When I first started playing Entrenchment I mostly played Vasari - Starbases were fun, dynamic, and bolstered defenses admirably.
Then I went back to playing TEC and Advent and it's just... annoying. With only being able to build one starbase (this problem would go away if you could build two, or just a second, watered down one), it's pretty much impossible to even hope to get a FRACTION of the useability out of an immobile starbase. The only solution I've found is to sandwich all the civic structures between the starbase and the planet, which tends to draw attackers into the fields of fire. Needless to say this is a pretty moronic solution to a problem that shouldn't really exist...
For the immobile starbases, why does the range have to suck so bad? The way Phase Lanes work mean enemies could really end up at either (and complete opposite) sides of the gravity well, and a single starbase cannot really even cover ONE effectively... the thing is all the Starbases have a level 2 weapon upgrade that promises an 'extremely long ranged attack', but I've yet to see anything I'd even call 'Long'. In fact, I think LRM frigates have more range than Starbase missiles. I expected the long range level 2 attack to be something that could at least pelt targets across the gravity well (not necesarilly ALL of it).
I totally agree with you, both TEC and Advent starbases should atleast double in weapons fire range.
I think it depends on what you're trying to accomplish that makes a starbase more valuable. I like having the advent starbase inside a star's gravwell because you can build 4 in there. You can clog up one side of the star with 2 starbases and flying past them isn't really possible because of the disorientation. You can't do that with a vasari starbase. In fact if you did plug a vasari Sb in a star, enemy fleets would probably just fly past you since the things move so slow to begin with.
For the record, Starbases outrange everything except the anti-structure cruisers from advent and TEC. I do believe however that the advent's meteor can reach outside and hit even those cruisers though.
The number of starbases can be changed for each planet, if you wanted you could put 10 in each planets well. I usaly go with 2.
Where can I change the SB limit for a gravity well?
you have to edit the planet entity files in a plain text editor like notepad pissibly after conveting to txt format with the convertentrenchment.exe
hope this helps
harpo
This means you won't be able to play MP though...
Thanks, found it
Yes, but maybe some other people mod it to 2 SB per gravwell and then the checksums match again!
You can generally cover one path into the system with a Starbase. They're not really supposed to single handedly defend systems though.
The key is forcing the opponent to tackle the Starbase. Strike craft help, or you can always focus on the hangar upgrades rather than the weapons. Try minefields to channel them towards the base too.
If you build the starbase just outside of the gravity well, you can build multiples. Although the weapons are less likely to reach in where you need to fight, it allows you to bak up one base in teh gravity well (built last of course) or for you to back up the government and force the enemy to come where you have bases clumped together.
I defended a star with half a dozen bases all maxed with bombers once. Helluva trick to do to another.
Also one of the problems the devs mentioned during beta when this was suggested was that the projectiles from the extremely long range weapon would go through the planet and somehow screw up the game
Ok, people suggesting you mod it to be able to make 2 SBs are ... ergh. Deluded.
Many of us here play solely multiplayer, because frankly the best experiences are with other people. In Multiplayer everything is MUCH MORE competitive and you can't afford to build non-cost effective things if you're going mono-a-mono with a good player.
TEC/Advent Starbases are expensive, the upgrades are even more expensive, and they can't move. Any competant player would simply move around it, as well as just using bombers to wipe it out from a distance. (the hanger upgrades for the SB are very expensive as much as 2 capital ships to max out, and will lose to your fighter spam anyway)
In order to make Starbases for the TEC and Advent more useful in a competitive setting would really need their Firepower range increased significantly to cover more than twice the area it does right now, and/or lower the cost to max out upgrades and increase the max cap slightly.
Right now, people who play TEC only build Starbases for the 'cool' factor. In reality it has limited usefulness even in choke point worlds. It can only effective defend asteriods with their small grav wells.
I agree with Archonsod. I hope the range is not increased. The damage and antimatter removal to enemy fleets bypassing their systems is already very powerful. This includes multiplayer games if you get to a very late game where you would start to build them.
