases some combat movement then I would suggest you alter the AFTERBURNERS componet, rename it... make it big... and allow it to be put onto bases.

This should work AFAIK

Re: Starbase tactics
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by General Hawkwing:
SE4 is a currently a game about ships and planets<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well, that's one way of looking at it. Maybe I want bases to be something that MM never intended them to be.

However, you've given me an idea. Is it possible, via modding, to make a new Category of ship, a "base ship", that would be available early on but would be limited to one engine? It doesn't really make sense that, early on, you can make transports that are plenty big enough to fit a spaceyard, but you MUST fill them up with cargo bays. Huh? Hello? These civilizations can make ships capable of interstellar travel, but no one is smart enough to suggest replacing cargo bays with a spaceyard?

Re: Starbase tactics
 

Has anyone ever tried Trachmyr's suggestion?

Re: Starbase tactics
 

Trachmyr's idea works... i already have those in one of my games... works with the
satellites too...

Re: Starbase tactics
 

I never believed in building bases except to build my sphere worlds. But since you got so much space on the base why not fill them up with fighter bays and have a huge fighter force? that would stop anyone from attacking your bases, with about 20 PD cannons it should also fend off most missile attacks...
why put a starbase with tons of limited range weapons? Build one with plasma missiles or capital ship missiles that has the ability to hit you from where it sits... I think about 20 plasma missiles per turn should damage alot of ships before they ever get into range.

Re: Starbase tactics
 

Defensive bases are only useful early in the game, and only then when you are just struggling to hold what you've got.

Early game advantages: Relatively long-ranged (due to their base mount bonus) and powerful considering their cost. Also big and hard to kill (with respectable shielding and point defense).

DUC-armed Space Stations supported by satellites make an excellent warp point defense. Missile-armed bases probably aren't as good as missile WPs for planetary defense.

Late game advantages: Um, none. If you put on enough shields to stop an enemy battle-line, you probably won't have enough room for weapons. Also, mid and late-game bases are EXPENSIVE, largely because of their weapons and defenses. By the time you can build big-@$$ battlestations and starbases, the enemy that has forced you onto the defensive probably has dreadnoughts, and even a few (say 6 or so) of them can smash the base that you've spent 2 years building.

Re: Starbase tactics
 

Defensive bases are great in the late game. I had 2 Battle Stations on a warppoint together with about 100 satellites (old with weak weapons and no combat sensors, had level 3 on the bases and much better guns) smash 6 Battleships and some Cruisers and Battlecruisers (don't remember how many) with comparable tech. I call that a good investment of time and resources. And those bases have 50% off their upkeep which makes me love them even more. And with them in place the fleet I had guarding that warp point was free to roam the galaxy showing my enemies the error of their ways. Which just happened to be about the rest of the galaxy.