need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

so here I am minding my own buisness in my little corner of the universe when a fleet of ships appears in my system next to the worm hole!
they sort of sat there for a couple turns but then they decided it would be a good idea to start taking my planets away from me http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif
I just BARELY killed them off and I want to build a starbase ontop of the worm hole so enamy fleets cant invade my system as easily.
I did some looking around on the forums and it appears you can research a mobile constrution platform? what do you have to research to get this thing? and if you build a starbase out in space does it need ordinance storage?

I was thinking about stuffing abounch of shield generators and torpedos on it so if it gets pounded on a little bit I won't have to worry about repairing the thing all the time http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif would this work?

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

If you're playing the default game, you'll need to research up to level 10 Space Yards to get the Space Yard Component (400kT) that can be used on ships to build ships/bases in remote locations like Warp Points.

A more immediate solution could be the use of satellites...

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

If you are playing Stock a Ship Yard is at Space Yards level 10. It is 400kT and can be added to a very high level Frigate, mid to high level Destroyer, or a Light Cruiser. Naturally that won't leave much space for anything else. As for your idea the only way to find out is to test it. All the shields in the world won't help you if you the enemy has Phased - Polaron Beam armed ships.

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

You will also need to research a ship hull big enough to haul the SY component.

It would be a good idea to try and bring a couple SYShips all together, along with a decent defense fleet to protect them while they work.

Build yourself a base with a SY so you can continue to build up there and let your ships move on to other projects.
The SY will provide some repair ability, but adding a dedicated repair base couldn't hurt.

A few main battle fortresses near the warppoint is good. You may also want to add a larger number of small stuff around the edges to prevent ships from running away.

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Overall, since it sounds like you're under immediate threat, satellites are your best stopgap measure. Just build a transport with sat launchers and plenty of cargo, and load it up with long range weapon sats to sprinkle liberally around.
You can also place one or two in the hexes immediately surrounding the warppoint to cut off avenues of retreat.

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

A tech chart might come in handy.

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

That is does.

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

In SEIV I always built 4 starbases on every WP that connected to enemy systems. 3 for defense and one for construction. I had fleets of warships protecting two construction ships, while two mine layers laid down the mine field. Once your finished you should have 1 defense base and the construction base. This way you can build more bases PLUS have great defense.

Add some cargo to the construction one and you have a fighter and mine construction facility as well.

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

I eventually built a starbase and tried it in the combat simulator but it wouldn't fire on anything? it had like 12x capital ship missles with ten or so ordiance sections?

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

Did it have any supply storage?

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

I can't stand how they need both! Why oh why do I need supplies and ordinance to fire a weapon? What are the supplies for anyway? If a circuit card or ten are blowing out every time I fire guess what... I wouldn't have contracted to put that weapon in my ship!

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

oops.. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

alright, last question.
what do you need to open worm holes? I made a map and started my self out in a sealed off part of the universe so I'd only have to deal with one or two of them 14'ish AI's that want to kill me http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/Injured.gif

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

You need stellar manipulation tech to open warp points (they aren't necessarily worm holes).

President_Elect_Shang said:
I can't stand how they need both! Why oh why do I need supplies and ordinance to fire a weapon? What are the supplies for anyway?

The supplies are for energy. Not all weapons fire bullets/missiles, which is what ordnance is supposed to represent.

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

Sorry that one just doesn't hold water. What are the supplies... solid fuel? Why can't the engines supply the energy? If we can build cars that supply all the power it needs plus extra for built in DVD players and such why can't we build a ship with that same ability. Finally what about the weapons that use both? What is the supply pull for in them? Gotta get the 'ol electro catapult up to power 'eh? NOT! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/redface.gif

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

what level of stellar manipulation?

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

A DVD player takes just a liiitle bit less power than tossing a slug of depleted uranium out a railgun.

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

Supplies are just about every consumable on board other than ordnance.

The point being that you just have two types of consumable now instead of one. Use it in your mods wisely.

