That is because medium maps are still pretty small, the sensor boats I made for large maps that showed half the map barely cover my borders.  I started building medium and large hull versions.  Even the large hull version on insane isn't that impressive and the first of them I made for that purpose had a 75 sensor range.  

Also one reason to go down the sensor tree isn't for new sensor modules, but for passive sensor range buffs, which apply to ships that are already built and deployed. Getting a +20% sensor range boost is very rewarding on sensor buoys.

I entirely disagree on weapons, though rather than slapping in diminishing returns, it would be better to just put a hard cap on the amount of sensor arrays you could slap onto a ship, that is if this is even considered an issue, imo.

Sensors should be limited to like 3. Perhaps, with Large ships able to carry 4, and Huge ships able to carry 5.

Even just 3 sensors can light up a reasonably large area.  Sensor ships are so much more powerful at covering vast distances than starbases, it's a total joke.

Personally, I think Starbases should have the ability to see much further than anything other than a HUGE ship. It creates great interplay, with wars being fought over starbases, and not just randomly throughout space.

Knocking out a starbase on one front, so they can't see the flank attack coming for their planet in time is like real warfare. Sensor buoys need to go...

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For now, I just sit the bouys within a starbase to help the believability factor. But they're still way too strong.

What about how the AI uses sensors? If they do not do anything like sensor buoys then its too strong of a gimmick for a player. One set of sensors per ship makes much more sense. For watching borders we should be limited to starbase sensors. I mean the idea of a 'listening post'(BoTF! ) would be more interesting. Something you'd have to build up and protect on your border instead ships moving around the border, the idea being that giving up the ability to zoom through space mean you have a lot more space and flexibility size wise  to create huge antennas, dishes, etc. 

I'm not saying its good or bad for the AI to build and use sensor ships. I'm wondering if they do in GCIII or if its even possible. Because if they do not do it in game its too easy for the player.

I can't get past the fact that 4 sensor ships completely reveals an entire quadrant of an excessive galaxy. That's just illogical.

If they're going to stay as they are now, then we should just hit ~fowtrans around Turn 50 because the end result is the same[~fowtrans removes all fog of war from the map].

The game then has no mystery, and much less challenge. You always know what's coming, and what to build far in advance to counter it.

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It's in no way a good mechanic, and it's a huge nerf to AI's capabilities vs player.  I wouldn't go as far as to call it an exploit, but it's just as cheesy as any of the current diplomacy strategies that you can pull off against the AI.  Sure the AI could be taught to make them too, but two wrongs don't make a right...

Granted...some people won't see it as a "wrong", to each his own...

Just a slight clarification. I'm not against the use of sensor ships in theory. I just think the range on sensors is far too strong.

Starbases and Planets obviously need a sensor range buff(upgrades/buildings) that can extended their range much further with proper investment. Ship sensors shouldn't really be able to see further than a fully upgraded starbase/planet.

The problem we then run into is the economy of sensors on ships vs starbases/planets. The investment needed to put additional sensors on ships is minimal, compared to any investment in starbases(even if they were buffed).

So the only real solution seems to be a nerf to ship sensors. There's already hard limits to things like Jammers, Sensors should be the same.

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And either of us can tell the other to mod it to our liking.

But I'll support my side in the feedback forum because imo it's better for the game, and it's not officially released.  And if you think keeping sensors the same is better, then you can continue to support that.

I both like and dislike the way sensors currently work. I don't want to see a hard cap, but I do want to see some sensibility applied to how things work. For example, I'd like to see less of an effect for ships and more of an effect for starbases.

So, to me it would make sense to have ship sensors be limited, perhaps to one of each kind--or even just one sensor unit. If this was the case, they could be a little more powerful, and scale to higher values with higher tech. And then somewhere in the tech tree, there could be a tech for an unlimited percentage-based sensor amplifier. So, the more of these modules you install, the more they amplify the sensor module in use. (of course, there could be a couple of these modules, one in the mid game and a better one in the late game.)

But that's getting pretty specific. Back to the general issue--I agree with the notion that starbases should have the capacity for greater maximum sensor range than most ships, with the exception of huge and perhaps large hulls.

For the meantime, however, I'm using sensors the way they are built. I'd be silly not to

First off you can build a sensor ship from turn 1, it comes out to 17 or 18 sensor range.  This is the way I generally build them, mark 1 is the one you can build right away, mark 2 is with the second tier of sensors after interstellar travel or something like it, gives sensors, life support, +1 speed and something else, sensor range 21 or 22 mark 3 third tier of sensors after researching the first dedicated sensor tech, range 28 to 30, mark 4 after high capacity ships, range 34, mark 5 after completing the hyperion shrinker, range 38 to 40.  Generally by this point between turn 80 to 100 depending on start and vagaries of the game, I'm building medium hull ships that have about a 45 to 50 sensor range.  That sounds like a lot but on an insane map that might not even cover your territory let alone cover all of the approaches to your neighbors and certainly doesn't reveal the entire map.

I personally love that we can make large sensor ships. But, what I don't like, is how useless sensors are on normal ships. I'd like sensors to grant a small accuracy bonus so you don't feel its a complete waste on combat ships to have sensors.

I'm reiterating what I said earlier. If the AI is not/can not do this it makes the game much too easy for the player. While we of course can choose not to do it, i'd rather have a different implementation. It could make the game even more interesting than it already is.

I think multiple sensors are not realistic. If I have a radar set that can see 100 miles, putting a second one on a ship wouldn't make it 200 miles. The limit of the radar is unchanged. That is how it should be here as well IMO.