thetraviler thetraviler

Starbase NEEDS

▼

Starbase NEEDS

from GalCiv2 Forums
Starbases. We all like to use them. Some of us more then others but I doubt there is a single player out there who doesn’t think they need an over haul. I have been thinking about this post for several weeks now; reading, researching, and brainstorming about how to fix this very broken aspect of the game. This post is LONG so I’ll break it up into 3 parts and give a quick out line for those who don’t want to read the whole thing:

Necessary Fixes:
• Hull needs to be upgradeable
• SB guns need to fire separately
• SBs need to be repairable

Improvements for a Better game
• Fleet support for SBs
• SB hit points should max at around 400 HP
• Officially adding the Repair Bay
• Adding more SB techs
• The Research Starbase/ship

Other Issues... their short but mainly for the developers.

PLEASE, you don’t have to read the whole thing but please respond. Let the developers know they are AWESOME, but this issue does need attending to!!!

Necessary Fixes:

• Hull needs to be upgradeable:
The current 30-40ish hit points just don’t cut it, especially in the end game. These babies, even when fully upgraded, are sitting ducks come mid to late game. I propose that as a minimum fix you add hit points to the Battle Station upgrades like so:
-Battle Station Mk1: +5 HP
-Battle Station Mk2: +15 HP
-Battle Station Mk3: +30 HP
-Battle Station Mk4: +100HP
This would give a fully upgraded Battle Station roughly 170 HP. This, in my opinion, is still low. I would like to see it on the order of 400 HP but we’ll talk about that in a min. As a minimum fix this would be acceptable.

• SB guns need to fire separately:
Currently to my understanding and from what I’ve read in this forum, SB gun’s fire in unison while all ship guns now fire separately. This needs to be fixed so that each weapons module fires independently, with the biggest guns firing first. This will help even the playing field when attacked by fleets, especially of smaller ships. And it will also give an incentive to spend a whole constructor on those +5 weapons components.


• SBs need to be repairable:
As far as I know (and I could be wrong) SBs don’t heal themselves. At least if they do, its so slow that I have yet to notice. A SB should, at a minimum repair itself or allow a constructor do the job. *see Repair Bay for idea*

Improvements for a Better game

• Fleet support for SBs:
I propose raising the logistic points of a SB to 10 (possibly more if upgraded) and allowing it to fleet up with other ships. After all any fan of Deep Space Nine will tell you that SBs are massive fortifications; a dug-in position that should be the safest place in the galaxy for a ship to harbor at. If we allow SB’s to fleet up with ships it will make defending these behemoths much easier and more tactical. A maxed out, well defended SB should be dang near impossible to oust (though given enough sacrifice should be doable).

• SB hit points should max at around 400 HP:
Thinking back to many a night watching DS 9 and I realize that a maxed SB really should be on the order of 3 capital ships. If a maxed SB and three massive capital ships were to duke it out it should be a bloody fight with no "for sure" victor. I figure a massive capital ship has about 130ish HP. So that x3 give you around 400 HP. Given a maxed out capital ships guns would for sure annihilate any SB. Maybe there should be one more SB gun available at the top of one of the weapons tech ladder. Just a thought.

• Officially adding the Repair Bay:
This idea is available in more Mods then I can count. Realistically, any strategic SB should fix ships. Maybe if so many moders have used this idea, that’s a sign it’s a good idea sarcasm aside… really… add the Repair Bays, it’s a good component. And you could even incorporate SB repair into this idea. So that way if you want to repair your SB you add a repair bay and you get two for one. Self-repair, and starship repair. Or make two separate modules, I really don’t care so long as it’s added.


• Adding more SB techs:
Basically I’d just like to see more, but cheaper techs when it comes to SBs.

*And last but not least. My personal Favorite.*

• The Research Starbase:
I can not tell you how many games I’ve played were im out colonized and out gunned. If im the little guy in the corner that should not mean im week or unsophisticated! Take Japan for instance. They, land and population wise, are one of the smallest countries on the planet. But technologically and economically, they are one of the strongest powerhouses by far! So, I would like to see 4 kinds of SB (Military, Economic, Influence, and Research), The Research SB would be different then the resource mining and econ SBs. It would not "enhance" existing research. It would provide all new research points. It would have a high maintenance fee and be connected to the research slider. That way it truly is a research facility. They should be expensive and should have limitations on armorment. That way they are risky to build and should be highly guarded with fleets. This would allow smaller civilizations who simply do not have the surface area to not fall behind technologically. This idea really ties in with another of mine that kinda tanked in the forums.

The Science Vessel. In my opinion a peaceful civ should still have a reason to build a fleet! There for I think there should be more levels of survey modules that provide bass research points. This way peaceful civs get an extra little incentive to build a fleet, even if it means less guns. Just look at the Federation in Star Trek

Other Issues

• Add maintenance costs to all SBs except econ and mining
• The AI will probably need some tweaking to learn how to actually take out a fully upgraded SB, ex: luring the guarding fleet away with something and attacking with a separate fleet… or something along these lines.
• Resource Mining SBs should have IP points so they can be won over if deep inside another territory. They should be much harder to take then asteroid miners, but still do able.
• It would be nice to see SB weapons and defensive modules connected to the weapons and defense technologies. I don’t mind the way it is. But this would be a nice improvement.


