Fighting on multiple fronts?

If your economy is running well, you can actually make static defenses hold off some pretty big attacks. It just costs a lot. The key is in making sure your constructors don't get hit by much. AI will generally ignore targeting them directly, but secondary capital ship weapons can fire at them, and any splash damage gets them too. But if you have a planet fully upgraded in logistics/tactical slots, you get something like 4 constructors that can build 4 turrets at the same time. This means if you can keep them alive, they usually build faster than the turrets get destroyed, especially if you have 3-4 repair bays. It starts getting bad if the AI has a lot of carriers, because bombers love targeting your repair bays, and that throws the strategy off balance. Still, I've defeated quite considerable fleets by doing this.

The better option of course is not to have a second front exposed. If you're playing with unlocked teams, always try to get a cease fire going with one of the AIs bordering your empire. He won't attack from there, and he'll keep another AI busy too.

If you do keep ships to defend, I would just build a bunch of LRFs (Javelins, Assailants, Illuminators) so they can hide behind the turrets in relative safety and add quite a lot of firepower.

Trade ports are pretty basic. You build one, and it generates a set amount of income. You can stack several ports per planet, and each one will add the same amount of income. Allegiance doesn't matter, population doesn't matter. You get a bonus to trade port income along the longest uninterrupted route (hover mouse over the credits to highlight it). Building trade ports on planets along that line (and trying to extend that line) will give bonus credits for those ports. Pretty straight forward.

Refineries are a bit different. For TEC and Vasari, a refinery services *all* mines one jump away from the planet it's built on (and including that planet, obviously). Each mine on a colonized planet has room for 3 refinery ships working it, so 3 refineries will max it out (neutral mines that you can capture can support 4). Basically, if you have planet A connected to planets B, C, D (the connections between B,C,D don't matter, just that they're all connected to A), building 3 refineries on A will max out resource production from all 4 planets. Advent don't have a separate refinery structure, they have a research tech that gives its trade port the ability to change to refining mode, which provides a much bigger bonus to mine income on that planet, but it doesn't produce any ships to go to neighboring planets, so it's just the planet it's built on.

Hope this helps some

I have a problem with Trade Ports, often the computer wont select the longest chain. Are there some limiting factors I dont know about? Who does my chain go through planets A, B, C and D, but doesnt continue on to E and F?

There shouldn't be any limiting factors besides not having a trade port to continue it. Neutrals/uncolonizeables don't stop it. It's possible that the other planets you expect to be in a chain have other links that put them within the same number of jumps from the chain start? I dunno. Post some screenshots if you can

You've helped a ton, thanks so much Check your PM

You've helped a ton, thanks so much Check your PM

Well if you are still having problems with trade ports, you should stay with normal.

Repair stations are pretty awesome, and you use your defense structures for raids anyway.

The one main startegy I can suggest for defense is to get the More Hanger Space Mod, and sieze as many choke points as possible. After you do that, build at several Hangers, and then use the rest of your tactical slots to build turrets. Then station 10 Light Carriers in each system, giving you a rather large force of fighters from the combined bays. Concentrate you Capital ships, and advance into any enemy defenses no matter you losses. If you have enough defensive depth, build up defenses behind the choke points and count on them to slow down the enemy long enough for you to send in reinforcements from your nearest frigate factory.

Sad.

Modding the game is not a strategy.

Really, when you think about it - when used like you're suggesting? It's cheating. You're supposed to get better at a game and work within it's system/ruleset to achieve victory. And, no, altering the files is not working within the system (lol).

I mean Hell, would you 'mod' Chess so that a Pawn had infinite movement and attack capabilities just because you couldn't use them properly to hold the line against a better player (please, don't actually answer that - I don't want to know)?

Again... SAD!

Also...............................

No need to be a jerk! He's asking for help - not insults. WTF is with the attitudes on these forums lately? So many people are going around all high and mighty and thinking they are hot stuff; and offering every little piece of advice with a side of hostility and a full glass of arrogance to wash things down with.

It's like offering a dog a treat in one hand, and then slapping him with the other as soon as he eats it. Is that who you want to be? Just because the Internet is anonymous, and you're not going to get popped in the mouth for being e-disrespectful to someone is not a reason to go around and be an evil little shithead online.

Thank you Annatar_11 for giving a genuinely well meant (not to mention accurate and helpful) response to skalapunk. You're consistently helpful and polite from what I've seen; and you set a good example. Bravo!

-Itharus

If you're Vasari build lots of Phase Gates. The front can be anyhere you want it to be.

If you're not Vasari, you'll have to build two or more fleets, or divide your mighty unstoppable 120+ HC fleet of doom into smaller ones. Planet Defenses are pretty useless for killing but useful for delaying an attacker and buying you time.

Cataclysm, in my experience, the trade route will seek only the longest direct route. The route needs to go somewhere (and not just "spamming" the ajoining planets!). That's probably the problem.  Here's another (better) explanation, with an illustrated example.  And another good illustrated explanation.

And possibly this thread: https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/321300 

or this one: https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/321034

Hope this helps, Obi 1

As far  as taking out  fleets ,against AI  i set  up a planet with 2-3 repairs  and a phase inhibiter. The  set my fleets to a close jump point(AI tends to go after your repair bays 1st) . Jumping in and knock them down  and destroying many ships when they run,if 1 fleet does not do it i bring in another. 

 AI sends in 1 ship to check your defences.

 As soon as there fleet make the jump ,i send the 2nd fleet back to where it was guarding before.

 Depending how baddly i hurt the  invading fleet ,i will chase it  1 or 2 jumps. As i dont want him coming back to soon.

Static defense isn't completely worthless, but it will never stop a fleet.  What it can do is hold off a fleet.  A few hangar defenses with fighters can protect your turrets from bomber strikes and destroy siege frigates.  Also, the turrets are decently good against siege frigates as well.  I try to have enough fixed defenses to hold the enemy in place for a good long time.  With that time, I either bring in a fleet to run him off, or I attack and destroy planets and infrastructure that are more valuable than what I may lose by not defending the planet he's attacked.  If you go for the offense option, and push hard enough, sometimes he'll even start withdrawing ships from his attack force, but you really got to get hold of something valuable for the AI to do that.