You know, after playing tons of games, I've come to the conclusion that the Vasari SB is almost perfect. When fully upgraded it can swat down a whole fleet, especially if it has repair pods backing it up. But the point isn't really for it to actually crush enemy fleets singlehandedly. What makes it beautiful is that it can be upgraded with a phase stabilizer, giving you a really, really hard to kill phase stabilizer, and saving you ten(!) tac slots for things that can help support it in battle.

And as long as the SB is alive, you can jump your fleet to that gravwell in a single jump.

Which means that it's awesome. It's big and bad enough to slow an enemy fleet down significantly, giving more than enough time for the cavalry to arrive from basically anywhere. And if you have a bunch of migrators following your assault fleet around, you can deploy one as soon as they hit the hostile gravwell, giving you a phase stabilizer before you even take the planet. So you're almost always ready to jump anywhere at a moment's notice.

By the end game I generally have a SB at every single colony and even neutral gravwells, just to provide extra income and phase stabilizers. And of course to police neutral gravwells, prevent enemy ships from capturing the neutral extractors from me, and chew up fleets that try to sneak through those gravwells on their way to my planets.

The only thing I really have to complain about is Advent mines. The TEC mines I don't mind. The Vasari mines I don't mind (At least they have to buy big slow vulnerable ships that have no other use, which limits the amount of minelayers they will have deployed at a given time) but the Advent ones... For one thing, they're the nastiest mines to begin with. Half the time they seem to trigger from literally halfway across the gravwell, making them impossible to effectively sweep with scout/flak squadrons, and they get deployed by carriers, which any Advent fleet commanded by anyone with even the slightest brains (Or even an AI...) will have more of in his fleet than anything else. So they end up deploying mines by the hundred...

Now here is the thing, I have used the ability in the past and had it used on me before. The problem is that I have used it a limited number of times (I can count the number of times ive used it on my left hand), and have never really paid attention to it that much. But I did find it strange that a game I played yesterday and earlier today when I used the ability, did NO DAMAGE to the enemy whatsoever, and have seen people report the same thing.

Now ive highlighted this part because this is an assumption. If you read the actual post of mine which you quoted, you will see that nowhere in the entire statement, the statement, "Don't know from personal experience because i've never used..." it is nowhere to be found. In conclusion, this is an unsupported assumption that has been disproven since I  have used the ability before, although a limited number of times, it is still using it. Simply implying having heard it was buggy does nothing. It just means that I didn't have the knowledge available to me, at the time, that the ability was buggy.

I also specifically quoted this, because the wording used, makes me think that you were trying to make a direct, personal shot. So I ask that next time you quote someone and ask them something, check your sentence structure, wording, and sources to make sure that there is no way possible that they can misinterpret the post and take it the wrong way. The sentence structure, says more than the words used in the sentence, think about that.

I find SB's pretty coolose to the mark. Yes flak turrets would be good and the range could be a bit longer, but I think if thier weapons are to be made longer they should do less damage or be less likley to strike at those extended ranges.

The only other thing - I think you should be able to change the upgrades to change its roll - from offencive to deffensive or economic, instead of having to build a base for a particular roll then destroying it and building a new one for a different roll. I don't really have a problem with way it is, I just think this would be an improvement.

So your out of range Starbase watches my fleet bomb your planet and move on to the next one. Your fleet can't stop me because I didn't build a Starbase and have more ships. Starbase = lose. They need range.

I have only used the TEC starbase so far but have seen the other 2 factions in action. I was surprised to see that the vasari base was mobile.

I didnt read all of the posts, but the few i did read seem to have some similar ideas. So far i agree that the TEC base is nothing more than a glorified defense platform. That with the right upgrades can build, repair, and double as a trade port. Im not sure if you can do the same with the other bases. I havent tested them yet.

I was slightly dissapointed in the max ranges, and i agree ranges need to be increased for the bases to be effective (except for vasari because its mobile). The idea for a starbase was to protect the entire gravity well. So far they only protect a third of it. Im not saying all of its weapons should be max grav well range. TEC missiles should cover the well Advent should have an equally long range weapon, or ability.  Vasari is fine as it is because of its mobility. There has to be balance of course with the other defensive structure upgrades. The TEC mession bolt can be nasty. But a system with a starbase protecting it should NOT have a way for a fleet to bypass.

I dont agree with making all of the bases mobile, because that will make them all a clone of the vasari base.

The problem with giving SB's more range it that it will make everyone turtle once they reach an opponent. (and often before probably) Also with having ANY starbase be mobile, even vasari.  Remember the races started working on defensive tech after fighting with each other for years, having vasari have mobile base "because thier nomadic" isnt logical.  if either of those is implemented in the final release it would be like trench warfare in WW1, it would take too much too attack and leave you too vulnerable if u fail that the game would stagnate, and games are long enough as it is. I like the idea of having SBs orbit the planet, though it would be a pain to do if u already have structures in the grav well.

giving flak turrets to SBs are probably a mistake. a fully up'd SB can take an enormous beating and you would have to take the whole thing out to stop the turrets. I would prefer another tac structure that a big flak turret, like the opposite number to the gauss turret.  you could place them aroung to protect the SB but they could be taken out much easier. (but still pretty hard due to repair structures)

also as an alternative to increasing the range, instead put in a "sniper cannon" or something as a module on the SB.  Between that the mines and phase inhibitors it should extract a price on anyone attacking the system, even if thier just trying to pass by to attack youre rear systems. use the SB to protect the planet and the other defences to chip away and slow down the attackers untill youre fleet arrives, remember the defences are ment to support the fleet not the other way around

and while the cost of SBs are pretty balaced some of the "special mods" could stand to be different prices.  1800 for each armor and weapon mod is fine but for trade and repair mods? they should be half the cost at least

Having Vasari have mobile base "because their nomadic" isn't logical.

You should really understand what you are talking about before you talk about it.  The Vas SB isn't mobile because they are "nomadic."  It is mobile because they are the masters of phase space and only they have the technological experience and no how to have a structure as massive as a SB have the ability to move.  Everything that the Vas is about and that they do relies on their mastery of Phase Space.

well we will all be going back to the drawing board for a bit after this next update when ever it is that they release it that is

maybe they will fix the bug in alloy and I can find some players online

I don't know about this.  8 slots already seems like pretty well-blanaced number.  And with one upgrade per slot, you can still have a well-defended starbase with an ability and a civilian upgrade.  I wouldn't want starbases to have the "slot inflation" that planets have(for tatctical struc. it makes sense but for logistics it doesn't).

Add to that the possibility of different upgrades being different costs. Doubleing the shields and hull of an SB the same cost as a minor trade addition? Should be different.

you dug up an old thread. all posts concerned beta 1 where SB range was far shorter and we did not yet have the phase destabelisation function in. to counter strike craft, either build hangars at the planet or hangar upgrades for the SB. alternatively station some ships near it.

with the rest, I agree.

wow, this is some serious necro, this was for Entrenchment Beta and we are in Diplomacy Beta

oh and the TEC starbase does have beams