How hard would it be to add a tier or two of starbases?

What technology and tech skills would I need?

By tier, I mean different starbases that become available in succesion on the Defense tree.

I also am interested on rendering new looking starbases with new or enhanced abilities depending on the specialization of the starbase.  I'm thinking that each race would have a support and physical type of starbases to go with the basic version. 

Esentially, I want to know how far a person can take this, if at all, and what would be required to do so.

Also, one problem I know I am going to need to fix first is creating new entity files.  Whenever I rename a current file, it defalts to a txt document and won't give me an option to save as an entity.

Tougher stuff could also be handled by my brother, if not by me, he has taken classes on designing games.

Yes, I believe so.

Graphical work requires a bit more work as you have to make new mesh and texture files for each Starbase, but if you know how to do such things it is quite possible. Even if you don't with enough determination you can do it. Abilities take some time to figure out, but it's not so hard once you get the hang of it. Depending on the desired effect you will at least need to make a new ability file and possibly a buff file if it has multiple effects.

I usually just copy and paste a file I want to use as a base to another folder and then change the name using window's rename function. Sparda's method should also work.

Everygame is different but yes he could be helpful, especially if he knows how to model.

Anyways, of the top of my head files that you would need to create.

NewStarbase file

Starbase upgrade files to go with the new starbase (if you are using the same upgrades skip)

New Starbase construction ability

New Starbase abilities (if applicable)

Research for starbase and abilities

Any new meshes or textures

Files to modify

Player(Race).entity

Constructor ship of the race

entity.manifest file

String

I'll probably add more as I think of them, but hopefully that is a decent start. Try to do it in managable chunks, like get constructor ship to make a new starbase, then add the research, then start making it look different etc. Feel free to ask more questions.

This is a ruff outline of the abilities of the starbases that I want to persue and some questions that I have for making it happen.

Tier 1                      Pts    Abilities

Phase                      10    5

    Weapons               3    1 Directional Shield
    Toughness             4    2 Debris Vacuum
    Hangar                  3    3 Phase Gate
    Trade Port             1    4 Destabilize Hyperspace
    Block Colonize       1    5
    City Population       2
    Debris Vacuum       2
    Directional Shield    2
    Phase Gate            1

PSI                           10    5

    Weapons               2    1 Mass Disorientation
    Toughness             3    2 Meteor Strike Ships
    Hangar                  4    3 Meteor Strike Planet
    Trade Port              1    4 Destabilize Hyperspace
    Block Colonize         1    5
    Culture                   3
    Max Allegiance         2
    Mass Disorientation   2
    Control Meteoroids    2

Tech                           10    5

    Weapons                  2    1 Resupply
    Toughness                3    2 Self Destruct
    Hangar                     3    3
    Trade Port                 2    4 Destabilize Hyperspace
    Block Colonize           1    5
    Factory                     2
    Resupply                  2
    Self Destruct             2

Tier 2

Phase                          14    5

    Weapons                   1    1 Refinery
    Toughness                 1    2 Phase Gate
    Hangar                     1    3 Slot Boost
    Trade Port                 3    4 Destabilize Hyperspace
    Slot Boost                 3    5
    City Population          4
    Refinery                    3
    Phase Gate               1
    Culture                     2

PSI                              14    5

    Weapons                   1    1 Resupply
    Toughness                 1    2 Planet Vision
    Hangar                      1    3 Slot Boost
    Trade Port                  4    4 Destabilize Hyperspace
    Slot Boost                   3    5
    Culture                       4
    Max Allegiance            4
    Planet Vision              3
    Resupply                   2

Tech                             14    5

    Weapons                   1    1 Resupply
    Toughness                 1    2 Refinery
    Hangar                       1    3 Slot Boost
    Trade Port                 4    4 Destabilize Hyperspace
    Slot Boost                  3    5
    Factory                      3
    Resupply                   3
    Refinery                     2
    Culture                      2

