Defense

[MoNoLitH]

I'm still fond of the Svensgaard Pirates, but I'm wondering if its a good idea to defend naval bases with naval units? In Civ2 this was generally a bad idea due to firepower restrictions; any such gotchas in SMACX?

[Nightlifter]

ships caught in port receive a penalty if I recall correctly

[Leon Trotsky]

Naval defenses:

* Are more expensive
* Have a defensive penalty in port
* Cannot use the ECM ability (this would have been useful in coastal bases, not watery ones)
* Cannot act as police

I may be forgetting something, but it already sounds like a bad idea.

[Flubber]

Also wouldn't you be stuck "defending with armor or weapon" depending on the choice of the attacker. That means you need a high weapon and a high armor to have any chance on defense.

I always thought that the only "good" method of naval defense was to have enough offensive units that you can kill or probe-control stuff on its way in. Its not great since you would suffer some attrition generally PLUS without terrain effects, roads and sensors, it is more difficult to exploit the stupidity of the AI

The BEST method of naval defense I have managed has involved land raises to channel potential attackers. Then a good arty piece or two can knock the stuffing out of them before your navy mops them. This however is former intensive and expensive. But the added security in creating land barriers is immense

[CEO Aaron]

Wouldn't your land barriers invite a counter-landing? A couple of marines and artillery could plunk down right next to your base, soften it up and invade at their leisure.

IMO, there's no good way to properly defend sea bases, which is one of the reasons I'm so vehemently opposed to using them. The best you can do is maintain a potent air force and use a CAP to spot incoming threats and neutralize them before they become a threat to your bases.