Constructing starbases has long been a key element of any successful space empire in Galactic Civilizations. We’re taking a good look at them for Galactic Civilizations III from both artistic and mechanical perspectives. Starbases are going to be cooler and more strategically interesting in Galactic Civilizations III than ever.
(click the pic for a high-res downloadable version)
Lead designer Paul Boyer (Mormegil here on the forums) has the following to say about starbases:
We’re adding some great features to starbases in Galactic Civilizations III. Like in the previous game, each starbases specializes in a particular function: economics, military, cultural, or mining. However, players no longer choose a type upon construction. Instead players add a Specialization Ring that allows the starbase to perform special tasks. Once the ring is built, players can further upgrade it with special modules. These modules are key to a starbase’s strengths, such as expanding your civilization's cultural influence, defending your borders, boosting planetary economics, and mining the new resources such as antimatter that fuel the deadliest ships in any game of Galactic Civilizations III.
Other new starbase features include unique styles for each race and unique starbase modules. Fleets can now dock at a starbase, much like they can garrison friendly planets. Players can also add multiple constructor modules on a Constructor ship now.
These changes allow starbases to fill even more roles in your strategy, and open up new doors for different development paths for your empire.
What would you like to see unique modules do in Galactic Civilizations III?
Nice info on starbases. I hoped for unique and customizable starbase designs for individual races, now learning this is in the game indeed. Thx!
Hmmm, earlier in the thread someone mention the possibility of having a starbase in orbit around a planet and being able to use that instead of the planetary starport. I could see this being a useful game mechanic to save some terrain on low quality planets. A "planetary Starbase" could be limited to to the types of available expansion options, or it could act as a normal starbase that allows the planet below to have the benefits of a starport.
I really like the ability for a constructor ship to carry multiple modules. Being able to "repair" it at a home planet would be a nice additional option to restock the modules for further work.
I would change the mechanics to disallow any constructor to be upgraded in open space, requiring that they have access to a planet to refit or restock. I've always thought it useful but very cheesy to flip a scout into a constructor via an upgrade when it was in empty deep space. ("yeah, let's refit those ion canons into a 3d printer while we hang here")
Another point someone brought up was the possibility of a trade module for a starbase that produced BC's directly for the station, rather than one that simply assisted the routes that went through the area or increased the planetary production rate. This "trading post" concept could produce a small fixed amount of income in the absence of trading routes. Something akin to the restaurants and hotels that the railroads built to earn extra income at their stops. The income earned of a trading post could vary somewhat, depending on the amount of tourism, proximity to a planet and other relevant factors.
I have an idea that I think belongs in another thread, but I wanted to give credit to dlapine1 for causing me to think of it.
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How about passenger liners? Ships with passenger modules instead of trade modules that would each first establish a flight route between two planets then carry passengers between those planets, either within the empire, or between empires. Since passenger liner routes would be patronized by business people and tourists, it would be a cash profit for the company running the liner routes and the empire would receive a tax on the profits.
Not a bad idea... give some weight to that tourism income.
That's not a bad idea, and I'm happy to help create it. Hmm, would this actually move population around? Or would this just be like a trade route that generated small income and some influence? I could some interesting side effects if this actually allowed population to flow from one place to another, especially across empires. You'd get a bonus for spying against any empire that had open routes, but repressive regimes could lose significant population to more enlightened areas. Not sure how this would affect revolution rates- The "hot heads" could just leave instead of creating problems...
It's a nice addition to the forced movement of population via transports. In fact, with a system like this in place, moving populations via transport could generate extra discontent- "Where are they taking Daddy and Uncle Bob?". It's not all roses though; now you'd have a whole network of valuable ships that would need protection, and an attack on these ships would provoke outrage. Of course the Deregin would see it as a fast food delivery system...
I'd like to see "tourism" be a little less abstracted, but have to actually build shipping liners might be a bit of an inconvenience.
It could be done as star base modules and planet structures needing to be linked into a network, somewhat like trade hubs in Sins of a Solar Empire. You have to build hubs within x many spaces for them to "link" and be included in the network. Star base modules would generate money but would be intended primarily to fill in gaps in your network.
One thimg that would like to see different is when you try to find your starbase when by using a list of star bases I would like to see a list for only my starbases this could be with the ship list like it was. I couldn't use it much because it gave everyone's starbase instead of just mine. How is this not more important than constructor spam. At least constructor spam didn't try to hide my starbase amongst a list of useless everyone's star bases.
That could also affect migration within your empire, allowing people to move from "overpopulated" worlds to less populated. Especially if we'll got some migration control tools, like "no taxes" option for certain planet, or adding some other bonuses. IMHO that would help with population growth, to make it global value, not local one.
What starbases need to do is to
1. Scale with technology, especially against late game fleets
2. Not be a micro-managing headache which they were in GC2 with each new module needed a constructor
What he said, also starbases also need to be central mid and late game. Its a whole new dimension of the game that is asking to be exploited.
Starbases having the same potential and importance as planets would make the game incredibly interesting; early in the game you have to content with habitable planets shaping your territory; late game, you can shape your own territory by maintaining starbases in various strategic location: are you going to cluster them near productives planets, or set them strategically inside enemy territory like chess or go pieces?
Basically, it would help to make the notion of "territory" more important.
But for this to happen, starbases need to be relevant through the whole game.
Also, having civilization-specific starbases would be cool.
I do too....the construstion supplies need to be produced or purchased at a planet with docks. That way construction ships remain ships that haul stuff.
Like SoaSE, are you limited in the number of modules for a starbase?
In GC2 we were not, but there was an occasional United Planets vote that would limit them. That was such a handicap that people frequently left the UP rather than complying with it. Presumably GC3 will be unlimited as well.
gilly, while Willy is correct about GC2 in that there was no limit on how many modules you could build on a starbase, there were a limited number of modules that could be built and you could only build one of each on any one starbase. And a few of those modules had an additional nominal cash expense when built, and some modules were limited to the type of starbase.
Hmmm, What about adding the option for a population module to the list of starbase modules?
Not sure what the benefits would be, but it was definitely a trope in recent SciFi that your remote outpost could support families, if you wanted to do so. If nothing else, add population to a starbase would increase the influence it has slightly. Would definitely make protecting those bases more important.
I know, it's a silly idea.
Not at all!
Sins actually had that, and the Starbase would generate tax income from those residents. I think something like that would be a pretty reasonable thing to have in GC3 for economic or influence oriented bases that want to generate some extra BC. Or a military version that can stockpile invasion troops, making it handy to load transports at for nearby invasions.
I... Actually have always wanted to play with nothing. Like the quarians. Just a area of space with populated starbases, and some ships to command. That would be fun I think, like a extinction senario were the DLs had won for the game. (Karma for dlapine1)
DARCA
I think that's a great idea.
I never understood the purpose of starbases in Galciv 2. There are no chokepoints in space so I just built one or 2 on trade routes and rarely upgraded them. From the sounds f things hopefully I can use them as poor man's planets now.
I used them on trade routes to increase my empire's income. They were also usable to increase the production of your planets, or to mine resources in space that improved your empire's approval, economy, military strength, influence, or research.
Huh, guess that's what I get for always building cultural starbases.
Proper use of starbases could buff your ships to be five times as powerful, make your planets produce five times as much and slow enemy ships' movement to a crawl.
I personally found a way to make a 'slingshot' array of starbases, where I made a bunch of military bases with ship speed buffs. When I placed a fleet in the right spot, where several bases had their effects overlap, I could send them across the map instantly!
w00t!! Hax!!
Galciv3's AI needs to learn how to do that shit
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