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Funny, I don't remember that one   . Must of been a while back. I use a variety of starbase tactics so they are ever evolving. A lot of people think SBs are useless and sure they aren't needed to win, but I love the various ways they can be used.

I like to use the starbases, particularly when i have over stretched my population. I like to use the influence SB to take a high population planet and then build transports. This works for me.

It's better if you do it in a different order: send in the constructors first, THEN take the planet(s). Use the starbase to help take out the orbiters. That way you guarantee the military SB will be used at least once.

Star Bases for fun and profit 101 ... If you specialize a planet for research or trade - economy 4 econ SBs can help - better if their both in the same sector. A political capital world specialized in influence makes a great addition with 4 influence SBs - helps with those thorny UP proposals ya know. Whats better than a sector with a specialized research and economy-trade world?One with a third specialized for military production ... etc.

Scratch that ... DA changes things sooo much!!!!!

I've taken a lot of 'enemy' planets, and even a few friendlies, with influence starbases in DA. It might take a while, but if you're fighting a war on one front and you don't want to fight another one then it's a help. I removed the Drengin this way. Surrounded them entirely and influenced them down to one planet, which I then invaded. Of course, this was on normal difficulty.

I was a custom race I call 'Solaran' by the way.

That's cool ... I created a custom race called the Aureals - after Shivering Isles. Now I use them as an AI opponent

Has anyone actually tried this strategy? How does the AI react to losing a planet in the heart of its empire? Will it vector nearly all its ships there? Will it even drop everything and take ships off the "front line?"

Because if they just attack the entrenched planet with the same priority they do all others, I don't see the point of a dedicating a bunch of ships and constructors. It saves a few travel turns with new ships I construct, but I can do pretty much the same thing by just building up several new planets on my advancing front.

I'm not sure myself, it could easily be wasted if the surrounding influence just flips the world back ...

If I were going to use a planet as a Transport seed, I would put at least 2 billion people on it to start.

I've never really focused on Influence too much. I wonder if it would be possible to ship a huge number of people to a planet or two in the middle of enemy territory, and then start flipping THEIR worlds? If that could work, it seems like it would be devastating.

Hold on people! I think you misunderstood me. I didn't mean that you should put the thing in the heart of the enemys teratory. All you do is put it in the middle of the map. It'd be better in a smaller map so you can take full advantage of the extended range.

That's the way ya do it. And no I haven't had time to test it out. I hope I solved a few isuse for you.
Zman out.

I don't see anything magical about the "middle of the map." The problem with military satellites is that, except on the smallest maps, very often no battles will take place there and all that money will be wasted. I don't see how this idea helps that.

You'd want to produce ships and transports near the front line - wherever that happens to be. Several normal planets close to the front with 2 billion pop will produce troops and transports a lot faster than any one "super" planet. And, if you're advancing, the best placement will be relative to wherever the front line happens to be - not relative to the middle square of the map. If you focus all your efforts onto one "super" world, then it (and all of its lovely defensive satellites) will just get left behind.

As for letting ships repair, they should be safest just a bit behind your front lines - again, as long as you're advancing. You'll have plenty of ships there to screen them. If enemy ships are flooding into your territory, you have no buisiness building Transports or capturing planets 'till you get that cleared up.