Starbases: Minors

I haven't.

~SDC~

They don't.

Minor races don't build constructors so cannot ever build startbases or Terrorstars. You can give them one though

Watching a minor race blow up an enemy race home planet has to be funny!!

Paul.

~SDC~

I have to try Solitair's tactic, love killing majors with minors

Try giving a starbase to a minor. It has an interesting graphic, different than those of a major. It's weird that the minors get a special graphic for their starbases, yet they never build one.

Building a strong military starship in a minor sector and gifting it to them is a great way to protect minors. A starbase with max defense and lots of military enhancements allows minors to fight defensive wars with majors and survive.

Paul.

~SDC~

Hmm.. I'm the kinda person who looks for a minor within my own influence horizontal or vertical from a good production planet and trade a boatload with them. My problem has always been that either

A) A major will come take the planet (and I don't feel like getting into a huge battle just to protect the minor, esp at maso level)

The minor will flip culturally (that just plain sucks, there goes all my trade)

So, I tried this - I built a took about 15 constructors over to my minor and I built a starbase with full cultural mods, full defensive mods and full attack mods. Next turn I gave it to the minor - the minor controled that sector of space and never got taken over. I was able to setup my trade center bases nearby to incrase trade revenue without worry and I managed to dominate a maso game end to end.

I love the Carinoids. They are sooo hard to flip. I trade with them exclusively and gift them all kinds of things to keep them alive. I had them right next to my home sector that had something like 3 million influence and there were planets flipping 15 sectors away and the Carinoids didn't even get the skull. Amazing. They will flip eventually, but it's very hard. The best Minor ever!

~SDC~

If you wanna protect a minor without going to war, just surround their star with star fighters or something cheap. Only takes 8 of them. No one can get in or out that way.

Assuming no-one declares war on you and destroys your fighters, of course.

~SDC~

This works even better than it sounds. The minor can "jump" around your blockade to get out; nobody can get in.

Just finished a game where I had 3 yellow stars in the Sol sector, AND (finally!) got the event that boosted Sol's planet classes (woo hoo!). The Carinoids were also in the Sol sector. Even with 4 SBs with culture modules right on their doorstep, the Carinoids never flipped, and they were safe and sound behind a screen of starfighters - when every race had Dreadnoughts in the field...

10 trade routes over about 8 map squares. About 4 more sent by the Carinoids. 12-15 trade SBs (there's no cap, and those constructors needed to go SOMEWHERE). Lots of fun and cash in the Sol sector...

The tactic is useful as a blockade to reduce the production capacity as well if that planet relies on trade. (usually only works on minors)

Thoughts about blockades.
(1) The blockade is "Not Cheese" because in real life a blockade reduces trade therefore reducing productivity.

(2) The blockade is "Cheese" because other AIs affected by the blockade won't usually go to war to get rid of the blockade.

(3) A blockade is "Cheese" when it can be done with non military cheap ships such as a scout or sensor drone.

Or colony ships.