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

Noone ever said stock was set up reasonably. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

I think it is extremely unreasonable to think that you can just power a gigantic wave motion gun from excess engine energy. It has to pull a lot more energy than that, thus increasing fuel/supply consumption when used. You could assume it does draw energy from the main reactor powering the engines, but it still is going to draw relatively more than anything like a dvd player in a modern car does.

How would bullets and missiles be useful to stock a wave motion gun?

If you look at a DUC, it uses both. The ordnance is the actual physical bullets, and the supply usage is the energy it takes to accelerate those bullets to near-light speeds. If you normalize its supply usage to that of the WMG, it uses about 18 supplies compared to 30 for the WMG. Maybe it shouldn't use quite so many supplies since all it is likely doing is powering up some electromagnets, but I can still see it taking some non-zero amount of supplies to fire.

Then look at missiles. They should probably only require ordnance, or at least very low supplies, because it doesn't take much energy to launch them compared to what you would need to generate a "high intensity fusion beam." Presumably, they should be able to use their own fuel to accelerate.

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

I cant' believe you guys are drawing a direct correlation from a DVD player - alternator to a ship board power weapon. It was an analogy. Honestly! The point is you can build something that can power non critical parts of a vehicle. You can make this piece small and light enough to fit into a vehicle and you can do all this with technology in the year 2007. Now you want to honestly argue that in the year 2400 some 393 years away you still can't make a source of energy to power a magnetic catapult or wave motion gun or whatever that is small enough to fit into a 250kT ship? Man I feel doubly insulted. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/mad.gif

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

while your guys are arguing about how much power/supplies ships should be using remember that I'm still stuck in some backend system with no way of getting out http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif someone mentioned I need steller manipulation to open a warp point but what level of steller manipulation?

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

You are absolutely right and I apologize. You need Stellar Manipulation level 30 to close them and level 35 to open them. Good luck I never play with that option and now I remember why.

Guys I'm dropping this debate it is pointless and insulting to think in 400 years no suitable power source has been created and the one that is used uses supplies to make energy at the exact moment the weapon is fired. That is like me shoveling coal into my laser leveler just to hang another picture for my wife!

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

Q@#$KJ level 30? what are you suppose to convert your entire empire to some kind of researching firm to get that? I must have had 100? research buildings built and it still would have taken forever.
the AI's would have all been dead or had super weapons by the time I go out of my little section of the universe.

I noticed laser beam weapons use supplies exclusively so couldn't you just say that supplies are a general commodity thats loaded on to the ship depending on what it needs? say capacitor charges for high powered lasers?

I do agree with you in that when you're using "anti-matter" engines beam weapons should be able to run off the engines power alone and then some.
in fact one anti-matter engine could power our entire planet to put things into perspective and that would be a very, very, small anti-matter engine.
a quarter pound of anti-matter would be enough to blow this entire planet up.

Re: need a little tech tree/starbase help
 

Excellent point about the anti-matter engine. I was waiting to see if anyone was going to point that out. I see where you are coming from with the laser/capacitor analogy but the fundamental problem remains. Using supplies per shot means some form of conversion process is going on in there at the very instant the weapon is fired and it happens every single time! Now if you want an example of how supplies and ordinance should be used take a look at the SFTC or the SFTC-Lite if you prefer the SE5 style component progression with levels. All missile weapons use ordinance only and that is the missiles they are firing. No beam weapon uses supplies or ordinance except the X-Ray Laser Emitter. However it tells you in the description this is a bomb pumped weapon; nuclear bomb that is. That's why to use the X-Ray Emitter you have to mount an X-Ray Detonation Chamber too. There isn't any AI support for either version; however, even as we speak I am writing the AI. It is a ground up job so it will take a little time.

Yes I know level 35 is crazy. I always play with the wp located anywhere. I think it was SE3 that I first tried a game with no wp? Well maybe it was SE4; anyway it sucked! That option hangs around more for the modders use I think.