Starbases are so expensive that I want them to be CAPTURED rather than treated like a war vessel. Shock Troops could be more useful if it produced... wait for it... SHOCK TROOPS. These troops can be added to capital ships and starbases for their offensive/defensive objectives.
Right now, it is beyond aggravating to get a base destroyed, watch your enemy build one or two modules and then go destroy the new base.
WHY? WHY? WHY?
Capturing starbases and leaving them relatively intact would add so much spice to the game. When the frakkin Torians steal a base, you suddenly have another wrinkle in the epic generator. It's time to rally the troops and retake the starbase.
Starbases need ridiculously insane hit points from the very first constructor. They should also require a colony ship to populate.
It's not beyond the existing AI capabilities. When you invade a starbase, you would get multiple options like planetary invasion. Complete destruction would be an option. Let complete destruction come at a price of population. Unless robots run these bases, there should be a population loss upon destruction.
What _should_ be destroyed before any invasion are planetary defenses along the lines of Imperium Galactica 2 and every epic science fiction story ever ( Return of the Jedi comes to mind. )
Human players not named Bush would aim to keep the infrastructure of the enemy intact as far as possible.
