Advice on a station?

[Paullus]

Stations are always the most difficult thing for me to build.
I'm working on this shipyard here, any advice?

Spoiler

I'm very happy with how a lot of it turned out, but some things about it still look off to me. Maybe its the detail size? or the colors? Bold advice and harsh criticism is highly welcome. Also it's still a work in progress, so there are some random things like pink spacing blocks.


Also, how do you plan stations? make room for big turrets? etc... I have to draw it out completely or else it looks like a splatter of mismatched rooms.

 

[Livaria]

Honestly, I don't have enough information about your station or it's design. It's easier to innovate when someone has knowledge towards the purpose of it's design. It depends on what the goal of your station is. If it's to merely just be a shipyard, then maybe the supports at the bottom could be removed for more docking space. But of course, theres still a good amount of space inside. so it's not all that vital.

There are few ways to make defense turrets, an interesting proposal could be to make the turrets suspended a fair amount of distance from the station itself. The reason for this, is so that the turrets will still be considered a station entity and benefit from it's shields while simultaneously allowing a larger field of view for each turret involved, this means more reliable turrets. Just make sure the turrets can't hit the docked entities.

 

[Panpiper]

The station looks freaking fantastic to me. I think you are selling yourself short. If it's a homebase, it doesn't need turrets as it is invulnerable. It is nice though to have enough to scare away pirates who might harass you while you are working nearby. If it's not a homebase and you need serious firepower, then yes, adding that to such a station already largely complete (at least in terms of layout and looks) is problematic.

If you want to add such firepower, consider adding it as additional free floating platforms near to the station. Build it as part of the station by extending out an arm of blocks, then after you've got something built, remove the connecting blocks. They will still be part of the station, but 'look' like they are separate. You can add both offensive turrets and anti-missile turrets this way. Box in the station with eight platforms one off of each corner. You can set up the platforms to have two large anti-ship turrets each, one on top and one on the bottom. Ring each platform with anti-missile turrets.

 

[Xacktar]

I think just a touch more color/shape variation on the square end caps might help.

Perhaps a few lights there? Maybe some orange to support the red of the shipyard without detracting from it.

You could play with adding darker contrasts as well. Most of the color differences seem to go from light grey to dark grey, with the red drawing sight to the center. A few pieces of black along the structure might add some detail without removing he focus.

 

[terra mining corp.]

verrry nice so far!maybe some moving elements on rails and/or flashing lights to give it some life?

 

[Lukwan]

I really like the overall shape and the scale of the greeblies. If it needs anything it is a secondary accent color. The red/orange is anchoring your palette so find a color that contrasts/compliments and splash it on

 

[jstenholt]

Jesus... maybe you don't like it because you built it, or maybe you just don't like the aesthetic, but that is like, 100% my build style. I absolutely adore that station. 10/10

 

[JinM]

I'm very happy with how a lot of it turned out, but some things about it still look off to me. Maybe its the detail size? or the colors? Bold advice and harsh criticism is highly welcome.
Also, how do you plan stations? make room for big turrets? etc... I have to draw it out completely or else it looks like a splatter of mismatched rooms.

First of all the red somewhat stands out too much. The rest of the station is industrial themed and grey, so the red is like the color scheme in Mirrors Edge (the game used many white and vibrant full-colors to signify level relevant objects and gave advice via coloring).

You can make it orange, or change the beams into a greyscale or black with sparcely placed red dots. The other way is to place other objects in orange (not red), yellow or even a blue-hue around the station, like a docked ship or a docked container. Or an antenna. Lights, either hidden or some sort of streetlamps, could also help to make it more colorfull. It seems a bit dark and too grey for me. Even if its supposed to be grey, you can use more greyscales and some black too.

I would also add some round ventilation shafts on the outside, or something that cuts away the blocky arrangement of the 4 containers. It seems somewhat flat on many spaces, because the details are the beams and the front antennas and they are too far away from the flat cubes.

Lastly: it is a very nice work non the less. And I admire the effort you put into it.

When I planned big objects, I allways make a list of purposes and in what rooms they shall be met. Simmultanously I either lay out a floorplan or a scratch of the outside if I want a certain object. I also leave 2 rooms empty for later ideas. I focus on walking roads or connection floors as well on stations, and have some sort of lookoutpoints on the station. I also try to imagine how it feels to walk through the walkways between the rooms or hangars, and try to give nice view throughout those ways. But the first rule for walkways is having them efficient. They are important for me, because you don't visit rooms, the atmosphere comes from the walk and the stuff you see between them. Well thats how I play in Minecraft, and I just ported it for stations now.

 

[Paullus]

Jesus... maybe you don't like it because you built it, or maybe ...

Haha thanks, it is maybe because I built. I get really nit picky about my stations. Ships? I can do those. stations? I don't know what it is about me...
And thanks everyone for the advice! I'll definitely work on the color of the build. and maybe, JinM, I'll try some wide repeated fins off the sides? And Panpiper and Livaria, how far away from the station? I was more wondering how to place a huge turret on a station, because otherwise the station has to be much larger, or there has to be a long flat surface to squeeze it on.

 

[Panpiper]

And Panpiper and Livaria, how far away from the station? I was more wondering how to place a huge turret on a station, because otherwise the station has to be much larger, or there has to be a long flat surface to squeeze it on.

How far away is a judgement call. By spacing them further away, you give them a wider field of fire, less occlusion by the nearby base structure. However the further apart they are, the less they are able to support each other's fire, and the easier it is for an opponent to concentrate on taking out turrets while being engaged by only a few. The best call is probably to judge it based on looks.

