Satellite Strategies?

[s0nny80y]

I've only won half of the Apollo games I've played after 120 hours, and I've only launched a few miasmic repulsors, hubble space telescopes for a contact victory, and a couple solar collectors.

Considering sats are a new addition to the game, how do you use them and how often?

To be quite honest, I don't understand why I should prioritize petroleum for settling purposes...I usually go tall with 6-7 cities without warmongering much, so I don't feel the need to build offensive sats much, but I'd like to change that.

 

[Esperr]

I personally only end up using repulsors myself and the ones you need for vics, and some games ill end up using the holomatrix on terrascape farms for a big culture hub. The issue I that purity and harmony don't really have sats in there tech path(except for the solar collector for harm and the holomatrix for purity), and supremacy gets all the sats like the weather controller and the other one that makes resources. The problem is that the basic resource one is pointless, as late game improvements are better then tiles anyway, and the strategic one comes at a point when you should have all the strategics you need. There the laser one and the planet carver, but all that investment just to have something shoot it down, plus with the 100 damage per hit max it hurts them even more, there just not worth the cost. And don't even get me started on the terribad roctopus....

edit:TL;dr, most sats are to out of the way to be relevant.

 

[Cai30]

I picked up Communications for the Command Center and Tacnet Hub early one game (ARC, Apollo against the Slavic Federation, Standard map size), deployed Tacnet Hubs offensively and won a couple cities in a pre-affinity 4 war on a map where I was severely deprived of titanium and strategic resources. It might not be on the way to battlesuits, but it may be an alternative if you start off in a poor location. I've also used them to beat off early AI aggression in combination with the command center from the same tech.

+20% strength and +5 healing per turn that doesn't take strategic resources isn't bad. Especially if you don't have any other sats you can launch.

 

[Pac-Dragon]

Miasma Condensers are fun, especially if you're able to stick a bunch of miasma inside the territory of a non-Harmony civ. I haven't been able to get anyone to DOW over it yet, but it was literally decimating their shuffling defenders every turn.

 

[Esperr]

Miasma Condensers are fun, especially if you're able to stick a bunch of miasma inside the territory of a non-Harmony civ. I haven't been able to get anyone to DOW over it yet, but it was literally decimating their shuffling defenders every turn.

Its pointless against the A.I but its really annoying multiplayer, especially if they get the +10healing in miasma and the xeno cav 40% in miasma. Your guys take damage every turn while his guys heal.

 

[aguliondew]

When going for a contact victory I rely on planet cravers and orbital lasers for defense. I have a low affinity by the time most AI's attack me and they rock.

 

[A Space Ostrich]

I won wars on the back of an orbital laser. Would I have won it eventually? Yes. But it shaved a few dozen turns off the victory.

 

[Cannonballninja]

Solar Collectors are very cheap, and are well worth the investment if you have the tech. If you're Purity and tech down to the Holomatrix, they're very strong - absolutely absurd amount of culture generation.

 

[xamlop]

edit:TL;dr, most sats are to out of the way to be relevant.

The same tech gives the phasal transporter and the orbital laser, sounds pretty relevant to me. The thing is, if you go for anything but a domination you can just turtle and not worry about the incompetent AI, but if the game was tougher and/or if you're at war in the lategame the offensive sats are essential, especially since they're super cheap to build and about the only things that consume petroleum. If we had to manage crisis and quickly build some defenses planet carver would be the best choice. But well, yeah... in most games you can get away with close to no military so whatever.

 

[chazzycat]

orbital fabricators are pretty sick, unfortunately just a bit late in the tech tree. Fun to cover your shores in oil wells though.

 

[Empedocles]

The cybernetics satellites are amazing in multiplayer. It is hard to get close enough to a range-3 laser to shoot it down, and they deal appreciable, consistent damage. Phasal transporters are borderline-overpowered if your enemies don't actively fill their orbital space to prevent you from using them.

Wars between equal players often turn into stalemates, since production is so high that you can line your entire border with units after building every available building and replacing units is so quick. Being able to open up a new front right next to your opponents' city usually means that city falls the next turn, and your opponents' units are caught in a pincer with more troops teleporting in every turn and orbital lasers shooting at them.

