Can't find Battle Station Mk1 in the Thalan techtree

This is a serious hole in the Thalan tech tree. They've pretty much got to trade for the needed tech. Personally, I would like to see them get at least some weapon for their starbases.

The best thing is that they have Battle Station Mk II / III and IV.
It seems they just forgot to add Mk I

Yes, this has really been bugging me throughout the beta. It isn't some minor 5% diplomacy bonus that isn't getting applied properly -- it's a cornerstone of the Thalan's technology tree which deeply cracked.

Without starbase weaponry, the remarkably expensive Singularity Armor may well be the most useless technology in the game. It's completely nonfunctional: a cargo hull loaded with even one or two points of any weapon is guaranteed to destroy a Thalan starbase every time.

I know it seems lame to harp on this "one issue" when there are a dozen other unique and interesting races to try, but the Thalan tech tree and gameplay style is the one that I'm most interested in experimenting with. I'm really hoping this issue gets fixed soon!

-Autistic Angel

I know there are probably many technical and gameplay issues the developers are looking into right now so I'm not expecting an immediate fix, but I'd feel a lot better about quietly waiting for a patch if Stardock acknowledged that they're aware of the problem.

Simply knowing this issue is on the "To Be Fixed" list would make me a lot more comfortable about letting this thread sink off the first page.

-Autistic Angel

Wait this Bug was in the Beta and did not get fixed?
Well I hope i don't have to wait that long for a patch.

They threw in the Altarian and Thalan tech trees, and neither of them felt like they were close to even remotely finished. The Altarian tech tree is just the Drath one copy-pasted, and the Thalans are missing stuff and are fairly broken balance and AI-wise. And neither one was touched at all (actually a patch fixed one part of the Thalan tree, but not the 50 other broken parts).

Yes, it feels that the only different thing they have is the War Profiteering tech for the Drath. Why would the Altarians even have Drathian temples?

to be onest I realy like the thalan tech tree, it´s quite unique
I only miss stabases mk1 and ship components which strenghten your fleet

Thalans are also missing farms which makes it very hard for you to play big maps with them

I can accept the Thalan not having farming technology. According to their backstory, they come from a future where habitable worlds are practically nonexistent. They find the entire concept of planetary colonization rather novel: it's one of the reasons their population growth is so stunted.

The gameplay balance is supposed to be that they are very comfortable living in deep space and can develop uniquely powerful modules for their starbases, including economic modules which can greatly boost the production and revenue of their planets.

Herein lies the problem: one of the Thalan's most expensive "Hyperion Starbase" modules installs powerful shields, armor, and point defenses, but they have no ability to research starbase weaponry at all. Ever. In a game without technology trading -- as I often like to play -- Thalan starbases are totally helpless and can be easily destroyed whether they have their Singularity Armor installed or not. It's a completely useless technology.

I am not a game designer and I make no claims of mastering the finer points of gameplay balance, but on this point, it's crystal clear that the Thalan are rather badly broken.

-Autistic Angel

When the AI plays as them I have a feeling they don't actaully build attack ships either. They always seem to be the weakest race in any game I play.

Maybe this is all because they don`t have the standard weapons techs (Starbases Mk1 is ususally there)

The Thalans are usually one of the stronger races in the games I play, but that probably has more to do with galaxy set up and other game settings I use. Regardless, not having access to this tech is a serious weakness and I don't think it was an intentional one. I've modded a bit on this game but am far from an expert. I wonder how hard it would be to just add this tech into their tech tree as part of a mod? Also, has anyone of you posting here brought this directly to the attention of the Developers through an email? If not and you want it rectified in the June release of version 1.92, I would recommend sending that email.

Well, I for my part did not wrote an email. And i am too tired at the moment to do so, so if tell me how exactly to report the bug i will do it this weekend or someone other will do it.

Wow...the Thalans stillaren't fixed? Wow. I played them once or twice during the Beta and tossed them aside. I'd hoped that they'd be playable in the release version since they're such an interesting race. Oh well. Nothing wrong with an unofficial NPC race...

I came here this morning to ask this question!

I was really enjoying the Thalans. I have placed ships on each starbase in Guard mode and have been searching for the technology that I must have missed some place that let me put a single weapon on the ship. It makes no sense at all to have "Defenses" if you have no weapons because you will still die in one shot.

I have cut this huge swath over about 50% of a large galaxy as the Thalans and stunted my explosive growth because I did not want my starbases destroyed.


This really needs a fix!!!

I always turn off tech trading in custom games because I know I can't keep up with the computer AI in trading and they will quickly overwhelm me techwise.

Mail is out.

I made another topic in Game Talk on this very subject earlier today.

Battle Stations are on the tech tree, tucked away in the hulls research line (odd place, I think). Researching them doesn't give the module, and thalans also don't seem to have any of the more advanced mining, economy, influence or military modules, even when their starbase tech is researched. I don't rely that much on starbases, but it's still a major weakness. The thalans have some really interesting strategies as well, by the looks of things. It's a shame they seem so neglected.

As said above by others, I'm also surprised about the similarities between Altarian and Drath tech trees. The backstory says they have some sort of relationship, I suppose, but it looks a little like a botch-job copy-and-paste-quickly-before-release to me.

the thalan get very good star bases with just one tech: you can get immense defence (which is worthless without weapons, +50% culture on culture starbases,+trade, mining ect. i forgot the name of the tech but it is very powerfull.

I did research that tech, but there didn't seem to be any benefit for my starbases afterwards. Maybe I should try again and pay more attention.

Battle Stations II, III, and IV appear on the Thalan tech tree, but none of these modules can be installed without Battle Stations I. That module is typically unlocked by researching Space Weapons, but since that technology does not exist on the Thalan tree, they can never acquire it on their own.

I've posted about this issue in Brad's Please Slam My Game post, encouraging him to add Battle Stations Mk 1 to one of the appropriate Thalan techs like 4D Phasing or Defense Industries. If you agree that's a good idea, please add your thoughts to that thread, too.

-Autistic Angel

Storyline reasons is why Altarians have Drath temples.