Unclear on Spaceports

[Joram]

Not clear on the best strategy on spaceports. Besides the construction and defense aspect which obviously is limited to the planet it is on, do their happiness bonuses apply to the colony or to all colonies in a system? Similarly, is there any point in building multiple spaceports in a system?

[impact]

Not sure about the happyness-bonus (but I would assume it is not system-wide).
As for building-strategy: In the beginning you will hardly need more than one spaceport. I think the large spaceport you have can construct about 10 ships at the same time.
However, once your first colonies start turning in a profit, you might want to think about building one or two smaller spaceports for logistical reasons. Remember that they are responsible for producing civilian ships as well, so once you have a few colonies established and want to get civilian trade going, constructing additional spaceports would be a good choice, so that civilian production doesn't interfere with your military production (and vice versa).
Also apparently large spaceports give you research, which is always a good thing. Keep in mind however that they can cost quite a lot in maintenance fees.

[Gertjan]

Doesnt the AI produce spaceports automatically when you have it automated?

[impact]

Depends - default setting is that the advisor asks you if you want to build one, just like ship production.

[Joram]

Well, regardless of what the AI does, I'm still pretty unclear on the advantages if any of multiple spaceports per system.

[ASHBERY76]

Yes there are aspects that need to be explained better in the galactopidia.

[impact]

Well, you CAN spread them out if you find that more appealing or strategically sound.
It depends on how your logistics are set up.
For example: building your space ports in and around a single system would make it easier to protect them and the transport routes they get resources from.
However, this is only an advantage if you have most of the resources you need in the surrounding systems. If you have a special construction resource your regularly need and that's pretty far away, I would rather build a spaceport near it and construct the ships that require said resource there (to shorten supply routes and make them more defensible).
If you share borders with an empire unfriendly towards you, you might want to build spaceports close to their borders so that you can support large fleets near that border easily.
Where you build depends a lot on your play style and strategic situation.

[Erik Rutins]

Good points, Impact.

I think you only _need_ one spaceport per system and in the early going, less than that. However, each planet with a spaceport gains bonuses (which helps with revenue generation) and is definitely better defended in case of a conflict. Over-building space ports (when in some cases cheaper defensive bases will do) is a great way to run out of money though.

[Joram]

Impact, you're thinking strategically and while I appreciate that, I am talking about multiple planets within one single system.
 
Erik, if I read your answer correctly, you are saying that the happiness bonuses apply only to the planet the spaceport is actually on.  The reason I ask is because in my brief game I played I had a lot of unhappy campers even with all the luxuries I had and I was wondering if building a small spaceport on them would have been a viable strategy assuming my economy could handle the expense.

[Erik Rutins]

Yes, the happiness bonus applies only to the planet the spaceport is orbiting around. If you can afford it, it's a nice boost.

[Webbco]

I read the manual and completed the tutorials and to be honest, I really can't get my head around luxury goods and how to prioritise where I put space ports, mining stations etc.

I apologise if it's really simple, I just can't quite grasp it. I keep having economy problems a couple of hours into the game and currently I'm trying some tips erik gave in the "economy woes" thread in Tech support. We'll see how that goes. However, I feel like I need someone to explain simply (maybe step by step) how to:

a) go about making sure colonies are getting enough luxury goods,

b)where I can clearly see what my empire requires immediately (whether strategic or luxury commodities) and also locations of these resources

c) whether I should override the automation in order to place space ports at certain locations

Apparently to get good colony development, you need 10 luxury resources coming into each colony. As far as I can see, nothing like that amount is in any of my colonies! Can any one help please?

*Edit: I think my problem lies in understanding the expansion planner. Just need to clarify how to use the drop down menu with options such as "Resource Targets by Your empire priority".*

[Joram]

Thanks Erik, that's what I suspected from the manual but it wasn't clear to me.
 
Webbco, your question is the next one for me as well but think I just need more playing time to figure that out.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Webbco
a) go about making sure colonies are getting enough luxury goods

Look in the Expansion Planner at the resource list at the top. I like to sort that by my Demand. I then go down the list and compare it to the Current Stock and Sources (note that it's your demand and supply, not the Galaxy demand and supply that you want to look at). You can see there what luxury goods you still need or don't have enough of.

Once you have enough supply to meet the demand, it just takes time for your freighters to deliver the goods to all the colonies that request them. Just be patient at that point, but if you have shortages focus on fixing those (either by founding new colonies or by building mining stations). You can also use the Expansion Planner for this, by either looking at the Resources Sorted by Empire Priority drop down or by Galaxy Priority and then filtering for the particular resource you need. Then queue a construction ship or colony ship for that location.

b)where I can clearly see what my empire requires immediately (whether strategic or luxury commodities) and also locations of these resources

The Expansion Planner is the best place to check this.

c) whether I should override the automation in order to place space ports at certain locations

This is generally only necessary if you look at your empire and say:

1. I have plenty of money
2. I need to make this colony more happy and/or defend it better
3. This particular group of colonies has no spaceport nearby, I'm seeing too many ships traveling too far all the time

Apparently to get good colony development, you need 10 luxury resources coming into each colony. As far as I can see, nothing like that amount is in any of my colonies! Can any one help please?

It should take time to actually get all ten. You should just focus on getting as many as possible based on the systems you have discovered and given your current construction ships and budget. It's also important to make sure you don't have any shortages of strategic resources as they can drive construction and fuel costs up.

The Expansion Planner is really the most important screen for figuring out this information.

Regards,

- Erik

[Darthcaboose]

Another thing to keep in mind is how fast your empire is growing. There were a few times in my playthrough yesterday where all of my Space Port construction facilities were completely filled up due to the Private Sector cranking out tons of ships and freighters for the new supply lines set up from all the new colonies.

While this is a great boon to the State's income level, it can also slow down your ability to build new ships quickly because of this Private ship queueing. Building a few more Space Ports can rectify that pretty easily.

[Webbco]

Hi erik,

Thank you for all your help, unfortunately I'm still having real trouble with my economy.

I saved a game JUST as things were going bad. I tried downloading and installing the Filezilla FTP server to upload the save but only asks for the server address (I put in beta.matrixgames.com) and port (I put in 21). It doesn't ask for the password. I then try to connect and it says "Protocol error: Unknown protocol identifier (0x50 0x50 0x48). Most likely connected to the wrong port."

What am I doing wrong? Is there any other way I can send you my save game?

[Erik Rutins]

Hi Webbco,

I'd be happy to take a look, but that's the only real way to get it to us. If you are using FileZilla, just type the info into the "QuickConnect" fields at the top. Here's a screenshot:

[Webbco]

Hi Erik,

Just to say I accidentally downloaded the server and not the client option. The file is on its way! Thanks once again for your help.

Please let me know what you think I'm doing wrong to cause the Great Helm Colonies to falter!

Edit: Sorry, I forgot to add the details you require. The file is called "2c".

[Webbco]

Erik, the file has transferred now. It took ages for some reason. I apologise for not reading the instructions carefully - the file is called "2c", I know it hasn't got the right details [:(]

[Webbco]

Hi Erik, did you have any luck with the save game regarding the economy? 

[Erik Rutins]

I will get to it, I have a bit of a backlog and dinner is next on my schedule. [;)]