What does the Colony Hub provide?

[Drakon]

The Colony Hub provides ability to build other buildings. What else does it provide. How much energy, living space and food?

[Saracen26]

Without looking the colony hub is self sustaining. it generates no energy, but runs on its own generators. It also provides its own food for the 500 maximum inhabitants it contains as a base colony. That's it.

[Drakon]

So it provices living space for 500 people and provides food for them, too. That's what I did not know. But it provides 600 extra power, which you can see in the lower left corner at the power balance. It doesn't provide healthcare nor security or happiness for the people, I guess.

The living space of 500, is that confirmed/observed by someone of you?

[Erwin_Von_Braun]

Why don't you just try/confirm/observe it yourself instead of relying on second hand intel?
Launch a new game - colonise a planet - observe - simple.

[Drakon]

If it was that simple, I'd not ask you. Anyway. If you don't know, just tell me and all is good.

[deleteable]

The colony hub provides food and housing for 5000 + 600 power, a second hub will only provide 600 more power no extra food or housing it does however decrease the time it takes to construct other buildings.

[Drakon]

Thank you very much for this insite. :)

[Dray Prescot]

If you have enough spare cash to buy it, the increased speed to building everything else, i.e. less time needed, is very useful in getting a new Colony/World going. In some games, I would sometimes start my Home World off with a 2nd Colony Hub just to get that faster building speed.

If a World is in danger of being attacked on the ground, having a 2nd Colony Hub in a well defended (by military buildings) location that is hard to get to, might just save your control of that World.

[Dray Prescot]

Also if one of your Worlds is about to be conquered, particularly by the Kra Hen, DESTROY the Colony Hub with your own military units. Otherwise as soon as they finish winning the battle and conquer that World they get the Radar Map of that World and now know where your other colonies are nearby so they can be attacked. Instead if you destroy it, They will then have to build a new Colony Hub to get that Radar Map, giving you some time before their next attack.

Since Kra Hen do not use Spies, they can NOT find out the locations of your Worlds by using Spies, unlike all other Alien Races. So getting those Radar Maps from newly conquered Worlds is critical to their campaign to conquer your Empire.

Also A World with NO functioning Colony Hub can not build any new Buildings or repair old damaged buildings. So Destroying the Colony Hub makes that World a LOT less useful to them (any Race that conquers it), until the old Colony Hub is repaired (if it was damaged) or replaced (if it was destroyed).

It is also possible to play a raid and sabotage strategy with your land military. On well defended (on the ground/surface) Enemy planets, often much of the military defense is in fixed buildings. So if you can not conquer the World, you can still destroy a lot of it before you leave. Destroy anything that is not in heavily defended areas and then leave. Try to destroy the critical buildings that support his military economy and also his civilian population. If you can damage his Colony Hub, he can do nothing else to fix/repair your raid damage until his Colony Hub is repaired, and it will cost a LOT of money (and time) to replace destroyed buildings and repair damaged ones. MONEY is always a bottleneck in IG2.

Unless you are playing the Kra Hen, do NOT attack the Alien Trade Ships while they are in an enemy Empire's territory, those Trade Ships will be visiting you soon enough. Instead, raid and destroy or capture (the Worlds)(if you can) the Trade facilities on the enemy Worlds that the trade Ships are visiting regularly.

Following the paths of Alien Trade ships is a good way to find your neighboring Races/Empires, since the Alien Trade ships are going to and coming from other Worlds nearby when you see them on your Radar Map.

Even if your ship Radar range is very short so that you can not see those Worlds, They will SEE YOUR ship and probably send a Spy(s) to visit your Empire. Have some Spies of your own waiting for those visiting Spies. ONCE you know that an Alien Race exists, you can send your own Spies to get information on them, particularly the locations of their Worlds and how many Worlds are in their Race.

[Drakon]

I knew all that already. However, I didn't know yet that the Kra'hen could be slowed down by destroying the hub, so they wouldn't have any radar until it was rebuilt. Thank you, @Dray Prescot, for that hint.

[Dray Prescot]

Having a World under your control, expands the radar range of your ships nearby. So conquering a World, even if it's Colony Hub gets destroyed/damaged, will still make it easier for the Conquerer to explore and find other colonized Worlds nearby. However, the getting an intact Colony Hub is even better for exploring the nearby area.