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[Deshara]

does it kind of bug anybody else how spaceports are absolutely necessary? I'm trying to build a faction empire with one super-metropolis of manufacturing & military might, fed by a string of non-spacefaring low-tech colonies who feed the capital raw resources & are otherwise entirely self-sufficient (either farming their own food, or techmining ship supplies from ruins and using an AI-assisted administrator to run the colony's infrastructure to run entirely on naval supplies instead of food and domestic goods)

but as far as I can tell no matter what I do unless I build a spaceport on every colony all of my colonies might as well not exist and just endlessly build up a stockpile of goods that won't ever be moved
It feels like, if a colony has no accessibility bc of no space port my faction's High Command should field a military mercantile expedition to empty out its stockpile once a month
Otherwise, why require a player to build a spaceport if it might as well just be built by default when founding a colony?

[code99]

I havent played much with colonies yet so please forgive my ignorance but whats the problem with spaceports again?

[Dread Pirate Robots]

...how are the low tech colonies supposed to feed the capital raw resources if they don't have a spaceport?

[Deshara]

...how are the low tech colonies supposed to feed the capital raw resources if they don't have a spaceport?

well if i can land why cant my high command send a fleet to land? I get why the colony cant semd fleets out, but it could still recieve fleets

[StarGibbon]

does it kind of bug anybody else how spaceports are absolutely necessary?

Conceptually? Not at all. It's how planets interact with your fleet and the rest of the universe in a space game. How would they trade or defend themselves without the ability to get goods or ships into space? They could never contribute anything to your fleet or empire.

I get why the colony cant semd fleets out, but it could still recieve fleets

Can cities receive aircraft safely on the scale needed for industry without an airport? Are ships going to land in the streets without being a danger, and without the facilities needed to support and refuel them? Dragging fuel icons from a shop menu into your inventory is an abstraction--in the real world that would represent a support infrastructure.

Otherwise, why require a player to build a spaceport if it might as well just be built by default when founding a colony?

That's a fair point, but a spaceport is trivial to build. It probably just a minor speedbump to keep you from having a fully functional colony overnight.

[Megas]

well if i can land why cant my high command send a fleet to land? I get why the colony cant semd fleets out, but it could still recieve fleets

You can land, but you cannot repair your ships without a spaceport.  That is a big deal.

At first, I wanted a colony without spaceport just to have a low-profile base.  That did not work well.  I needed spaceport and waystation (to stockpile crew, fuel, and supplies).  However, depending on planet and who runs it, I have unavoidable positive growth, and I need to remove spaceport occasionally to prevent size growth (then rebuild the port after population reaches zero again).

[Deshara]

]

Can cities receive aircraft safely on the scale needed for industry without an airport?

have you seen lord of war? close a stretch of highway and boom, airstrip.
of course, not enough of one to support industrial use by civilians, but thats not what im looking -- i just my hugh command to send an expedition w an atlas every now and then to artificially open up its accessibility while in orbit once a month -- essentially doing an airlift w military pilots

[Reinhark]

]

Can cities receive aircraft safely on the scale needed for industry without an airport?

have you seen lord of war? close a stretch of highway and boom, airstrip.
of course, not enough of one to support industrial use by civilians, but thats not what im looking -- i just my hugh command to send an expedition w an atlas every now and then to artificially open up its accessibility while in orbit once a month -- essentially doing an airlift w military pilots

Easier solution. Giant explosion to clear ground. Land on crater.

[StarGibbon]

have you seen lord of war? close a stretch of highway and boom, airstrip.

Yes, you're describing the creation of an *airport*..albeit a shoddy one. Even a makeshift spaceport would still be a spaceport--a place for craft to safely land and be attended to.  If you want many craft to come in daily on the scale necessary for mass industry, youre going to need support infrastructure, to safely direct traffic, move freight, service the craft, etc.

On the speculative side, a spaceport in this universe probably requires both a ground and an orbital component.  Larger ships cant land in an atmosphere with gravity or they'd break apart under their own weight.  So they'd be forced to shuttle down cargo bit by bit, or drop them for orbit, neither of which seem safe or efficient as an ongoing proposition.

[Wyvern]

I asked a similar question elsewhere, and the answer that came up: there is, in fact, one very good reason to not build a spaceport: if the colony is just there to tech-mine some ruins and you don't want any chance of it growing above size three, so you can disband it again when the ruins are more or less mined out.

[Midnight Kitsune]

have you seen lord of war? close a stretch of highway and boom, airstrip.

Yes, you're describing the creation of an *airport*..albeit a shoddy one. Even a makeshift spaceport would still be a spaceport--a place for craft to safely land and be attended to.  If you want many craft to come in daily on the scale necessary for mass industry, youre going to need support infrastructure, to safely direct traffic, move freight, service the craft, etc.

This is the biggest reason. You are most likely sending a few shuttles at max. That versus a full on starport is totally different.

[Histidine]

We're unlikely to change how starports and the trade fleet manager work just so someone can roleplay a setting where village-esque communities so undeveloped they don't even have a spaceport are somehow expected to supply the metropole with a non-insignificant amount of commodities.

[StarGibbon]

We're unlikely to change how starports and the trade fleet manager work just so someone can roleplay a setting where village-esque communities so undeveloped they don't even have a spaceport are somehow expected to supply the metropole with a non-insignificant amount of commodities.

You can already do this anyway:

1) Play Starsector up until the point you found a new colony.

2) Quit the game.

3) Install and play Rimworld.

Easy peasy!

[Reinhark]

We're unlikely to change how starports and the trade fleet manager work just so someone can roleplay a setting where village-esque communities so undeveloped they don't even have a spaceport are somehow expected to supply the metropole with a non-insignificant amount of commodities.

You can already do this anyway:

1) Play Starsector up until the point you found a new colony.

2) Quit the game.

3) Install and play Rimworld.

Easy peasy!

This reminds me of time when I exported significant amount of meat, clothing and chemfuel from recycled natives. I hope this feature is added on decivilized colony world.

[Darloth]

Rimworld <-> Starsector mod bridge when?