How far apart should the bases be?

[dnzrx]

Is it ok for the bases to be overlapping somewhat or not?

[Mart]

It is a broad topic. In smac, in general the answer is yes, there are multiple benefits of overlapping bases radii.
Read more about ICS strategy (infinite city sprawl).
Some aspect of overlapping bases is that a base can work up to 20 tiles, and this is only later in the game when a base can have size 20 and more. Also bases can share lucrative tiles, and there are other good reasons.

[Ell_man]

Yes, overlap is fine. A base can work 20 surrounding tiles but for most of the game you're stuck at a pop of 14(16 with SP) per base. I usually overlap a lot more and each of my bases only works ~8-10 squares. This is good because I can utilize all my terrain asap and I have fewer happiness problems because I only have to quell 8-10 drones instead of 14ish. Specialists give a lot of energy too. A forest under free market with a hybrid forest brings in 3 energy which is matched by the first tier specialists. Once you get engineers you have 5 energy per specialist, so it makes even more sense to work as few forests as possible and make more specialists.

I prefer to space my bases about 4 squares apart. You would need to space your bases at least 6 squares apart to avoid all overlap. Sometimes it makes sense to have your bases as tight together as possible though(2 squares).

Here's a savegame from my current attempt at the weplayciv game of the month. I'm spacing bases about 4 squares apart in this one but at this stage in the game I should build more bases in the gaps between my bases. The micromanagment in this game is getting tedious so I'm not going to.

[CEO Aaron]

I really try hard to get my bases within 3 squares of each other. That way you've got a small amount of overlap, but most importantly, you can shift your garrisons and troops between neighboring bases in a single turn. This really gives you the flexibility to more aggressively meet incursions.