| Starbase FAQ |
Sun, 04 January 2004 07:45  |
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| Micha | 
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Messages: 2342
Registered: November 2002
Location: Belgium GMT +1 | |
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I've been gathering facts and answers to frequently asked questions about starbases (and stargates). Feel free to add your own, or point me out where I'm wrong.
Battle orders/sweeping:- Starbases always use any/any as targets, they do not follow the default order primary/secondary targets.
- However a starbase will attack according to the "attack who" in your default battle order, overriding the player relation settings.
For example if you have set race A to friend but your default battle plan is to "attack everyone" than the starbase (none of your ships present) will start a battle should race A enter orbit.
But strange things happen in such situations like when race A has you also set to friend and his battle orders are to "attack neutrals/enemies" (IOW not you) than no shots will be fired.
Another weird situation is that if race B shows up and everyone has set everyone to friend but your default order is to "attack everyone" (which matters for your starbase) than the two friends will shoot each other while your starbase (again none of your ships present) sits back and watches ...
- Obviously since a starbase can't move it doesn't have a tactic. However even if it might not be able to move, it can start a battle if the default battle order or player relations setting tells it too.
- A starbase always sweeps neutral minefields even when default orders are set to nobody/only enemies/...
- There is a specific slot firing order for starbases, for more info check here.
Salvage/tech gain:- Starbases leave no salvage when shot down.
- You can't gain tech from shooting down a starbase with higher tech items.
Orbital devices:- When there are two gates on a starbase only one will be used. IOW an 100/any gate and an any/300 gate will not let you gate ships like an any/any gate would. When you mount two gates than for the starbase hull the left one is used, for the ultrastation and deathstar hull the one in the upper slot is used.
- For IT scanning the same left or upper gate is used. Note: IT scanning does not show the starbase design (only the hull) nor the ships in orbit. You can only see the planetary stats: number of cols, hab, mineral concentrations and defense percentage.
- Mounting two MD's however does give an advantage. Details are in the help file.
Jamming/cloaking:- The jamming of a starbase is 75% of the normal/ship jamming. Therefor the maximum you can jam a starbase is 75% [ = 0.75 * 99% (or 100% if you like)].
(Note: Ship jamming is capped at 95%.)
- Cloaking a base has the same 98% limit as for ships.
Cloaking also reduces IT gate scanning, however an IT gate with an "any" range will scan every stargate in the universe, even bases with maximum cloak, after all 2% of infinite range is still infinite range.
MT toys:- Mounting the Langston Shell or Mega Poly Shell on your starbase will not give you any scanning, however you do get the jamming and cloaking.
- Since you can't give your starbase way point orders it is not possible to lay mines when mounting Multi Contained Munition in the weap slots.
Bugs:- For the cheap starbase bug check out the cheats list here on the Forum.
Enemy actions:- You can't popdrop, nor bomb, nor de-terra a planet with OA's if the starbase is still up.
{ Update: the part about jamming }
{ Update: removed an incorrect part from the Salvage/tech gain section }
{ Edit: fixed links after forum move }
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[Updated on: Wed, 11 May 2005 15:47] Report message to a moderator
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| Re: Starbase FAQ |
Wed, 07 January 2004 12:28  |
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| Micha |
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Messages: 2342
Registered: November 2002
Location: Belgium GMT +1 | |
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| Robert wrote on Wed, 07 January 2004 17:27 |
What a great summary 
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Thanks.  I can't take credit for most of them, but I figured a summary would be in place here.
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I was so sure the base would fire at default order, checked it and saw you are right - important info! thanks!
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Important indeed, this also shows the benefits of being able to determine how many players are on the battle board and which positions they all have. A base will shoot at what is the most attractive of any type of ship on the board, so instead of wasting it's firepower on a few chaffs it might as well kill the attackers bombers or OA's!
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But it seems to me that Base's jamming is the regular jamming multiplied with 0.75, it is not capped at 75%.
Or am I wrong???
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Hm, I checked some numbers and 0.75 indeed comes close, depending on rounding. However a max jammed ship is 95%, 0.75 would mean a base max jamming would be 71% ...