I agree with this statement by itself. Putting more than one starbase in a gravity well takes away haveing to defend it with your own fleet if an enemy fleet invades. I routinely defend grav wells with one fully upgraded SB (TEC) and a couple of Dunov Battle Cruisers to replentish shields. Putting two SB in one grave well makes defense a hands-off issue. Sins is not meant to be a hands-off game!
I disagree with the rest of you post thought, CreditSuisse, other than the fact that SB are EXPENSIVE. I don't belive starbases are meant to defend a grave well single-handedly, or even with other defense structures. Any static defense will eventually fall to a mobile opponent. I think the purpose of starbases (at least for TEC and Advent) is to buy time for a defense fleet to arrive in-system and chase off the invaders. If an SB and other defenses are able to succesfully defend a planet without an attendent fleet, that's just a bonus, or a weak fleet.
Anyone suggesting to simply Mod the game should just shutup. Go back to the mod section, this is a discussion on game issues, not modding.
what exactly am i looking for?
a line similar to this
maxStarBaseCountPerPlayer 1
yeah, i can't find it, am i supposed to be looking in entity.manifest, or in a particular map in the galaxy file?
If you increase the range of Starbases anymore, they will be almost unassailable by anything other than carrier bomber fleets or the Vasari SB. You won't even be able to find a safe place in system to build a Vasari SB if the attack ranges are doubled.
As it stands, an intelligently placed Starbase can do a pretty good job protecting infrastructure around the planet and providing some cover at a chokepoint. If you build some PJI and other defenses near the SB along with hangars and hangar upgrades, you can make a pretty effective hardpoint.
Starbases just do not need to get any more powerful.... When you spend a lot of money on a starbase, it is to make it so unattractive to kill that people either have to fly around it or be willing to lose ships or 15 minutes to kill it. In my experience the assault cruisers are so vulnerable to strikecraft that they are almost useless to do their required job.
I have seen some clusters of defenses where the defending player has a Starbase, maybe an ally's starbase, and a maxed out defence grid with mines, PJI, and a small fleet hiding in there to provide additional support. You don't even dare fly past these chokepoints, because the positioning of the Starbase, PJI, and enemy cap ships guarantees you are going to lose a lot of ships trying to bypass it. Usually in these cases I have to resort to super weapons, because luckily the turtle has spent so much money on defense he is unable to attack me either.
Please think before you ask for starbases to be buffed further.....Entrenchment has already made the games much longer and more drawn out.
in the planet.entity files
The upgrades that make the host planet invulnerable to being captured that at least the TEC faction has is certainly a significant boost, forcing the enemy to engage the starbase in order to do much of anything with the planet. Enemy bombers can be effectively countered by anti-fighter ships or structures... putting a bunch of TEC hangers around a starbase gives it flak cover AND additional fighters.
Couple a defense upgraded starbase with other tactical structures like planetary shields, phase lane inhibitors, and minefields, and you can turn a single chokepoint into a killing zone that the enemy fleet cannot bypass without taking ridiculous amounts of damage (especially if SBs exist on non frontier worlds as well), and delays any attacker who tries to operate around the SB long enough to bring an actual fleet to the gravity well.
Hardly the be all end all, but definitely strong enough that they can hold off their own weight and more in enemy warships, and make surgical strikes in your territory a very expensive process indeed.
Harpo, you got a file location? in the game info section? I still can't find it...
you will have to create a mod in the entrenchment 1.01 mods folder then copy all of the entity files for planets, then entrenchmentconvertdata.exe, then convert all the planet*.entity files to txt then edit the plane*.entity files looking for the line to change.
at least that is what I think should happen. I like the current 1 sb per planet 4sb per star mix
nvm, i thought it was more simple than that. i'm biting off more than i can chew.
modding is not simple, neither is programming, they BOTH require a enormouse persistence and creative thinking to work your way around problems
While i'm both creative and persistent (tooting own horn), I have a demanding female to deal with.
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