Mobile Factories

you know you want them... motherships :P

I know one of the key issues with the game currently is that it
moves
too
slow.

to remedy this, and to increase the viability of blitzkreig and divisionary strike forces, I propose a certain class of ship beyond the capital ship and the frigate, a mothership by no doubt.

one of the mothership's most important roles should be as a mobile frigate factory. frigate factories would help sustain any incursions into enemy territory that might otherwise be easily bogged down and unrealistically halted by a few turrets and a few inhibitors on a few planets. currently most games are tip-toeing matches where the opponents dont really throw a hard jab at one another, rather just kind of poking with big forces, and then either capping one planet at a time or retreating. a mothership would catalyze the creation of more large-scale battles and increase the importance of any military-strategic manuver. this would be a mothership's central role. perhaps even a super-class mothership that is capable of producing capital ships instead of frigates.

additionally a mothership should function as any one group's flagship, the inclusion of the mothership near any allied planet should automatically increase that planet's culture by 5% even if that brings it beyond its limit. additionally ships in proximity to the mothership should have certain bonuses (preferably bonuses that diminish with increased damage to the mothership, actually hurting nearby units if it is severely damaged or destroyed) take for instance the japanese yamato, big-ass ship. moral booster, but of course people wont appreciate it when its so easily sunken.

finally the mothership should have a certain embargo effect on enemy planets and should be LADDEN with anti-air guns to protect it from bombers.

the super-mothership, on the other hand, would have none of these embargo/moral bonuses or exceptional ammounts of anti-fighter weaponry, it should simply be wholly dedicated to constructing capital ships.

obviously these ships should be rediculously expensive, and require the utmost in technology to construct, but I personally think their inclusion would speed games up far more, as military maneuvers would no longer be so simply halted.
7,469 views 39 replies
Reply #1 Top
Sorry brother I cant support this idea unless there was a full supply line system implemented in the game.
Reply #2 Top
I love the idea, but like Spartan, I would like to see some big unwieldy logistics to go with this thing. Maybe hold it in orbit over a planet for x amount of minutes until its fully stocked with supplies, that allows it to build x amount of frigates before reloading.

And if the ship is laden with AA turrets, what about AC cannons, should it be able to hold its own against a capital ship, or should give it our own capship escort?
Reply #3 Top
you're missing the point of how cheap factories are now. Why build a huge lumbering mobile factory, when you can have cheap and efficient normal shipyards?
Reply #4 Top

you're missing the point of how cheap factories are now. Why build a huge lumbering mobile factory, when you can have cheap and efficient normal shipyards?


exactly, and you can build a factory at the front line as soon as you take the planet/asteroid...
Reply #5 Top
And if the ship is laden with AA turrets, what about AC cannons, should it be able to hold its own against a capital ship, or should give it our own capship escort?

capital ship escort

the reason I say this is because it would most likely be pretty weak in armor, and it obviously would be the enemy's first target. thats why there would be extensive AA.
Why build a huge lumbering mobile factory, when you can have cheap and efficient normal shipyards?

because they are behind your lines, not your enemies.
but like Spartan, I would like to see some big unwieldy logistics to go with this thing

I'm not opposed to the idea. but the question is:
would that just invalidate the entire concept of the ship if you have to have a supply line all the way back to your territory? it would have to be a different form of logistics
exactly, and you can build a factory at the front line as soon as you take the planet/asteroid

the reason I mentioned blitzkriegs, there are times when standing around and fortifying your own new territories would not be as good an idea as simply plowing through your enemy territories

there are times when taking and clearing out gravity wells are secondary to simply creating as much damage as possible. Shermans march to the sea is a great example.
Reply #6 Top
This is an idea that can also be tied into the Star dead space discussion... what if the motherships could only be recharged from antimatter collected from solar winds? Stars have a lot of energy, and motherships would need to use a lot.

This scenario would have the motherships charging at home stars to begin with, and when attacking enemy stars, the mothership would want to stay close to that sun to top up the energy reserves. This would have major fleet interests in the Star gravity wells.

It has good potential to make multi-star campaigns interesting!

