To all engineers: What will YOU try to achieve in StarBase?

[Jasperagus]

But on combat, a sufficiently sized crew can man multiple gun turrets in case of emergency, and since larger ships can boast heavier plating, especially now with the new plasma thrusters, it really comes down to if the aim of the gunners is sufficient enough to snipe the meta heavy fighters they are up against. The only real threats I can see large, mobile base-type ships facing are stealth fighters equipped with maneuver thrusters only, designed to snipe with railguns, similar to some ships currently seen in the alpha.

It might also in the end just come down to how they balance the game which in turn will change what ships people build and use. Atleast when it comes to pvp.

 

[five]

While I don't think large ships will be very effective in large scale combat encounters, I do believe it would be possible to create a mobile base of sorts for patrolling the belt.

But on combat, a sufficiently sized crew can man multiple gun turrets in case of emergency, and since larger ships can boast heavier plating, especially now with the new plasma thrusters, it really comes down to if the aim of the gunners is sufficient enough to snipe the meta heavy fighters they are up against. The only real threats I can see large, mobile base-type ships facing are stealth fighters equipped with maneuver thrusters only, designed to snipe with railguns, similar to some ships currently seen in the alpha.

Back onto my main point, mobile base ships could be a viable option, especially with how dense and large the belt is now. If it becomes possible to manufacture all the resources required to run ships, such as propellant and fuel rods, onboard a moving ship, it will open up the playstyle of the belt scavenger, cruising around the outer rim in order to maintain long flight.
If ships like this remain exclusively in the outer rim of the belt, they could sustain themselves without meeting much force, as fighter squadrons would be incapable of spending large amounts of time searching for a deep miner. Unless of course, they make a similar ship of their own into a carrier-type ship to haul their fighters around, which of course means this type of ship will have an even larger presence in the meta of the game.

To cap off, I do not think large battleships will be very useful for large-scale conflict, but for a more roaming playstyle, or as a carrier for fighter squadrons, they could become pivotal in the dynamics of the game.

I agree on the point, that carriers are gonna become part of the meta. But I don't agree, that stealth long range fighters are the only way to take out a battlecruisers defenses and thrusters, sure stealth or more correctly the element of surprise is crucial, to take out the defenses quickly, but again coming back to the point of battlecruisers, this time in the Star Wars Universe. Bombers or more correctly Attack-craft are highly effective at taking out small targets, even such as small as a manned turret. In conclusion: I believe large ships will only take a supporting role in space warfare. The fact, that they are easy targets on their own doesn't leave any choice, but to put them into supporting roles:

This is a (theoretically, from the current point of the game) ideal composition for a battle fleet and yes I wrote Corvettes, which seems to be stupid, because I rant all the time "BIG SHIPS ARE NOT GOOD NOOOOB GIT GUD" (sarcastic, dont take that as a offense). First of all Corvettes are not large battleships, and also do not serve as the main part of the fight, they are there to protect/die for other ships. Secondly Corvette dont usually have big cannons, but some have cruise missiles or torpedos and in the Case of Starbase, a small battery of Rail Cannons wont hurt. So its job is to protect other support vehicles.
The carrier brings the fighters into the fight and therefore has the core battle role, It brings "the meta", the thing that will win the fight
The maintenance ship has a maintenance role for the fighters and his other larger companions, It keeps everybody IN the fight
The Corvette/smaller battleship protects the other support vessels and gives long range support to fighters (In case the fighters do not have the capabilities to finish a larger target with multiple layers of very strong armour.

If anybody wants to discuss the Art of War in Starbase with me I would be happy to open a new discussion within this forum so we dont have to continue here

 

[Verbatos]

I agree on the point, that carriers are gonna become part of the meta. But I don't agree, that stealth long range fighters are the only way to take out a battlecruisers defenses and thrusters, sure stealth or more correctly the element of surprise is crucial, to take out the defenses quickly, but again coming back to the point of battlecruisers, this time in the Star Wars Universe. Bombers or more correctly Attack-craft are highly effective at taking out small targets, even such as small as a manned turret. In conclusion: I believe large ships will only take a supporting role in space warfare. The fact, that they are easy targets on their own doesn't leave any choice, but to put them into supporting roles: View attachment 2120
This is a (theoretically, from the current point of the game) ideal composition for a battle fleet and yes I wrote Corvettes, which seems to be stupid, because I rant all the time "BIG SHIPS ARE NOT GOOD NOOOOB GIT GUD" (sarcastic, dont take that as a offense). First of all Corvettes are not large battleships, and also do not serve as the main part of the fight, they are there to protect/die for other ships. Secondly Corvette dont usually have big cannons, but some have cruise missiles or torpedos and in the Case of Starbase, a small battery of Rail Cannons wont hurt. So its job is to protect other support vehicles.
The carrier brings the fighters into the fight and therefore has the core battle role, It brings "the meta", the thing that will win the fight
The maintenance ship has a maintenance role for the fighters and his other larger companions, It keeps everybody IN the fight
The Corvette/smaller battleship protects the other support vessels and gives long range support to fighters (In case the fighters do not have the capabilities to finish a larger target with multiple layers of very strong armour.

If anybody wants to discuss the Art of War in Starbase with me I would be happy to open a new discussion within this forum so we dont have to continue here

I still think that stealth will be the most efficient way to take out larger ships. With stealth, you don't risk having potentially expensive losses due to turret spam, and you can have an easier time aiming railguns from a distance, especially if a ship is stopped while pre-occupied mining, refining or similar, especially in the outer belt.
I think the meta is going to evolve into carrier ships hauling a group of small, slowish (with the new maneuver thruster nerf) stealth fighters to quickly deploy before scattering and hiding like cockroaches.
You could design the ship to be battery-powered, with the carrier having a large generator and excessive batteries to charge the ships as they come through.
I have heard accounts of the devastation a single stealth ship (I think it belonged to Quevin) can deal to an unprepared mining hauler in the belt. Invisible to the naked eye from the kilometre maximum range, equipped with twin railguns to deal maximum damage to explosive components and pierce armour, death in the clouds.

Also I have made a new thread to discuss this now, here:
(https://forum.starbasegame.com/threads/starbase-balance-meta-thread-ship-roles.1798/)

 

[Sinistar]

I want to make a family of ships inspired by the art of Chriss Foss - the man that inspired the Homeworld art style. Big mothership/carrier industrial craft supported by a set of smaller craft. All modular, simplistic design for ease of use and repair. I just wanna make something cool and useful that people will enjoy! What better than a family of ship designs that look good and work well?

 

[orangelemongamer]

Me and my friends have a plan of getting 3 medium sized ships then sticking them together using the beam lock thingys so we have one massive destroyer! (Something probs gonna get in the way though but I don't mind too much)

 

[five]

Me and my friends have a plan of getting 3 medium sized ships then sticking them together using the beam lock thingys so we have one massive destroyer! (Something probs gonna get in the way though but I don't mind too much)

Make sure the two other ships are both attached to the big one. Otherwise it would make steering very awkward. But you will learn what i am talking about when u gather experience within Starbase

 

[Chaus]

i am wanting to design an automated system to not only build parts of spaceships, but also feed those into asemblers to build spaceships in it's entirety, with the possibilities to automate everything possible, i enjoy technical problems and am wondering if inverse kinematics would be viable in Starbase

 

[busshanta]

To build the rocinante from the expanse or the donnager.

 

[shado20]

I'm going to break the game!

 

[Hunter]

Build stupid contraptions that shouldn't work, but do.

I.e. Living torpedos.

 

[landsraad59]

ODYSSEY from Ulysse31