Starbases are everywhere!

from GalCiv3 Forums

Started new game on little map with 9 factions. At first 50 turns (while I've been minmaxing colony and pushing towards research) all mining resourses and relics have been claimed by AI, which is not great. But what is not so great that AI tends (better to say 'devotes itself') to spam starbases. It's just a sort of starbase crusade. On top of that they shamelessly build bases even in your area of influence.

And later they wonder, 'Your military buildup concers us'.

'Because you don't even want to sell that military starbase adjanced to my homeworld!'.

There is no option to remove starbase peacefully (it costs too much, and if you force another AI to declare a war on its owner, it is very unlikely to target that particular starbase). And at the moment I can remove it with force (starbases are sort of fortified) I can just flood the galaxy with my cruisers.
Another story is that usually their placement makes no sense, I could've fit 5 bases where they place one.

5,548 views 11 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Starbase squatting is the old new rush meta.

No, I don't like it either.  Makes for a rather pants game.

Reply #2 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I have a few ideas for this problem:

 

- There should have been more penalties for having a starbase on the territories of others. The owner of the area should be able to tax the starbase, both it's economy and resource.

 

- The tax rate should be optional by your own choice. Taxes from 0-90% or more would be great. And other political penalties which might render a starbase to be a full loss for the owner.

 

AND / OR

- Introduce politics where the owner of the territory will be the owner of the starbase (built by another civ), but you must negotiate a rate of sharing the resource and economic gains.

 

- You should also have to negotiate before building military and influence starbases in another civs territory. If not it's an illegal act, and might trigger a war.

Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

have starbase maintenance costs increase with distance from the nearest owned planet. make the AI aware of this, and factor it in economically. There should be a certain range at which harvesting resources is prohibitively expensive imo.

Reply #4 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I rather like the idea of a tax on a SB in one's ZOI.   And a right of refusal for military and cultural SB, with the consequence...WAR...what's it good for?   Getting rid of starbases, of course!

 

Reply #5 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

This is a event AI behavior. I'll look I to it. It's i te resting that the AI has calculated thT this is a good strategy.

Reply #6 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting NanakoAC, reply 3

have starbase maintenance costs increase with distance from the nearest owned planet. make the AI aware of this, and factor it in economically. There should be a certain range at which harvesting resources is prohibitively expensive imo.
End of NanakoAC's quote

+1 on this idea. I also wouldn't mind if it was adjusted by life support tech, so makes those techs a little more attractive.

Reply #7 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I find it odd that the AI can demand removal and we can't

Reply #8 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I like this:

Quoting NanakoAC, reply 3

have starbase maintenance costs increase with distance from the nearest owned planet. make the AI aware of this, and factor it in economically. There should be a certain range at which harvesting resources is prohibitively expensive imo.
End of NanakoAC's quote

I also think starbases' defenses are far too powerful in the early game with no way of removing them for quite some time.
That's how it used to be, I would fear for their safety until I upgraded their defenses.

If they didn't receive attack / defense points until you actually researched the required weapons / defense tech's, that would greatly help the problem in that I'd be able to simply wipe those pesky star bases out - although you shouldn't realistically place a one near a potential enemy then (The AI would have to factor that in I guess) - problem solved another way.

Reply #9 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

We need to be able to attack ships and starbases without needing to be at war. Attacking these would just produce a diplomatic hit. Taking a planet militarily would require a war declaration.

Reply #10 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

also i noticed that starbases are too strong.. in civ2 starbases were not too strong.. for example you could bulid tons of constructors and focus on huge reseach for starbases and decent ship could kill it.. and now?  with two constructors you get like 10 of each defense and +15 of each attack :D much strong :D 

Reply #11 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Does the AI use ideology and get the free gifts?  IF yes...then maybe they are getting the 3 free constructors.  I know I always do.  In fact I have found that getting both the benefits of the free colony ship and the 3 free constructors really lets you rush early game.