Ok, in conclusion to my novel. The game is not territorial enough. Improving SBs the way I suggest will do just this. SBs would take back their rightful place as the massive territorial fortresses that they should be, like a stake in the ground saying MINE!!! Plus their one of my favorite parts of the game, if you cant tell so please respond! Show the developers that I’m not the only one who thinks this way!
18,574 views 32 replies
Reply #26 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Most important thing that I can think of to see changed for starbases is to make it more worthwhile to research the techs by beefing them up, and perhaps have the modules more tied to the weapon/defense techs.

I mean, it's odd having a Star Javelin III installed on a base if I haven't researched hardly any, if any, techs in the missile weapon tree.

But, currently, it's simply not worth it at all to research the starbase techs and building waves and waves of constructors and yet have it be quite inferior still to a couple of my dreadnaughts.

One might argue that starbases are just designed so that you have to have fleets protecting them. Well, if that's the case, then having much of the expensive starbase fortification tree would be useless.

I mean, a starbase can't move, and is far more difficult and expensive to build up then a regular dreadnaught, but it has less HP, and not too much attack, especially if your ships are buffed by military mining resources. Which is another thing that should be fixed, since I noticed that my starbases don't get a buff from military resources, at least from what I can tell.
Reply #27 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I would be happy if they weren't so fiddly to build. All the resources you pump into those constructors could be better spent elsewhere.
Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #28 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I was just thinking about star bases and came up with some ideas.

First, you would only need to build one Constructor, to build the initial starbase. Once constructed, a supply line is established to the nearest planet with a Starport, similar to the way the Asteroid Fields now work. Or you could if you wanted, select another planet with a Starport to supply it, with some consequences I'll mention later.

If you wanted to build a module, you would click on the starbase itself and order it's construction. The resources that are required would be drawn directly from the supplying planet's military production through the route established. The player would be able to set the percentage of this production that he/she is willing to allocate for the construction of the module, and the distance between the starbase and the planet would play a factor in the time it takes for the module to be completed, representing the time it takes a supply ship to shuttle back and forth. So while the module was being built, the supplying planet would have less or no military production capabilities available for ships, depending on how the player allocates the resources of the planet. Or, if it turns out to be an issue for the AI have a fixed percentage that's required for starbase support.

There could even be a food component involved so that the supplying planet would also need to provide the starbase with food, and also an ongoing resource supply in order to maintain the base after the module was completed. So the larger the starbase became, the more continueing support it would require from the supplying planet. Go with say one food and one military production unit for every module built on the starbase, as an example. This could kill two birds with one stone really, since it would make those 300% food tiles useful. You could use planets with a high farming ability as suppliers for several starbases, provided you bring up your production there high enough. Also with a distance from supplying planet a factor in the construction of modules, it would reduce the spamming of starbases deep in an opponent's territory. Distant starbases would take much longer to construct than ones nearby.

This would also add some realism into having Starbases. Right now they're completely self-sufficient. Once you build them, no planets are involved in their upkeep, which wouldn't be the case in reality. They will always need to be supplied with food products and raw materils to be used in it's upkeep.


I really like this idea, its quoted from the "your ideas for the next update!" thread. this would eliminate the hassel of dealing with constructors. however for those worried about not being able to blow up incomming constructors to enemy starbases, id say maybe make it like a trade rute were you could kill the little transports that are constantly running back and forth. for every little guy you kill it sets the production/bonuses of that starbase back an apropreat amount.
Reply #29 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I really like this idea, its quoted from the "your ideas for the next update!" thread. this would eliminate the hassel of dealing with constructors. however for those worried about not being able to blow up incomming constructors to enemy starbases, id say maybe make it like a trade rute were you could kill the little transports that are constantly running back and forth. for every little guy you kill it sets the production/bonuses of that starbase back an apropreat amount.


Cool, I've been quoted.    

It just seems rather logical to me really. Why build these ships that just get destroyed when you can take the resources you need straight from the planet itself. Now that the Asteroid Fields have opened up a new way of doing things, why not expand on the concept for other areas, like starbase construction. And it could add in a whole new component in starbase management with a continueing supply requirement. One that's much more realistic.

Reply #30 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Also, if there were a continueing supply requirement, there could be additional modules available to the starbase, like a Hydroponics Bay and Recycling Centre, to reduce the amount of support the supplying planet would need to provide.
Reply #31 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
i really like this train of thought. another thing if thought about is astroids being able to beem their points to an econ starbase that would then be able to send the MPs much farther away for much less loss then the minner would be able to do itself. however i do not think an asteroid should be able to supply a SB in the way we are talking about a planet doing. if both were to accure it would only make sense that the MPs would have to be beemed from the asteroid to the econ SB to the planet and then back once actually refined to the SB as support. just a thought, albe it alittle complicated but you can handle it if your playing a game like this...
Reply #32 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The Starbases having single purpose is my only concern. Building a generalized starbase that has all of the abilities of Influence, Economy, and Military makes a bit more sense in some ways. Building specific bases would require more time and credits and increase their effect range over the generalized bases. IE: A generalized base would have a single trade module only but an economy base would have all the trade modules. All your other ideas have great potential and hopefully will be incorporated soon.