One of the things that I would like to be added to the game is passive defenses. I believe that they would help with reducing micromanagement, and also assist with preventing enemies from casually invading systems. Having spent some time on the idea, I have put together these examples. I am mostly focusing on the implementation, with the hopes that they improve the overall strategy and balance of the game. These forces are automatically assigned to a 'Garrison' fleet that is specific to the system that houses these defenses.





Enforcer

No world should be without an fleet of Enforcers. These police cutters are the primary means through which pirates and foreign powers are kept from casually invading a system, or those that neighbor it. When a solar system is attacked or has hostile forces, it and friendly connected systems would use their Enforcers to counterattack. Assuming there is a 1 planet system, with a fully colonized 6-planet system connected to it, and an attack by pirates happened, there would be 7 enforcers to fight off the pirates. This makes it important for enemies to attack systems that are isolated and small, in order to conquer their enemies piecemeal.

RULES

Requires an system improvement to be built before Enforcers can be created by an solar system.



Full-fledged colonies can send Enforcers to worlds that are within their sphere of influence, not not just colonies that are connected by Starlanes. Outposts can only send Enforcers through starlanes.



Enforcers can't reinforce a neighboring world that they can't reach within one turn.



The number of maximum enforcers that will garrison a system is derived from how many owned planets and moons are in the system, at an 1:1 ratio. One enforcer is built per turn in the system.



Each enforcer gives an morale bonus to the system it is headquartered in, at +2 per enforcer. An system without Enforcers instead receives a malus of -2 for each planet. Moons do not count towards the malus, and contributes to the bonus for the extra enforcers they provide.



Enforcers have basic engines, and are not designed for long distance travel. This is why they can only defend the immediate solar system and neighboring systems to the one they are headquartered in. After being done with defending an neighboring system, surviving vessels are returned to their home system. When a system is a full colony instead of an outpost, the Enforcers are upgraded with jumpdrives, allowing them to reach allied worlds within the colony's influence. This upgrade is only available once Warpdrive is researched, but automatically applied.



A blockaded system won't produce Enforcers.

LOADOUT

By default, Enforcers have the following loadout, unless racial traits add to or remove these features, which are based on the owner's latest technology:



1x Kinetic

1x Beam

1x Missile

1x Armor

1x Shields

1x Chaff

1x Hull

Fighter Garrison

Cheap and fragile, these defensive starfighters are designed to attack their opposition through sheer numbers. While unable to leave their home system, they are ideal for providing an cheap and effective defense against small threats.

RULES

They cannot leave their home system.



Doesn't require special facilities to be created.



The maximum number that can be supported is based on the population amount in the system, which is a 1:1 ratio. One fighter is built for every three population units per turn.



EG: a system with 9 colonists would produce three fighters a turn. This system can hold a maximum of nine fighters, so it takes three turns for the fighter garrison to be fully staffed.



+1 morale for each starfighter in the system. Any system without starfighters gets a malus of -1 per population unit.



Each fighter that participates in battle randomly specializes in one weapon, plus a hull technology. Generally speaking, they are fragile and might not have the proper tools for fighting against the enemy, but they are simply numerous when a system has a large population to draw pilots from.



A blockaded system won't produce fighters.

LOADOUT

1x Weapon

1x Hull



There could be fighter research that adds extra weapons and defenses to Fighters. There is a total of 5 research nodes that increase these abilities. Researching all of them results in the Omni Fighter, which has all three weapons and countermeasures in place, with a hull technology.



x2 Weapons (two different kinds)

x3 Weapons (three different kinds)

x1 Defense (only one kind)

x2 Defenses (two different kinds)

x3 Defenses (three different kinds)

Minefields

Small and disposable devices, these are scattered around wherever the owner wants to prevent enemies from moving freely, be it through causing damage or reducing their ability to fight. Inexpensive to produce and maintain, minefields are part of the ideal defense. Mines can be produced by colonized systems or properly equipped ships.

RULES

Requires an system improvement to be built before these will be generated within a system. Ships can also deploy mines, but require the appropiate module to do so.



When ships deploy mines, they do so within their current solar system and connected starlanes.



The number of mines that can be created by a solar system is dependent on the number of planets, with one mine being placed per turn. Minefield technologies would increase this rate by one mine each, and with all eight technologies, each owned planet can generate 8 mines per turn.



The maximum number of mines that can be supported by a system is dictated by the population capacity of that system. For example, six planets that can hold three colonists apiece could hold up to 18 mines.



Mines are destroyed when enemies pass through territory that is generating minefields.



Colonies will field mines anywhere within their sphere of influence. Outposts can only field mines within their own solar system, and the warp corridors connected to it.



Requires research to create mines and to add features to them. Each research type adds an new quality to minefields.



Enemies that fight you within your minefield would have mines damaging them during battle. Mines will be destroyed as they cause damage, and may run out.



Each mine is randomly assigned one damage type, provided you researched the type that adds that specific damage. When a mine attempts to cause damage, it does so only once and then expires.



Minefields of multiple colonies may stack. Starships are limited by how many minelayer modules they have.



Without a colony or ship to maintain them, mines will deteriorate and vanish over time.



A blockaded system won't produce mines.

MINE VARIATIONS

Cyclops : Damages enemies, based on latest kinetic weapon.

Firebird : Damages enemies, based on latest beam weapon.

Dragon : Damages enemies, based on latest missile weapon.

Tarantula : Slows down enemy forces while they travel, in battle it slows a retreat.

Basilisk : May shut down components of the enemy ships in battle, temporarily reducing performance.

Piranha : Destroyed enemy ships are turned into Dust. Half of the buyout value of these ships is given to the minefield user.

Bloodhound : Latches tracking and observation devices onto the enemy hulls, and consequently allows the user to know the numbers, composition, and movement of the enemy ships. Also spies on the system that the ships are in.

Satellites

A passive defense for colonized systems, they are far more powerful than fighters or enforcers, but have significant costs to produce and maintain. However, the lack of interstellar capability enables them to be cheaper than ships of matching size, and the extra space can be used for additional weaponry or armour.

RULES

Has to be manually built by the player.



Unlike the other passive defenses, the player controls the design specifications of the satellites.



Doesn't require special facilities to be built.



Each unit of population adds to an Satellite Point pool. The SP value of satellites in a system can't exceed this.



Requires the empire to be able to build ships of certain hull sizes before the satellite equivalent is available.



The size of an satellite determines how much population is required to support it. Each satellite has tonnage value superior to their associated size class, due to being unable to leave their home system.



Each satellite has an amount of upkeep associated with it, though less than that of starships.



They can be retrofitted, and costs an amount of Dust that is 10x more than the upkeep cost.



Cheaper and faster to build, as they lack the engines necessary for interstellar travel.

EDIT: Can a moderator rename the topic to include 'Suggestion'? I forgot to include that.