Freighter Network

[Will]

If that's the case, then you can have something like the following:

-No resource production facilities
-Homeworld type spaceyard (call it a "Spaceport") constructs at a rate something like 2000/100/2000
-Spaceport produces 2000 organics/turn, and can store 2000 organics
-Spaceport has scrap efficiency of 110%
-Spaceport takes an extremely long time to construct, basically limiting it to Homeworld-only until expansion reaches the point that you can afford to spend time on building another one.
-Colony type spaceyard (call it "Launch Pad") constructs at a rate of 0/2000/0
-Launch Pad also produces 2000 organics/turn, and stores 2000 organics
-Freighter hulls cost 2000 organics
-All other hull types cost some amount of organics; say a Frigate could be 50 organics, a Heavy Carrier could be 500 organics
-Remove organic cost from almost all other components; "rare" components could have an organic component
-Add in freighter components, which "cost" some amount of minerals and/or radioactives; colonies with Launch Pads produce these at no mineral or radioactive cost. Colonies with Spaceports produce these at cost, but value is gained from "trade".
-Remove Resupply Depots, and replace with Carrier Battles-style supply ships/bases. These hulls will have some maintainence cost, all other hulls will have 100% maintainence reduction. The idea here is "maintainence" = "supply".
-You can keep orbital yards, but only at extremely low organic production, say 2000/25/2000; organics becomes a metaphor for manpower, so an orbital yard depends on the manpower from the Spaceport it orbits to construct.

So that's a very, very rough outline of what could be done. I would have to think some more about what to do with "extra" facility space on colonies, the base construction rate for colonies (without Launch Pad) and a bunch of other stuff I probably can't imagine right now. But that's the start of an idea.

[douglas]

The Launch Pad needs to build at least one resource at no cost or there's no point to its existence. The whole reason to build freighters is that they will yield lots of non-organics when scrapped, and they have to cost a correspondingly large amount to build to make that work.

[Magnum357]

Yes, I understand that. The Organics are basically used to built the Freighters and are metephorically your workforce you might say. But what I want to know is why do you need two types of Lauch pads? Can't you just make one launch pad build with 1/2000/1 capability?

[Will]

You're still missing the point. Having a spaceyard with one or two of the resources at 0, means the spaceyard can construct UNLIMITED amounts of that resource. You get money from scrapping a "Mineral Cargo Hold" component that costs, say, 10k minerals. If the Launch Pads constructed at 1/2000/1, then it would take 10,000 turns to build a Mineral Freighter. If the Launch Pads constructed at 0/2000/1, then it would take one turn to build a Mineral Freighter.

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

And if you only have the ability tag for one or two resources? Will that work to prevent construction with the other resource(s)?

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

If you want to make the freighter network work, set the scrap percent to something like 150% or so. If you keep it at 110%, the revenue is just simply too small and you're going to struggle economically, and the few battles that will be fought will be fought with small, cheap, outdated ships.

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

In a word: Yes.