Just wondering what you mean by that?  What race do you play?  I play TEC and absolutely love the starbase.  I'm kinda a strikecraft fan, so having an extra 8 or 14 squardrons in a system is sweet.  Also the fact that you can put 4 starbases around a sun is awsome.  56 squadrons plus all the weapons on those bases make for a VERY hard nut to crack.  I haven't seen an AI do it yet. 

Anyway, I don't mean to sound like I'm getting worked up here, just curious why you feel the starbases aren't worth the money.

I see your points, I just don't totally agree.  A dozen or more squadrons of fighters in the system gives enemy bombers pause.  Also, the TEC starbase has the ability to disrupt phase jumps causing damage to enemy craft when leaving the system.  A very nice thing if your enemy decides to retreat 'cause mopping up is that much easier.

But, hey!  There's no one right way to play the game.  That's what the forums are for.  To see what other players think.

I do agree that the limit of 8 upgrades is a little low, though.

yes early game starbace upgrades are very expecive to build, but usealy a basic starbase is good enugh by itself early on.  With the tec I usaly build lots of starbases early on and put trade docks on em ,(not the ones on the frontlines though) huge increse in trade income.