The text above it taken from Ellie Durrant over on San Ferran in Descarte. I thought I would expand on that slightly.Starbase licenses only guarantee you a spot for up to 30 days, so a purchase of these licenses should be done so with the utmost care and attention to detail, ensuring you are fully ready to deploy your starbase within 30 days. After that time your license to deploy WILL Expire!
Please Note: Starbases Licenses will be sold to individual Captains but the day to day running of a Starbase will allow for Guild interaction and management, therefore the overall cost should be taken into account by prospective purchasers.
License and Checks
1st : Any one can bid on a Starbase License. We wont check at that point in time if you have TEN Hubs ready to go. That's up to you, and you may bid on a license location early knowing that you have 30 days to start the deployment process and your last few hubs will be ready by then.
But that DOES mean WE WONT CHECK! - So its up to YOU to ensure you have 10 Hubs ready to go by the time you have acquired a license AND within 30 days of doing so are ready to deploy.
You can ONLY own ONE Starbase License. Even when you have deployed the starbase the license will still be tied to your account.
Once you have won a license (see section below) You will have exactly 30 days from the time the license is issued. After that time the license expires. There are NO REFUNDS what so ever. Starbase deployments are not something you should take lightly.
License Auctions
I'm still fiddling with the final code for this but we have decided to 'Auction' Licenses for Starbases. This means that the locations will appear in Ellies list with the current highest bid and the bidders name.
At the point of making a Bid the funds will be escrowed from your BANK account. You should ensure you have enough funds to cover the bid. If you are outbid the funds will be sent back to you via Private Message from Ellie.
Ellie will issue you a PM when your accepted as the highest bidder and again inform you along with the funds if you are out bid. She will also PM you if / when you Win the Auction.
It is up to you to see if you are the highest bidder.
Auctions will last for 30 days from the point of the first bid. When that 30 days is up the winner will be told via PM and they have 30 days from that point to Deploy.
Deployment - Personal / Guild
When you are ready to deploy, move to the system that you have a license for. Ensure you have TEN hubs ready to deploy. You can review how many you have from your Personal Bio Page. From there you can review the hubs themselves and the details of each hub. YOU MUST have ten hubs showing in that section and have won the license for that system.
Enter your Personal Bio page and at the bottom you will find instructions on how to begin Deployment. (only valid if you have met the 10 Hubs and license restrictions and are IN the deployment system).
At the time of Deployment you will be asked two Questions.
1: Name the Starbase. As per the unusual rules for game naming it must be Alpha Numeric and must be family orientated. Should you choose a name we find inappropriate we reserve the right to amend it. It must also be no more than 40 Characters (including spaces)
2: You will be asked if you are deploying on as a Personal starbase, or on behalf of your Guild.
Personal
A personal starbase is locked to you initially for docking and access. You are the 'Owner' and all communications will be sent to you and it's your primary responsibility. There will be NO guild interactions or elements to the starbase.
On Behalf of Guild
Deploying on behalf of the Guild - You must be either the Guild Leader or a Senior Officer (Rank below Leader). This will lock the Starbase to YOUR ownership but will allow for ownership migration. IE you will be able to migrate ownership to another valid member at any time. Also Starbases deployed on behalf of guilds will get other guild options and access for their starbase.
You should consider this carefully. The first option means the starbase is yours totally. It's your soul responsibility to upkeep and mange the starbase. Deploying for your Guild still makes you the owner but on behalf of your Guild. So if you leave the game or your account falls fallow another Guild member can be voted to take control of the starbase.
We have done it this way to allow for maximum flexibility in owning and deploying Starbases. Most have been joint efforts but some have been the efforts of very small groups who may not actually be in the same guild and are not interested in Guild options. For those that are you can be sure that even though an officer / owner deploys it they can be replaced if need be later should they leave or so silent for months on end (as can happen with Real Life getting in the way)
Deployment Time Scale
Deployment of the ACTUAL Starbase is not an instant thing. In fact it will depend on the Hubs used to construct the Starbase. You can expect your starbase deployment and Construction to take anything from 7-14 days.
Once deployment and construction is complete the person who deployed it will be able to DOCK and begin management.
Starbase Ownership Migration / Auction
Starbases in CE will become permanent items on the Nav maps. If the station was deployed for 'Personal use' and that player leaves the game the starbase will be Auctioned off and ownership transferred.
If the starbase was deployed on behalf of a Guild and the deploying player leaves the game, the Starbase ownership & week to week management will fall to the next most senior guild member. This can be voted on and the Dev informed of change of named ownership. But it would remain within the Guild.
If the guild falls fallow and no one claims ownership (from within the guild) it will be auctioned off as per individual ownership and the ownership transferred.
In these instances the same rules apply in that you may ONLY own one Starbase license, hence only one starbase.
Starbase Ownership
For those of you that own Settlements the process will be easy to follow. You will have primary stats that control how your Starbase operated and limits what it can do. You will need to ensure you meet the daily outgoing requirements (from the starbase funding account) and that you expand and increase its viability with add-ons and buildings.
All the add-ons and Buildings will be manufactured by Settlements using Shake and Bake Facilities.
Contract hire for offices will follow the normal methods such as settlements. Staffing for settlements is done rather differently as they require 100's if not 1000's of staff to function smoothly. As the owner you will learn how this functions once you have one deployed.
Lastly....
Plan, Think ahead and ponder can I (we) afford a Starbase. The Bidding process will allow you to choose where you want to go and give you a fair chance at getting a license without being gazumpt by someone who simply got there first. But do consider the ramifications.
If you've read this post look out for my NEXT one as that asks for locations YOU would like to see a starbase license issued!
Coops