Reply #7 Top
additionally these puppies wouldnt be able to build the akkan cruisers or the colony ships, that just makes sense.

it also would help for balance purposes
Reply #8 Top
If there would be some limitations on unit production and a premium price as a logistics cost and if there would be somewhat long AM refueling requirements specifically at stars and if the cost was maybe equal to or greater then five (5) capitals and if the movement rate was about 1/3 of capitals as well as the basic armor and offensive capabilities I could get behind this bad boy.
Reply #9 Top
so basically;
if its completely NOT worth buying...
Reply #10 Top
If it cost the equivalent of 5 caps I would want it to have a serious redeeming feature, like a gauss cannon or two or Raze planet feature. Otherwise its just a flying bomb magnet. I think it should be slightly cheaper, worth maybe 1 and a half cap ships, it should also have its own fighter complement and maybe a special phase drive/cloaking device/invincible shield to get it out of tough spots (these abilities should be of course used within reason).
Reply #11 Top
Trying to attach construction resource logistics to some kind of mobile construction ship would be pretty rough. The only mobile factory that would make sense would be the Vasari planet suckers.
Reply #12 Top

so basically;
if its completely NOT worth buying...


Not so. If it had those constraints then one would be forced to really protect it and if it basically needed to hang around stars then that would fill a major gap in the game. If the recharge rate for AM were low enough then I would not see a need for a logistics "tax" or even a unit cap.
Reply #13 Top
Are you saying you could build a fleet of them, charge them up and send them to the front lines?

I like that idea.
Reply #14 Top
remind me why you guys are all planning on having your factories at the front line? that makes no sense. reinforcements are purely logistics, they are supposed to remain behind your lines.
Reply #15 Top
It could be fairly easy to balance AM recharge for a mothership as others have indicated... it could have a big battery that recharges painfully slow if not close to a star. The AM would be required for defenses, and the Mothership becomes more vulnerable deeper into a system. Perhaps even a second AM gauge would be needed for production, hard to say if necessary as yet until a practice run is put in place to get metrics for balancing.

Such a limit would make it most useful in a star grav well, but not restrict its role completely. Too many restrictions on a mothership or mixed fleet, and it would just have everyone buiding more caps to zerg with...
Reply #16 Top
Okay, I've thought this issue over and I've been converted. I agree that star system versus star system battles can become stalemates. The attacker is always at a disadvantage because it takes so long to reinforce.

Mobile factories could help the attacker keep up momentum. These factories should only be really effective around stars though (because of the increased AM recharge rate). They should be at least as fast as regular factories at production...maybe even a touch faster.

Not only would these mobile factories be helpful when attacking enemy held star systems, they could play a part in early game battles within the same star systems. Also, they could encourage more battles around stars for dominion of that gravity well. Especially if they are a bit faster at production (thanks to the star proximity AM boost) than a factory around a planet.
Reply #17 Top
That is what I'm thinking as long as the balance is there.

About sending motherships into front lines... that would be a fools move to be sure. People should look at them as mobile supply yards.
Reply #18 Top

It should be difficult to successfully invade another solar system. Consider the logistics of such a feat!  It's staggering - death on a systemwide scale.

By the time a player looks to invade another solar system, they should have dominion over their own and be able to churn out a massive advance force to clear out any opposition at the new star. Then have a backup fleet in reserve to secure their forward position while the main fleet captures a planet to establish a base of operations.

Reply #19 Top
Easier said then done Yarlen. Especially if it comes down to one star system versus another star system. Without those mobile shipyards, a stalemate could easily occur due to the defending star system being able to reinforce far more quickly.
Reply #20 Top
I like stalemates, especially the wave of satisfaction after I break one.
Reply #21 Top
Me too. I have yet to get a stalemate with the AI - never even came close and I tried.
Reply #22 Top
Me too. I have yet to get a stalemate with the AI - never even came close and I tried.

Try conquering a entire star system full of capital ships(Counting in the "hundreds"). Let just said this situation came up because I had to deal with local doorstops.
Reply #23 Top
I don't think the average gamer will like stalemates much.
Reply #24 Top
I suspect that Beta 2 will make things easier to deal with.
Reply #25 Top
It should be difficult to successfully invade another solar system. Consider the logistics of such a feat! It's staggering - death on a systemwide scale.

which is why only an idiot would send his fleet without a mobile support.
theres difficult, and then theres "oh shit this is impossible". I think the 15 minute buffer zone is a tad too much.
I like stalemates, especially the wave of satisfaction after I break one

I despise stalemates, they are simple and gross. it usually has little to do with skill and all to do about the defender having an excessive advantage that becomes almost impossible for the offense to break.

and keep in mind, this doesnt just go for the AI, it can also apply to multiplayer battles (where a 15 minute stalemate is excessive)
I suspect that Beta 2 will make things easier to deal with.

sounds good to me.