[Pax]

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
I'd like to know what advantage you think this would confer? Other than the space yard output, anyway. The ships would have to be constructed normally, so none of the usual advantage of a large ship would be possible. There's no logical reason to 'add' them after the docking unless a refit is possible.

Well, I suppose it would allow for modular retrofitting of such "temporary bases" --- build new Shield Module ships (their job is to provide the shielding for such DCC-base affairs), send them out to the DCC-bases, undock the old Versions, redock the new.

Then presumably move the old Shield Module design to a nearby spaceyard, for retrofitting into something else.

Same for weapons modules, or the like.

Essentially, "on site" the retrofit would be instant, since you're building replacements ... you'd have no "weak time" where some or many of your components need post-retrofit repairs (sucks if you upgrade all your weapons, and that very turn discover you NEED guns but don't HAVE guns ... 'cause of the retrofit).

Now, there's the one possible use that I can see for this. Instead of having a spaceyard ship sit in one place for a year or more, build the parts of a station as seperate ships and have them move to the location where you intend to assemble the base. Then 'dock' them together and do a refit to configure the final base. Quite a nifty idea, and could be a useful tech advantage under some 'advanced construction' tech field.

Even sans refit; the cost of the docking components, would offset beign able to have possibly 5 or 10 worlds all contributing at once to a single starbase build-project, via a "DCC-base" instead of a "True Starbase". And with Baseship hulls, if you can park 7 of 'em (1 hub, and six "module" positions), that's one heck of a lot of displacement. Merged shields and armor, shared fire control (picture a shield-only hull, an armor-only, an PDC-and-ECM-only, and three "weapons" modules, with supply from a Quantum Reactor or several Solar Panels, in the hub ...).

Other than that, I much prefer the 'docking bay' idea where one ship can have a special type of cargo hold able to contain another ship. If you could build starbases with lots of docking bays you could conceal entire fleets from view.

Or, with a big enough ship (Base Ship), build smaller starbases (Stations, say) and move them on-site ... rather like oil platforms aren't built on-site now, they're built in a special harbor, and then -moved- somewhere.

TUGS would be another great feature ... the ability to TOW another ship, or even starbase. Rate it for how many kT's it can move at without a loss of speed, AND give the part a once-per-ship NEGATIVE speed bonus (tugs are powerful, not fast). Every additional multiple of that rated tonnage, you lose 1 more from teh tug's speed; tugs in a fleet add their towage capacity together.

Then you can have a slew of Cruiser-sized tugs move that nice, shiny starbase -ever- so slowly into position at the WP chokepoint it was intended for ... after building it at one of your much-more-capable planetary yards.