Scaling Spaceports?

[Borealis4x (OP)]

So as far as I can tell from the wiki, Spaceports cargo ships, ordinance transfer hubs, and refueling hubs all-in-one. I don't know if they do anything else, not that they'd really need to.

What I want to know is if they scale their capabilities per level. The wiki didn't say anything about it, even though the obvious answer would be yes I think.

[Black]

Spaceport does not stack for ammo transfer: http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=8495.msg104196#msg104196

Multiple spaceports or ordnance transfer stations at the colony will not increase the rate of ordnance transfer.

So I presume it is the same for other functions.

[Borealis4x (OP)]

That's disappointing if true. I like the idea of building up your spaceport until you have something truly massive that can easily resupply multiple fleets. Like the Earth Torus from X3 that stretches all the way around the Earth.

[SpikeTheHobbitMage]

Additional spaceports benefit freight and ground troop loading times.  I'm not certain about MSP transfers but they use the same shuttles used for freight.

[Treahblade]

Additional spaceports benefit freight and ground troop loading times.   I'm not certain about MSP transfers but they use the same shuttles used for freight.

Are you sure about this? Steve stated the below
"Spaceports and Cargo Shuttle Stations can service any number of ships simultaneously but they do not stack.  In effect they count as a single Cargo Shuttle Bay for any ship at the population. "

But I am not sure he is saying that they don't stack together or that they do not stack if you have multiple of the same kind? ex.  2 spaceports. 

[Gabethebaldandbold]

this is very important actually... I have always assumed they stack...

[Tuck Davis]

That's why I always just build and carry around Spaceports.  There is just no benefit using the specialized variants.

[DFNewb]

That's why I always just build and carry around Spaceports.  There is just no benefit using the specialized variants.

I disagree. On most of my colonies in Sol I end up putting just the cargo shuttles on them. You only really need 1 refueling and 1 ordinance body per system in most cases IMO.

[Black]

That's why I always just build and carry around Spaceports.  There is just no benefit using the specialized variants.

You need population for Spaceport, that is not the case for specialized variants, this is most likely not a concern on large colonies, but it can be a considered for small ones.

[smoelf]

Spaceports are also more expensive to build.

[vorpal+5]

In general, if you believe something is obviously unbalanced and flawed, then take a 2nd look. Steve is not that bad in game balancing 

[roug]

Are you guys chatting about the spaceport you can build in industry tab?

[Treahblade]

Are you guys chatting about the spaceport you can build in industry tab?

Yes were trying to determine if having more then a single port increases anything as there is some confusion about it.

I really don't see a reason to ever build shuttle stations anywhere since you technically need a cargo ship with shuttles to carry them to somewhere and at that point just use cargo ships with shuttle bays. I guess you could use them in a game similar to mine where I am not using mass drivers if you needed  a fast cargo ship or something and wanted to save weight on shuttle bays..

[skoormit]

Are you guys chatting about the spaceport you can build in industry tab?

Yes were trying to determine if having more then a single port increases anything as there is some confusion about it.

I really don't see a reason to ever build shuttle stations anywhere since you technically need a cargo ship with shuttles to carry them to somewhere and at that point just use cargo ships with shuttle bays. I guess you could use them in a game similar to mine where I am not using mass drivers if you needed  a fast cargo ship or something and wanted to save weight on shuttle bays..

What if you want to resupply MSP from a planet onto a ship that isn't a freighter?

[SpikeTheHobbitMage]

After looking at it again spaceports and the specialized facilities don't stack with each other nor with themselves.  If you need all three on the same colony and have workers available then the spaceport is cheaper at 3k BP vs 3600 BP for a full set of specialized installations.  If you don't need all three then the specialized installations are always cheaper.

Shuttle stations however stack with freighter shuttles.  That is, having a shuttle station counts as having one extra shuttle on every ship in orbit, including ships that don't have their own shuttles.  Additional shuttle stations don't stack, however.

Are you guys chatting about the spaceport you can build in industry tab?

Yes were trying to determine if having more then a single port increases anything as there is some confusion about it.

I really don't see a reason to ever build shuttle stations anywhere since you technically need a cargo ship with shuttles to carry them to somewhere and at that point just use cargo ships with shuttle bays. I guess you could use them in a game similar to mine where I am not using mass drivers if you needed  a fast cargo ship or something and wanted to save weight on shuttle bays..

It depends on how much stuff you need to move.  A freighter with one shuttle bay will load or unload twice as quickly if there is a spaceport or shuttle station present, and the load time with two shuttle bays is reduced by 1/3.  So if your freighters have one shuttle bay each and you are moving more than 500k tons* to a planet then you are better off moving a shuttle station there first.  If your freighters have two shuttle bays then the tipping point is 750k tons.

*500k tons is 200 infrastructure, or 100 infrastructure and 1/5 million colonists.  This makes a big difference for civilian colonization efforts and trade.