Starbases
The warfactories

A starbase is a large structure that orbits your homeworld and later other planets around which you build a starbase. This structure works and serves many functions. It is a large orbiting defense platform, fighter building/storage facility, fighter base and shipyard. The starbase is a large and integral part of your empire and absolutely necessary if you desire to build a fleet with which to rule the galaxy or even be able to colonize properly. Starbases are the one place you are allowed to construct starships. Additionally it can be used to build fighters. In addition to fighters the starbase can construct torpedoes.

All starbases have four independent technology levels that are used in relation to the construction of starships. These four technology levels are starship hulls, starship engines, beam weapons, and torpedo tube launchers. These four technologies are what are used to determine the type of starships you can build and how well equipped the starships can be. The technology levels of one starbase are completely independent of any other. Starbases can construct only one starship per turn - because of this it is important to build as many starbases as you can properly supply. The race with the most starbases will often have more ships than the other races, and races with more ships usually have a better chance of becoming the ruler of the cluster. It is up to you to find a balance between building as many bases as possible and building the best possible ships at your bases.

Though a starbase can construct only one starship per turn it can build as many components as you want (provided it has enough minerals and megacredits) and keep them in storage in the starbase until they are needed.

The starbase has more functions than just building starships, though this is probably the most important. To name a few functions, starbases can be used to arm ships with fighters or torpedoes, to force enemy ships into surrender or to clone captured enemy shipdesigns. Starbases can also be used to repair and recrew damaged ships.