Supremacy tech lines give the most satellites, but the harmony solar collectors and purity holomatrix are both some of the best. The solar collector is good because it doesn't cost any oil, so you can literally cover your entire territory in them and get massive gold income. The holomatrix just gives incredibly good yields, at +14 culture for very little production. Culture is very strong, and nothing else in the game gives you that much for so few hammers.

Weather controller is rather meh, except for the +7 food. Orbital fabricators are great, but require quite the tech investment. The tactical satellite is a useful buff and a great way to control your orbital space if you don't want to invest in the other techs.

All in all, I feel like the orbital layer is one of the funnest additions to Beyond Earth. Of course, that assumes you are playing against competent human opponents.

 

[Strategist83]

The cybernetics satellites are amazing in multiplayer.

That would have been my guess as well; wish the AI was good enough to have orbital wars.

How does anti-orbital warfare work with regard to cities - what is the default city anti-orbital range?

@ Thread: Like was already stated, orbitals are too out-of-the-way to have any impact on early gameplay. I hope they will consider making some of them available earlier in a patch; it seems a missed opportunity to create an orbital layer and not make use of it until so late the game is already decided. Orbitals also need to be more expensive. Also, weren't they supposed to crash down and leave wreckage for Explorers? Civilopedia states you're meant to be able to gain covert ops bonus against owning player etc. Those features would be great.

 

[Empedocles]

That would have been my guess as well; wish the AI was good enough to have orbital wars.

How does anti-orbital warfare work with regard to cities - what is the default city anti-orbital range?

@ Thread: Like was already stated, orbitals are too out-of-the-way to have any impact on early gameplay. I hope they will consider making some of them available earlier in a patch; it seems a missed opportunity to create an orbital layer and not make use of it until so late the game is already decided. Orbitals also need to be more expensive. Also, weren't they supposed to crash down and leave wreckage for Explorers? Civilopedia states you're meant to be able to gain covert ops bonus against owning player etc. Those features would be great.

Cities can't target satellites unless you build the rocket battery building in it, then they have a 3-tile range and a 4 tile range after the building quest. I guess I was mistaken about the orbital laser being able to shoot cities with impunity.

 

[xamlop]

I guess I was mistaken about the orbital laser being able to shoot cities with impunity.

You're not mistaken in reality because either the AI doesn't build the rocket battery (which is weird since when you puppet a city it tends to prioritize defense buildings) or is nice enough to not try and shoot down satellites, at least in my experience it rarely happens. The only good defense the AI uses against that is Solar collector spamming.

 

[TLHeart]

Cities can't target satellites unless you build the rocket battery building in it, then they have a 3-tile range and a 4 tile range after the building quest. I guess I was mistaken about the orbital laser being able to shoot cities with impunity.

you sure it is 3 then 4 with the quest...

As I have put a planet carver 2 tiles away from an AI city, and got 1 shot with it before it was shot down by the city... put a laser 3 tiles away, and blasted away to my hearts content. The city never took a shot.

 

[Lucius_]

Orbital lasers are absolutely brutal against everything pre affinity 4. They will even 1 shot str 25 cities. Armor and below are all one shot as well. It makes quick work of carpets of doom. I've been using them to clear AI units in advance of my troops.

Honestly, before turn 120, you can probably conquer anybody with orbital lasers and 1-2 Armors.

 

[purplecow]

Planet Carvers on water maps are hilarious. They one-shot every single ship in the game and can only be targeted by floating anti-orbital units (Rocktopus and Lev Destroyer, I believe). Planet Carvers are a hard counter to all naval power. Even better, floating troops fight at a disadvantage over water, so you can park a few carriers right under the laser and kill anything that approaches it short of maybe a Lev Destroyer. With the Stellar Codex, launch complex, and affinity bonus, your cities can launch satellites way out into the deep ocean, giving you control of the seas.
Purity - 50% orbital coverage
Supremacy - Firaxite gets orbital coverage
Harmony - substitute Rocktopus for Planet Carver

 

[Anomandaris]

Noticed this in my previous game - the AI parked a satellite near to the coast and started working on my naval blockade. Naturally, I simply moved the ships further away until I shoot it down. Then I thought wait... HOW do I shoot it down? One more broken mechanic. I mean, the AI is pathetic anyway so it is a non-issue in single player but in multiplayer? Holy .