Some comparisons:
Ship:
3 jammer30 = 66% (usual number)
6 jammer30 = 88%
9 jammer30 = 95% (can't get higher)
Starbase:
3 jammer30 = 50%
6 jammer30 = 66% (double the amount of jammers of a ship)
12 jammer30 = 75% (can't get higher)
mch
[Updated on: Wed, 07 January 2004 12:29] Report message to a moderator
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| Re: Starbase FAQ |
Sat, 29 May 2004 10:07 |
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 Downsider |
 | Crewman 1st Class |
Messages: 35
Registered: June 2003
Location: Derbyshire, England | |
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| Micha wrote on Wed, 14 January 2004 23:12 |
However the real reason preventing other races to gain tech was not the presence of a starbase but instead the sheer fact that the planet was inhabited.
Conclusion: when you have a battle in orbit of a planet which is inhabited by another race, than you have no chance to gain tech. Uninhabited planets are fine though.
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I'm not sure this is true. I can remember a couple tech events from previous games where battle had been fought over an enemy planet.
Since tech exchange works only with fleets, I think the reason why you can't get tech from a starbase is because a starbase is not a fleet and not taken into consideration when checking for tech after battle. I have not had time to test this theory though, so I can't say for certain.
[Updated on: Sat, 29 May 2004 10:07]
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent" - Salvor Hardin Report message to a moderator
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| Re: Starbase FAQ |
Wed, 06 October 2004 05:06 |
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| Micha |
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Messages: 2342
Registered: November 2002
Location: Belgium GMT +1 | |
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| Downsider wrote on Sat, 29 May 2004 16:07 |
| Micha wrote on Wed, 14 January 2004 23:12 |
However the real reason preventing other races to gain tech was not the presence of a starbase but instead the sheer fact that the planet was inhabited.
Conclusion: when you have a battle in orbit of a planet which is inhabited by another race, than you have no chance to gain tech. Uninhabited planets are fine though.
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I'm not sure this is true. I can remember a couple tech events from previous games where battle had been fought over an enemy planet.
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It's true, I ran a testbed with 10 battles at inhabited planets, only the race that inhabited the planet got tech from the W/L in orbit. (I ran the testbed 10 times.)
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Since tech exchange works only with fleets, I think the reason why you can't get tech from a starbase is because a starbase is not a fleet and not taken into consideration when checking for tech after battle. I have not had time to test this theory though, so I can't say for certain.
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That I can't check. Maybe you indeed can't get tech from a starbase since it's not a fleet, but even if it was a fleet you wouldn't get tech because when you kill the starbase and should gain tech from the battle, the planet is still inhabited, and if you're killing the starbase you are not the player owning the planet ...
Even if you bombed the planet to death in the same turn the event where you get tech is before the planet gets uninhabited.
From the Stars! Order of Events:
1) Fleet battles (with possible tech gain)
2) Bombing
3) Planets with 0 colonists become uninhabited (lose starbase and defences)
mch
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| Re: Starbase FAQ |
Wed, 16 March 2005 06:29 |
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However a starbase will attack according to the "attack who"
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But does a unarmed starbase/dock/fort initiate attack? (don't think so..but just to be sure)
keshav
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| Re: Starbase FAQ |
Wed, 16 March 2005 07:55 |
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| Micha |
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Messages: 2342
Registered: November 2002
Location: Belgium GMT +1 | |
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| imkeshav wrote on Wed, 16 March 2005 12:29 |
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However a starbase will attack according to the "attack who"
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But does a unarmed starbase/dock/fort initiate attack? (don't think so..but just to be sure)
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I don't remember if I ran tests with unarmed starbases. But in your post you state that the starbase had some torpedos ...
Iztok is right that starbases are always considered to be "armed ships", though I don't know if that would also make them trigger the battle, they might need real weaponary for that ...
When I've time I'll test and add it to the FAQ.
mch
[Updated on: Wed, 16 March 2005 07:55] Report message to a moderator
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