So, some interesting ideas out there.
One of the ideas I liked was actually reducing the # of those stations available... in particular for the econ stations. Bear with me, put the pitchfork DOWN!
EconomicIf you look at the econ station, its primary purpose is simply M/C + E generation. If you multiplied the MK III by 3 and only got two of them, you would have equivalence (if not better, the other four spots would now be MK Is, producing yet more MCE). This would help both large and smaller empires. Large empires get a better bonus because of those extra spots now using MK Is, and smaller empires might be able to actually use most of the K cost of the unlock. Getting out 12 Econ II/IIIs in a small AIP game is nearly impossible. For that PARTICULAR line of command station, a 4/2 cap with production adjustments would make for an interesting strategical decision.
MilitaryGoing here next because I have more experience with them. Mil stations are primarily used as either stalls on satellites or as turret boosters. They have little combat ability in their own right. Get something that can't be translocated (a handful of leech starships, or a plasma siege) and the stall doesn't even work, either. This leaves them spotty in their ability to be defenders and are mostly boosters for other equipment in the same system. Their bonuses at higher marks are really to help support your weakest tech, not your strongest, and can bring some turret packs into the realm of rediculous. This is their current main power. Small, otherwise weak tech is now powerful enough to keep up with the technology race.
Except in extreme whipping boy situations, the Mil I does what I need it to do. The II/IIIs simply have better econ so you might as well swap out Satellite Mil Is with them just for the econ boost. In reality, I need maybe 2-3 of the highest mark of these on the primary whipping boys, with the MK IIs supporting any extraneous entry points.
My recommendations for Miliitary are the following.
1) Get rid of the @#$#@!!!!! translocation shots. More often then not I want to actually turn that OFF. They are strategically disruptive and I'd have been better off if I could have powered the command center down completely without losing the turret boosts. On satellite systems you invert the basic turret layout and tighten up the defenses near the command center. If the stream is constantly being sent into the ozarks it is very disruptive to the layouts, as you're trying to be very sparse with things like grav turrets and the like.
2) Make the military station... well... military! Give it guns. Lotsa guns.
3) Improve the + turret capabilities of the Mil station. Many of the large toys have limiters in place to make sure they don't become one-stop shops for H/K removal. That's cool. Let the Mil station have a turret only boost of straight + damage as well as the percentage to even further improve smaller outdated units. Call it coordinating fire, whatever you like. What this will do is primarily boost the multi-hit short range turrets (Lightning and Flak) because the hits would each get boosts. Heavy punchers like HBC would have better 'data' when shooting through a line more accurately. Big hitters, like snipers, LRMs, etc, wouldn't see much difference.
Idea 3 is mostly a brainstorm, I'm not entirely sure that Mils really need much adjustment as they stand to make their marks worth it other than making them actually do combat. You either need 'em for your turrets, or you don't.
LogisticsI played with Logistics when I first learned the game and in general have ignored them since then until recently, so most of this experience is a split between newbie opinions of face value and what I've seen of them as a ultra-difficulty tool... very little in the middle.
Draco, you're right, at one time I disagreed with you about the value of Logistics stations. Faulty's massive kiting of the 10/10 enemies with Riots and engine damage has disillusioned me, particularly after I tried it out a few times. I'd like to start with the first problem with Logistics. Their current ability that is the most powerful is the planetwide gravity effect of 50% speed. This doesn't take over for grav turrets because they practically halt the enemy in their tracks, but that's a massive boost IF you can get the enemy to change its mind and actually chase your ships instead of beeline at the CC.
So, Logistics, as already mentioned beef your own ships speed... okay, but my own ships in my territory is not really what I'm that worried about. It's the 3/4 enemy worlds between my worlds that I'm mostly concerned about. Unless you're in ultra-high AIP territory, you're not conquering the galaxy. However, if you ARE, 12 Logistics worth of extra boost aren't getting you what you're going to need for a sprawling 50 planet empire, so the K cost isn't a large enough improvement there unless you're in a position to build highways.
So, with the primary power of the logistics being open at MK I, and the speed boost not powerful enough to carry it on its own, what are the remaining reasons to upgrade Logistics stations? Economy... which is better served by another station. The economy of the logistics station should be a balancing point to fine tune the K cost.
Recommendations:
Please note: I'm stealing a bit of this from here and there in the discussion as well, some of those were good ideas to me.
1) Move translocation shots to logistics stations instead of military. A stalling tactic makes more sense for a logistics station to me anyway.
2) Adjust the planetwide grav wells. 50% at MK I is simply too powerful, and breaks the usual methodology of mark implementation anyway. I understand the devs preferring to do integer divides here but there are ways to avoid that by doing multiplication first, all the speed values are small enough. We're not going to go off the rails at a rounding error on speed. Make the enemy speed adjustments 20/40/60.
3) Allow the speed addition (not the multiplier in system, just that flat + speed value) apply to all planets
in supply. This makes for some interesting tactical components. CoPs block supply, Nukes remove it, etc. Heck, new guardian/guardpost idea, anti-siege. No supply for the enemy on a planet while it exists. Help make supply mean something again.
3a) For those of you with wicked high AIP and sprawling empires of connected systems, think about that for a second...
4) Speaking of, what is logistical (typicaly the supply and support of troops) about a speed boost? I'd like to see some real logistics! Allow the logistics station to support beach-heading. Again, this is for worlds it can get supply to. One of the difficulties with beach-heading is the length of time it can take to erect the beach-head itself. Allow for a logistics station to boost engineer construction/repair speeds within it's supply range starting at MK II.
4a) This could get really interesting if you support a Mil III with a few Logistics IIs on your whipping boy.
4b) Discounts on building items in that particular system could also be an interesting strategical option instead for economically strapped empires. I'm not talking a lot here, maybe 5-10% at most at MK III. Would be a different way to balance economic improvements for the logistics station if you strategically applied them at heavy construction areas, or instead of a Mil command on the whipping boys.
Basically, I recommend an outright NERF of the baseline Logistics stations and an adjustment in the direction of its purpose in the strategy of the empire, allowing for an interesting tech tree for their improvements.
