Starbase Effects

That pretty much sums it up.

Although, econ bases should be near the ends of trade routes, with the trade route right down the center of the starbases area of influence if possible.

Don't worry about influence bases where there is nothing to influence. Empty space is a waste of time and resources.

Wait are you saying that econ bases only affect trade routes when the minifreighter is in them?

no, but your mini freighter make more moeny the further away from your home planet. Thus economy bases will improve on a greater amount to begin with.

The econ bases are also good for research and industrial production if they are next to one of your planets.

If you don't have any research resources to mine, the next best thing are econ starbases with the correct modules.

And yes, they only affect the trade income when the freighters are in its influence area.

The econ bases are also good for research and industrial production if they are next to one of your planets.

Place your econ starbase so as to maximize the number of your planets within its area of effect. You can stack the starbases to compound the effect.

Also, starbases (all types) extend your range allowing you to colonize distant worlds and attack distant enemies.

Don't worry about influence bases where there is nothing to influence. Empty space is a waste of time and resources.

Seconded.

Your influence will start to fill in empty areas without the need for SBs as your influence grows.

Every Starbase you build costs increasingly more to do so, in addition to extra modules you construct. In the late game, I have seen initial build costs for brand spanking new base exceed 1,500 bcs.


Cheers,
Reaver

Don't worry about influence bases where there is nothing to influence. Empty space is a waste of time and resources.

I have to disagree here. You gain income from tourism based on the amount of space you own. This also gives you influence points in the Galactic Council meetings.

If you play as evil, then you get all those wonderful starbase upgrades FOR FREE (of course you still need to send a constructor, but you don't pay for the added module). This will keep your costs way down. I've been cranking out constructors turn after turn and gobbling up space everywhere possible. This will shrink foreign influence and income while building your own. Plus, dropping an influence starbase strategically in an unclaimed area will snatch up a large amount of territory at little cost.

Regards,
LP

If you play as evil, then you get all those wonderful starbase upgrades FOR FREE

True, Evils get the UPGRADES for free, but the initial cost is not. And that can be VERY expensive in the mid to late game. As I pointed out earlier, those *empty* areas will get filled in pretty easily, if you are the dominant/closer force, by your influence area with out extra expenditure. Since there is less "influence friction" in those empty areas, those areas tend to expand more quickly then where your influence is bumping up against a rival.

Cheers,
Reaver

Since there is less "influence friction" in those empty areas, those areas tend to expand more quickly then where your influence is bumping up against a rival.

True in many cases, though in some games with a lot of space between solar systems or where the planets in a system are all uninhabitable there may not be an effective way to expand your influence into those dead areas without actively trying to do so.

My opinion is that if I don't want/need to build up my attack/defense force because it's already large enough or I don't want to incur the cost of more ships, I can still build constructors since their maintenance cost goes away as soon as they construct something. I guess I just don't like having idle starports either   

Regards,
LP

If you play your economics well the 1000bc or so to set up a starbase is nothing. Alternatively you can switch from a militant to a trade/culture economy practically overnight if you have a strong enough ally - just sell them your ships and your expenses drop like a rock.

Starbases in empty space get you tourism income, and if you're evil you get 1bc/turn for every foreign trader in your influence. It adds up. However don't upgrade influence starbases in these situations, as the base's influence doesn't go past the area of effect (in v 1.2 anyway...). You only need to upgrade influence to 'push' another race's influence back.

Also remember that influence is stronger nearer the sources of the influence than at the boundaries, so if you just want to gain more influence and not subvert planets build your starbases so that the edge of their influence is touching the inside edge of the foreign influence border.

If you haven't tried this yet, have a go. You make shedloads of money, to the point where you can afford to buy several galactic wonders in one turn without hurting your treasury! Just make sure everyone likes you before you sell your fleet.

Wait are you saying that econ bases only affect trade routes when the minifreighter is in them?

Every turn the minifreighter is in the starbases area of affect the amount of trade money increases for that turn.

Something is confusing the HECK out of me here. No doubt since I just bought the game (but I have viewed the tutorials).

It sounds like you guys are building starbases from nothing.

My impression of the rules was that you could only build starbases on resources via a constructor ship. Is that incorrect? (If so, how do you build a starbase in the middle of empty space)

You can build influence, economic and military starbases on any empty square and their effects spread over a circle (a little larger than the circle of light you may see around a constructor - zoom way out if you don't see it).

Additional modules can be added for increased effects; this works really well if you can cover multiple inhabited planets and then use multiple, overlapping starbases to stack the effects.

Is that incorrect? (If so, how do you build a starbase in the middle of empty space)

Fly a constuctor out to where you want one, then click the Construct button. You'll then be prompted which type you want to build.