Orbital Structures and Upgrades
Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 3:49 am
The majority of "building" will take place in space, barring a few small planetary upgrades.
~~
Headquarters
Each faction starts with an orbital HQ station. Losing the HQ is essentially game over in many respects, though it would not be impossible to recover if the conditions were right. Your HQ is a fairly primitive structure initially, but can be upgraded through several tiers, each increasing the powers at your disposal and enhancing it's defensive capabilities. Whilst these upgrades are not cheap, they are very important to both the survival of the headquarters itself and your empire in the long run.
Fleet Command Center
The FCC is vital to running an empire. You start with a single Fleet Command Center (alongside your Headquarters) which is where the majority of your high-ranking military staff will spend their time. Without an FCC, you can't really run a fleet very well.
Old Empire Fleet Command Centers are scattered throughout the systems, though as a result of the Collapse, not all of them are in top condition. Gaining control of these FCCs may even allow access to mothballed Old Empire ships, which are sure to be more effective than newer ships employed by the factions, or the decades-old and decayed Old Empire ships used by the Remnant.
Thanks to Old Empire design policies, FCCs are highly upgradeable and focused around a modular design scheme. This applies to any pre-standing FCCs besides your starting one, which may also come partially upgraded.
Defense Command Hub
Required to maintain any major kind of orbital defense grids, DCHs have a limited support cap and may only support defenses within their own system. Fortunately, they are fairly easy to maintain and build. Like FCCs, DCHs are upgradable, either to enhance their own defensive capabilities, or the amount of defensive installations they can support. Stationary defenses are best placed around at key locations like lanespace nodes where enemies are forced to run past them or re-enter lanespace.
Modular Construction Yard
A Faction is nothing without a presence in space, just as it is nothing without the support of it's people. The Old Empire maintained dozens of Modular Construction Yards. Each faction is lucky enough to start with one of these relics, though it features no upgrades and has only basic construction capabilities.
Many MCYs are still functional, if in somewhat battered condition, so gathering up the scattered remnants of the Collapse may prove a highly lucrative and strategically wise endeavour. Assembling new ones will be something of a challenge, but not truly difficult. Perhaps an Old Empire Factory Ship might have the necessary schematics for an efficient and accurate reproduction...
Modular Science Complex
As with all structures so far, each faction starts with possession of a Modular Science Complex. These robust stations are designed to house experiments too dangerous to be undertaken on a planet, or those that require zero-gravity or vacuum environments that are far more easily replicated in space than using complicated terrestrial equipment.
The MSCs did not fare so well in the aftermath of the Collapse - very few of these artifacts remain outside of the hands of the Factions. Constructing additional complexes will be a feat few dare attempt, and fewer still will manage to actually accomplish.
Utility Hub
Like the Defense Control Hub, Utility Hubs are easy to build and maintain - they are one of the first structures available to new factions. The Empire, in it's infinite wisdom, decided that having many small, split up installations was a bad idea, so they used their modular theory and design to draw up this structure - the plans were widely distributed. Utility Hubs can support all kinds of modules - they are frequently found around planets used as trading stations or near gas giants as depots for gas and asteroid miners. During wartime, Utility Hubs can be fitted with repair and sensor modules, quickly bringing combat ships back to full readiness and detecting incoming fleets. Utility Hubs are fragile and poorly defended however, so care should be taken - they are a civilian installation first and foremost, so be prepared to protect them.
~~
These are all I have so far. If you can think of any more orbital structures, and especially upgrades for those listed above, go wild. Don't worry too much about pricing/costs right now.
~~
Headquarters
Each faction starts with an orbital HQ station. Losing the HQ is essentially game over in many respects, though it would not be impossible to recover if the conditions were right. Your HQ is a fairly primitive structure initially, but can be upgraded through several tiers, each increasing the powers at your disposal and enhancing it's defensive capabilities. Whilst these upgrades are not cheap, they are very important to both the survival of the headquarters itself and your empire in the long run.
Fleet Command Center
The FCC is vital to running an empire. You start with a single Fleet Command Center (alongside your Headquarters) which is where the majority of your high-ranking military staff will spend their time. Without an FCC, you can't really run a fleet very well.
Old Empire Fleet Command Centers are scattered throughout the systems, though as a result of the Collapse, not all of them are in top condition. Gaining control of these FCCs may even allow access to mothballed Old Empire ships, which are sure to be more effective than newer ships employed by the factions, or the decades-old and decayed Old Empire ships used by the Remnant.
Thanks to Old Empire design policies, FCCs are highly upgradeable and focused around a modular design scheme. This applies to any pre-standing FCCs besides your starting one, which may also come partially upgraded.
Defense Command Hub
Required to maintain any major kind of orbital defense grids, DCHs have a limited support cap and may only support defenses within their own system. Fortunately, they are fairly easy to maintain and build. Like FCCs, DCHs are upgradable, either to enhance their own defensive capabilities, or the amount of defensive installations they can support. Stationary defenses are best placed around at key locations like lanespace nodes where enemies are forced to run past them or re-enter lanespace.
Modular Construction Yard
A Faction is nothing without a presence in space, just as it is nothing without the support of it's people. The Old Empire maintained dozens of Modular Construction Yards. Each faction is lucky enough to start with one of these relics, though it features no upgrades and has only basic construction capabilities.
Many MCYs are still functional, if in somewhat battered condition, so gathering up the scattered remnants of the Collapse may prove a highly lucrative and strategically wise endeavour. Assembling new ones will be something of a challenge, but not truly difficult. Perhaps an Old Empire Factory Ship might have the necessary schematics for an efficient and accurate reproduction...
Modular Science Complex
As with all structures so far, each faction starts with possession of a Modular Science Complex. These robust stations are designed to house experiments too dangerous to be undertaken on a planet, or those that require zero-gravity or vacuum environments that are far more easily replicated in space than using complicated terrestrial equipment.
The MSCs did not fare so well in the aftermath of the Collapse - very few of these artifacts remain outside of the hands of the Factions. Constructing additional complexes will be a feat few dare attempt, and fewer still will manage to actually accomplish.
Utility Hub
Like the Defense Control Hub, Utility Hubs are easy to build and maintain - they are one of the first structures available to new factions. The Empire, in it's infinite wisdom, decided that having many small, split up installations was a bad idea, so they used their modular theory and design to draw up this structure - the plans were widely distributed. Utility Hubs can support all kinds of modules - they are frequently found around planets used as trading stations or near gas giants as depots for gas and asteroid miners. During wartime, Utility Hubs can be fitted with repair and sensor modules, quickly bringing combat ships back to full readiness and detecting incoming fleets. Utility Hubs are fragile and poorly defended however, so care should be taken - they are a civilian installation first and foremost, so be prepared to protect them.
~~
These are all I have so far. If you can think of any more orbital structures, and especially upgrades for those listed above, go wild. Don't worry too much about pricing/costs right now.