The point of arming a station is mostly to prevent it from being taken out by a simple pair of cruisers. It does not really need much more than the armament a pair of them would carry (err towards excess however). You want to force the enemy to bring it's main fleet to the fight, so you can fight a decisive engagement while also having fire support from the station. To build a station powerful enough to take on such a fleet on it's own, you'd have to devote the same resources you would use for multiple titans. That is neither realistic nor advisable. You'd be better off with the titans and simply base them there.

I would strongly advise using a saturation quantity of missile/beam missiles so as to be able to engage at maximum range. Mix in ten decoys (1/1 block sized) for every one heavy hitter so as to saturate point defense. Having weaponry that is shorter ranged means that a long ranged opponent can simply park outside your range and bombard you with impunity.

 

[Livaria]

Yeah, it really depends on the weapons you give them Perhaps a mix of long range missiles and short range rapid fire cannon turrets. Try 30 blocks distance from the station and work from there. Then just test it out to see if any problems arise, if it does then simply adjust the distance to become longer or shorter.

 

[aRottenKomquat]

That is a million times better than any station I've ever built.

 

[Lukwan]

there has to be a long flat surface to squeeze it on.

Not necessarily. You could 'float' the turret-barrels as if they were drones.

 

[Paullus]

The point of arming a station is mostly to prevent it from being taken out by a simple pair of cruisers. It does not really need much more than the armament a pair of them would carry (err towards excess however). You want to force the enemy to bring it's main fleet to the fight, so you can fight a decisive engagement while also having fire support from the station. To build a station powerful enough to take on such a fleet on it's own, you'd have to devote the same resources you would use for multiple titans. That is neither realistic nor advisable. You'd be better off with the titans and simply base them there.

I would strongly advise using a saturation quantity of missile/beam missiles so as to be able to engage at maximum range. Mix in ten decoys (1/1 block sized) for every one heavy hitter so as to saturate point defense. Having weaponry that is shorter ranged means that a long ranged opponent can simply park outside your range and bombard you with impunity.

What about posting a permanent fleet at the station? could that be a replacement for missile turrets and let the station be more of a nuisance?

Yeah, it really depends on the weapons you give them Perhaps a mix of long range missiles and short range rapid fire cannon turrets. Try 30 blocks distance from the station and work from there. Then just test it out to see if any problems arise, if it does then simply adjust the distance to become longer or shorter.

What about sniper cannons? or are those too prone to missing?

Not necessarily. You could 'float' the turret-barrels as if they were drones.

this is true :D thanks! I wonder how that would look.

 

[Panpiper]

What about posting a permanent fleet at the station? could that be a replacement for missile turrets and let the station be more of a nuisance?

What about sniper cannons? or are those too prone to missing?

I do not automatically think about defending fleets, because the one time I did use a defending 'drone' ship, in short order it took off to chase down some pirate it spotted never to be seen again. (In it's defense, I did find it a few months later, still patrolling my system, near to the hulk of a pirate station it had apparently taken out.) The situation may allow nowadays since the fleet update, a patrolling fleet as a defender. I would still build some turrets though for point defense if nothing else. Though if your fleet is carrying heavy guns, you might be able to get away with smaller ones for the station.

I would still use sniper missiles (missile/beam) for offense however. You want your station's attack to have the longest range possible, else an opponent (including the AI) can engage at a distance without your weaponry being able to hit back. Ships that can move to close the range can get away with other sorts of weapons. Stations that cannot 'must' be armed with the longest ranged weapons possible.

 

[StarWars1981]

Alright, I'd say if you shift all those crane-looking boxes on top around to be asymmetrical, it's perfect. It's just that total symmetry that some people disapprove of - I think it looks cool, personally, to have asymmetric details here and there, but it's harder than a symmetric shape because the human mind LIKES symmetry, but can be CONVINCED to like asymmetry. Or it was phrased something like that in the psychology source I was looking at. It was cool, regardless.

 

[Tunk]

Personally I plan stations to be usable.

Amenities in easy to spot and easy to access places, labelled drop off with simple auto sorting, and most importantly, teleporters everywhere for the lazy (or confused).
Most of the time 99% of a stations functionality can fit in a single room.
I hate having to travel through a Minotaur labyrinth to reach anything on a station, as pretty as it might be on the way.

The other part of usability is void filling and exposed face reduction, minimise internal void space by filling it (even if its power bricking).
Minimise exposed faces by minimising things like struts, scaffold like structures, etc, and complex grebs.
Players on crappy laptops will thank you.

 

[DrTarDIS]

Make some room-template areas you can dock mix-n-match areas for people. Lets you use them as nav-markers and teleport locations. EG med-bay, supply drop-off, lounge, landing bay control room, shipyard control room. Last I checked it stops the entire station's shields having to drop to allow visitors, only that "room" feels the burn.

 

[kikaha]

First i think its a great build.

Now for my advice/ideas.

I think that now you have the shipyard. Great ! Time to build the station itself. You know, where people live, have fun, sleep, eat, trade and that kind of things.

So to me taht station is just begun. Attach the shipyard to a station.

 

[Livaria]

Well if you want sniper cannons. It's likely that it will only hit ships with low mobility. Even the highest velocity projectiles may not hit agile ships. Which is okay if the goal is to only defeat large and slow-moving ships. I will caution you however, that of you want to build the station to be capable of defeating large slow-moving ships, It will take a considerable amount of resources.

If you want something direct-fire, long range, and hits often. It's not unreasonable to try beam weapons instead since they are more reliable in hitting smaller targets. But it's up to you.

OH! I need to warn you about swarm missiles. It's entirely possible that they may damage docked entities since they target allies and neutral targets. You can still use them of course, just make sure there's something stopping that tragedy from happening.