Time for another bad idea.

[Nodor]

Attacking a planet with a raid eye on +8 speed, and tabbing away for a few minutes to label planets on the galaxy map is an excellent way to generate a lot of scrap.

[Toranth]

Attacking a planet with a raid eye on +8 speed, and tabbing away for a few minutes to label planets on the galaxy map is an excellent way to generate a lot of scrap.

I tried something similar once:  I build an Econ station III on a planet next to a Raid Engine, to let it rake in the scrap and fund my economy forever.
It, uh, didn't turn out too well.  Seems that a significant portion of each wave was escaping.  Oops.

[corfe83]

Attacking a planet with a raid eye on +8 speed, and tabbing away for a few minutes to label planets on the galaxy map is an excellent way to generate a lot of scrap.

I tried something similar once:  I build an Econ station III on a planet next to a Raid Engine, to let it rake in the scrap and fund my economy forever.
It, uh, didn't turn out too well.  Seems that a significant portion of each wave was escaping.  Oops.

Wouldn't logistics have been a better choice? Slow down the incoming waves, and give a higher percentage of scrap as resources.

Your post does make me curious if that strategy can actually be viable in some situations.

[Alex Heartnet]

This situation calls for micro.

Unlock Grav Turret IIIs

Build Grav Turrets and Tractor Turrets as per normal

Put said turrets on stand-down until the wave decides to run away, then activate the gravs and tractors

Enemies die without escaping.  Tell gravs to stand-down, repeat over and over.

Profit?   

[Toranth]

Attacking a planet with a raid eye on +8 speed, and tabbing away for a few minutes to label planets on the galaxy map is an excellent way to generate a lot of scrap.

I tried something similar once:  I build an Econ station III on a planet next to a Raid Engine, to let it rake in the scrap and fund my economy forever.
It, uh, didn't turn out too well.  Seems that a significant portion of each wave was escaping.  Oops.

Wouldn't logistics have been a better choice? Slow down the incoming waves, and give a higher percentage of scrap as resources.

Your post does make me curious if that strategy can actually be viable in some situations.

If I'd had a Black Hole Machine in the system, it probably would have worked for the early-mid game.  Part of the problem was that, to prevent excessive turret loss, you need to set up well back from the wormholes (Kahuna style defenses), or you might not be finished rebuilding when the next wave arrives - but this game the AI units plenty of time and space to escape.  The other part of the problem is that as the endgame approaches, and AIP starts rising, those waves can get really nasty.  Those waves of high-mark ships (Not many Raid Engines on Mk I worlds) can easily be worse than the normal waves.

Of course, I last tried this back before the turret global->planetary cap switch.  You could build a much better "soak-em for fun and profit" planet these days without sacrificing actual defense.  It'd be interesting to hear from someone that tried it now.

[Kahuna]

This situation calls for micro.

Unlock Grav Turret IIIs

Build Grav Turrets and Tractor Turrets as per normal

Put said turrets on stand-down until the wave decides to run away, then activate the gravs and tractors

Enemies die without escaping.  Tell gravs to stand-down, repeat over and over.

Profit?   

They will be destroyed and any long ranged AI ships will destroy Remain Rebuilders trying to rebuild them.

[Bognor]

Sort of along the same lines...

Last night, inspired by an idea on Mantis from Malkiel, I captured a planet with a Sentry Eye and deliberately left the Eye alive.  Pretty soon there were a bunch of Core Lightning and Flak Turrets plus a Spire Modular Fort very close to it, and it was generating a population of ~50 ships that I was destroying at the same rate they were forming.  Even with a Mil III Command Station (12% scrap) I was generating ~3500 metal per second, or roughly 6x what the Home Command Station generates.

Surprisingly to me, the Eye sustained no damage, despite my extensive use of area-of-effect weapons around it.  I presume ships that aren't autotargetted are also immune to splash damage, as there was no relevant immunity listed for the Eye. 

I'm not sure yet how sustainable the situation is.  The force field over the turrets is constantly taking damage and thus difficult to repair, so I think every several minutes I'll need to check on the engies and perhaps build and move into place a fresh force field.

[keith.lamothe]

Even with a Mil III Command Station (12% scrap) I was generating ~3500 metal per second, or roughly 6x what the Home Command Station generates.

With that much munchkin, the AI must think it's in Lilliput

So you captured the planet but left a guard post alive so that the eye wouldn't auto-die?  Or you captured an adjacent planet to get supply for the turretry?

[Bognor]

Even with a Mil III Command Station (12% scrap) I was generating ~3500 metal per second, or roughly 6x what the Home Command Station generates.

So you captured the planet but left a guard post alive so that the eye wouldn't auto-die?

^That one, a laser guard post all alone on the outskirts. Which meant no Sniper Turrets, free-roaming defenders, or drone launchers on the planet.

[Hearteater]

Incidentally, speaking of Eyes: The tooltip says (iirc) that SF GP don't keep them alive. Shouldn't that be changed since SF don't produce AIP anymore? Or am I mis-remembering that change.

[Malkiel]

You know, I don't know why I use HBC MKIV instead of a few core flak and lightnings.. nice upgrade idea there Bognor, I'll take it!

Word to the wise: don't try using forts with this, if for some reason it goes down, instant reprisal since the post means AI gets scrap from it too.
Learned it the hard way.

Spec force posts do _not_ keep eyes alive.

Glad someone else is turning on the "Zenith Metal Generator" hehe

On to raid engine refugees: I found building a small line of tractor turrets along their most likely (not from launch system) escape route with needler2's in front caught most of them, a few widow minefields around the holes helped too. the real issue here is when there is only the 1 wormhole that they entered from... though in my setup I am not using a full out supercat defense for this either, more meeting them halfway due to proximity (raid WH is close to WH leading to home system, which I put a military station to cover per standard protocol.)

It does mean ships translocated by station are behind their entry wormhole, and this factor has cut down escapes a lot... but some lucky maws have made it away only to trouble me later.

Suggestions for this? My unlocks are space tank, protector, munitions booster. MKV fabs are fleet starship, tractor platform and mini ramV
I could have a few platforms under a cloaker starship in back but I really don't want to have to pay attention to this defense, and in this game the sentry eye is too far away to get at in a timely fashion...

Key ships I want to stop: Maw, nanoswarm, triangle ships

The escaped nanoswarms haven't troubled me yet but I know there's regen chambers in both alternate exits for the few that do get away.