Planetary defenses: not very appealing?

from GalCiv2 Forums
Like the topic says, I am looking for opinions on planetary defenses.

Currently they seem to be not very useful given their (relatively) extreme manufacture/build time, and most wars will (sometimes anyway) be over by the time the thing sees an end to construction. Key worlds will be siezed and fleet fights will be exchanged in often fast and brutal fashion, often resulting in planetary invasions within a few turns of a war being started - the things never get done in time unless rushed. Even if rushed it's usually better to make a fleet to avoid having to defend against a planetary invasion. (The offense bonus is staggering most times, especially if they use a special attack)

My proposal is this - retool the things. Somehow. Make them cheaper, make them a super project, give them an aura radius, something. Anything. I like the concept of planetary defenses, but they need something to make them strategically good to use, like military starbases.(which are a good example of valuable static defenses)

Thanks for reading.
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Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I think agree with you, although I've never used them. I've certainly had no problem defending myself without them. Some of them take up valuable space on your planet's surface, that could be used for other buildings.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I think agree with you, although I've never used them. I've certainly had no problem defending myself without them. Some of them take up valuable space on your planet's surface, that could be used for other buildings.
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I never use them either, but presumably the idea is that you build them on your border worlds BEFORE the war starts?
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
In long drawn out wars with equals or superiors I've found them useful.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Theres another word for defending: Losing.

If you're at war, ideally you'll be the one banging on his doorstep, and not vice versa.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Seriously, has anyone EVER used ... geez I don't even remember the name, exactly... the "Omega Defense" structure? And I mean really *used* it?

I mean, maybe on painful difficulty...
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yeah, those things are useless...

If they would give you a little boost on your defense and prevent the use of special invasion tactics they could become somewhat usefull ( 1 preventing Gaswarefare, 2 preventing Gaswarefare and Tidal desruption for example).
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Omega defense is actually very useful on border worlds where you have a fleet in orbit (perhaps for repairs?) because it means that a surprise attack on your colony faces all ships in orbit not just one at a time.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I never build them. I don't like clogging up my valuable tiles with deffensive improvments. If I'm concerned about a plent being attacked, I build a single defender - my biggest hull packed with weapons and armor - together with a starbase and a fleet or two of fast ships to intercept attackers.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Oh, furthermore, I don't think they can be improved to the point where I would use them, because I can't imagine anything a planet-based defense structure could do that I couldn't do better with space ships. I'd way rather use those tiles to improve my ecconomy or research, which will in turn let me build more and better space ships, and make me harder to attack.
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
They should be an upgrade to the Orbital Fleet Manager, and the abilities of both should stack.
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
How about the orbital defence structures being upgrades of the star base? Personaly I often don't even put star bases on worlds prefering to have more buildings.
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Not Star base I ment starport or whatever thing thing is that lets you build ships. I'm feeling stuiped at the moment.
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Omega Defense System? Oh-yeah I do! Build it on the same planet as your spin control center and (I believe) your ships will appear to have 10x their normal health, along with all their other stats multiplied by 5. That is enough to make most nations cower and not risk open war. I'm actually subverting planets culturally, and they aren't complaining because they're so scared of me.
Reply #15 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
How about making it a super project so all planets get the planetary defense benefit? Or making it part of the military starbase module.
Reply #16 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
i always build the fleet managers its invaluable because instead of picking your ships off one at a time they have to engage as a fleet which is very helpful. i never use planetary defenses though, because that only helps once you are being invaded and i try to cut it off before that happens
Reply #17 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I have only used omega defense once against the dreadlords in apocaplyse on painful level, used with oribitual defense it made the ships stationed there powerful enough to survive repeated dreadlord attacks until reinforcements arrived to continue the offense. Also kidrik's idea above with a spin control center sounds interesting. But overall i agree with everyone else, they r not powerful or worthwhile enough to use a precious build tile on a planet. I think in any future expansion, planetary defense should be looked at and beefed up. Overall its too easy to conquer a planet.
Reply #18 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I find it most annoying that planetary defenses take a whole building spot each. This makes small planets unable to build them or build just about nothing than defenses. Bigger planets on the other hand really would like to have more and more production. Couldn't one construct like one square for defenses and upgrade it with different things or otherwise group the defenses. I'd like that.
Reply #19 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I also feel that they're rarely worth the space that other improvements could use.

I'd love for them to be upgrades to the Starport tile. Expensive upgrades maybe, and/or preclude the port's use for making more ships while the upgrade is in progress.

Reply #20 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The only defense structure I consistently build is the orbital fleet manager, but usually only late in the game if at all. The rest are quite useless, not worth the tile space they take.
Reply #21 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
IF your defenses are so week you have to defend on the planet, you are toast. Pick those pesky attackers off before they arrive, and don't waste valuble realestate on usesless planet defenses. Be the first to build the Triquin training center, and be the one invading.
Reply #22 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Every one of my planets always has a fleet manager. I research planetary defneses early just for the fleet manager. I do also sometimes build the omega defense system if a key world is near an aggressor. It's occasionally worth it.
Reply #23 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
orbital fleet manager being an upgade to the starport would be nice on most planets i think its just wasted space ...
and then the defense structure could be an upgrade to the orbital fleet manager

or make the defense a super project, so it only wastes one tile and you get defense on every planet
same could be done with the orbital fleet manager, but for this one i like the starport-upgrade-idea better
Reply #24 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I made a few just to try them out last game... turns out that you can actually have multiple on one planet.

I think that if you were facing an opponent who was very militaristic, and also you were on a small map, then maybe it would be worth a little more.

It is a tile that you could use for something else, but a 25% defence isnt bad considering that it scales into more power late game when you have more ships. Might help you bunker in for a Tech Victory.
Reply #25 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
In my sandbox games, I modded the PlanetImprovements to have three levels of Starport, usually requiring Miniturization and something else. Level 2 Starports incorporate the Orbital Fleet Manager benefits. Level 3 incorporate the Omega Defense benefits. The only problem is that since you can only have one Starport on a planet, you have to destroy it first before building the next level Starport. I find that lately, I've been waiting until I can build the latest generation Starport. Of course, the AI can do the same thing, so its only unbalancing in that the AI is currently bugged and can build multiple Starports while you can't.