Lee - I'm not sure if it has been discussed before, but I was looking at your excel spread sheet have few questions about Orbitals.

1. Mines look like they will be the strongest orbital with the highest initiative. Do they expire after one attack or will they stay active until taking dmg? Because if they don't expire after attacking, it will be impossible to take over anything. For example we take 1 Monitor to attack an outpost. If you have at least 3 mine fields at this outpost, they will kill Monitor and remain intact. So you would need at least 2 monitors and a lot of luck to come out victorious from this battle. Now look at the CO value of the mines and Monitors and Skills required. I'd say mine orbitals are overpowered! But if they do expire from 1st attack, then it would be fair balance with the listed stats.

2. There are a few skills that boost orbital build speed and orbital damage, but you rarely see anyone build any orbitals at colonies, especially with the combo ship transformations. What I was thinking is to maybe adding a build time to the ship conversion into orbital? Otherwise orbital defenses and advanced orbital defenses skills are not very useful at all... I'd only train those two skills to exploit awesomeness of the mine fields.

3. Orbital Shipyard seams like a pretty important Orbital and takes for ever to build. Currently there is no information about it in the game as far as Attack and Defense. Do you think you could add it to the excel sheet? Same goes for other non combat orbitals, I'm wondering what it will take to destroy them.