Space Station

Space Stations are present in Team Mode. Each team has a space station that can be upgraded from Level 1 up to Level 4. Upgrading the station unlocks upgrades to higher tier ships, and it increases the size, shield, and regen. Generally, a station has twelve modules, randomly arranged. In custom games, this can be changed by increasing the station size, and other specs. AOW has huge stations with many modules. Space Stations also drift in space, and the coordinates do not remain static. In game-generated team mode maps there is a circle in the map without asteroids for the stations to orbit in.

If the functional modules are destroyed, or it has no players after 15 minutes (all its players leave or run out of lives), the entire station is instantly destroyed, and no new players can join the team, and all existing vessels of the team are immediately destroyed (this is to prevent endless retreat by players using faster ships such as the Shadow X-1).

When a Level 4 station is filled to maximum crystal capacity, it does not upgrade to Level 5, but it allows upgrades to Tier 7 ships, until it loses a gem. Tier 7 ships cannot enter depots (to deposit to the base, gems must be given to other Tier 6 ships), although it is possible to leave a depot as Tier 7, by upgrading from Tier 6 to Tier 7 in the depot.



Structure Modules
An average space station has eight structure modules, also known as non-functional modules or connectors. These have the least shield capacity and regeneration, and are non-functional. Destroying structure modules will not cause the space station to be destroyed, but it is the easiest way to drain gems from the base, as they are the weakest. There are three different types of structure modules, with each having differing appearance but no other differences.

Functional Modules
If all functional modules are destroyed, the base is destroyed.

Spawn Modules
A normal space station has two spawn modules. Spawn modules have more shield capacity and regeneration than structure modules. They serve to spawn new players into the map, and to respawn players when they are destroyed. They do not respawn ships that are a higher tier than their limit (which depends on the level of the station, and only can occur in custom games).

Despite their seeming purpose, these are not essential. After they are destroyed, ships respawn at random coordinates on the map. These are one of 2 modules you have to kill to destroy the station.

Depot Modules
A normal space station has two depot modules. These are the most important modules that also have the highest shield capacity and regeneration, which makes them nearly impossible to destroy with lower tier ships. Depots allow you to deposit crystals into the station. If a module is destroyed, reaching the crystal threshold (25% of capacity in most modes, 10% in Nautic) will repair one random module. Once a station reaches the crystal cap, it upgrades to a higher level until it reaches Level 4. Only ships that can respawn at the Spawn modules can deposit crystals into the depots. Additionally, Depot Modules have a 60 second timer, started immediately upon entering the depot. This is to make it inconvenient for AFK players, as players can still camp inside the depot to regenerate health or hide from enemies and re-enter after the timer is over. Tier 7 ships cannot enter depot modules, as they are too big: it is advisable to purchase secondaries before upgrading to Tier 7. You also can't damage people through the module, although attack pods can still target players inside depots. This is the other module you have to kill to destroy the station.

If all of your depots are destroyed, you cannot repair or upgrade your station, so either you should be killing the enemy's base before they kill yours, or you are about to lose.

Attributes
Let L be the level of the station, and let K = L-1.

Position
The station orbits the sun in a circular orbit with a period of 1 hour. For map size M and N teams, at time t (since the start of the game), team i (zero-based) has a station position of
 * $$x = \left( \frac1\sqrt2 M \frac{10}2 \right) \cos\left(2\pi \left(\frac{t}{1 hour} + \frac{i}N \right) \right)$$
 * $$y = \left( \frac1\sqrt2 M \frac{10}2 \right) \sin\left(2\pi \left(\frac{t}{1 hour} + \frac{i}N \right) \right)$$

For example, in JavaScript, for team 0, the station is at

Orientation
It rotates clockwise at about one revolution per 10 minutes, with a starting angle of 90 degrees.


 * $$\theta = -2\pi \left( \frac{t}{10 minute} + \frac14 \right)$$