Tier 3

Phase                       12    5

    Weapons                4    1 Directional Shield
    Toughness              4    2 Debris Vacuum
    Hangar                   3    3 Phase Beam
    Trade Port               1    4 Destabilize Hyperspace
    Block Colonize         1    5 Spawn Deffense Pod
    Phase Beam            2
    Debris Vacuum         2
    Directional Shield      2

PSI                             12    5

    Weapons                  3    1 Telekinetic Push
    Toughness                3    2 Capture Frigate
    Hangar                     4    3 Mass Disorientation
    Trade Port                 1    4 Destabilize Hyperspace
    Block Colonize           1    5 Spawn Deffense Pod
    Telekinetic Push         2
    Capture Frigate          2
    Mass Disorientation     2

Tech                            12    5

    Weapons                   4    1 Spawn Gauss Cannon
    Toughness                 3    2 Spawn Beam Cannon
    Hangar                      3    3 Self Destruct
    Trade Port                  1    4 Destabilize Hyperspace
    Block Colonize            1    5 Resupply
    Resupply                    2
    Self Destruct               2

I have a few questions:

Is it possible for a starbase to increase the logistics and tactical slots of a planet?

Is it possible for a starbase to act as a refinery?

The spawn abilities for the Tier 3 starbases will be like the spawn abilities of the Tech Capital Carrier and Phase Capital Planet Bomber.  Is their any way to regulate the number that can be spawned and where they are spawned?

Is it possible for the Phase directional field ability to protect only the front and the rear of the starbase?

Can the Phase Beam ability be programed to fire a linear beam without specifing a target?  In other words, the beam fires and anything caught in the beam will be temperarily disabled.

Can the Telekinetic push be used on frigates and the frigates take damage but are not destroyed if they collide with other ships?

Is it posible to make a stationary cannon that can only strafe left and right but not pitch up and down?

1. No, the closest thing you can do is reduce the cost of planen upgrades with an ability.

2. I really don't know, copying a trade port starbase upgrade and changing the property "BaseTradeIncome" to "REFINERY". Also changing the cargoshiptype to a refinery ship and see if that does anything.

3. You can for sure change the number, I think they have to be spawned near the spawner though.

4. I don't think so.

5. I doubt it, the best you can do is give the attack and area of effect that whould disable ships near the target.

6. I didn't realize Telekinetic push did damage if they collide with other ships (are you thinking of magnetize?). Anyways yes it can be used to target and damage frigates, and if you combine it with the magnetize ability you might be able to get the collision damage as well.

7. I doubt it, though appearently starbases don't pitch up or down...

Really the best thing to do is just start playing with all the different buff types (Blair put up a list of them somewhere...) and see what you can come up with.

However, here area a couple that might help you get started.

TEC

Agricultural Pods - Gives extra tax income and increase the population growth rate of the planet it is orbiting.

Radiation Fields - Passive Ability; Deals minor damage to all enemy ships in range of the starbase/Possibly reduce enemy rate of fire slightly.

Rapid Orbital Construction - Gives a large bonus to Orbital build rate.

Vasari

Disruptor Strike - Fires a blast of energy that damages enemy ships within a radius and disables passive generation of enemy frigates (Probably too over powered if it could effect Capital Ships)

Nanite Debris - Passive Ability; Slightly repairs the hull of all allies in the gravitywell.

Resource Depot - Passive Ability; Increases the rate of gathering resources in the Gravity Well.

Advent

Magnetic Shielding - Passive Ability; Increases shield mitigation/shield regeneration rate and reduces Phase Missile Penetration.

Antimatter Reserves - Gives extra antimatter and allows it to transfer a lot of antimatter to allied forces.

Drone Swarm - Spawns extra Strikecraft Squadrons for a limited time.

I already have a resource producing starbase in my mod through an ability.

Not really. Abilities can gain levels based on starbase upgrades kind of like capitalships, but I'd have to know how gruntmaster made his ability to know for sure if it is possible.

I don't think it can act as a research lab or a refinery directly, but as gruntmaster said it is possible to use abilities to gain resources. The game doesn't actually care about population, it just uses that number on planets to calculate tax income, which you can get a Starbase to contribute to.

Very. Nice.