I just wonder, what others think about that, i have 3 full functionally "ready to fight" bases, now i'm not sure about to build more with only Radarstations, or to build complete bases? What do you do?

personally i think its important to have a manufacturing base!!!

Hmm, well I usually like to have my primary base as my main strike base and research centre (1 lab). Workshops are decentralised as soon as the production base is built to make the base much smaller, and there are absolutely no base defense modules except the mind shield when it comes. I eventually have one Skyranger, Lightning and Avenger parked in the hangars towards the end of the game, and about twenty or more soldiers that are rotated rather regularly between missions.

A secondary strike base is built on the other side of the globe from the primary base. It's a much simpler version of the main base with no containment facility or labs. This lucky base gets to have the first Avenger off the production line.

My next major facility is my giant storage production facility in the southern polar cap. I also use it for my huge cache of new recruits, which I later run through the psi-labs when it becomes available. No defense modules, but a psi-shield is a must.

All remaining base slots are taken up by listening posts with one inteceptor armed to the hilt with plasma cannons, and a small host of soldiers and tanks to guard the base. Cheap and easily replaceable. With good placement, there'll always be an inteceptor at any location on the globe. Likewise, no base defense modules, and again, mind shields would make a capital investment.

Well, these base setups have worked rather adequately for my last few campaigns. Well, at least they let me get "Cydonia or Bust" and the Avenger -- At which point I like to stop playing the campaign and start a new one.

Recently, I've been mucking about with a specialty facility that is built solely to support the primary base. It's armed to the teeth with soldiers, tanks and whatnot, a battery of base defense guns (more for show rather than for their functionality , oh and to make a few empty hexagonal corridors connecting the rest of the facility with the hangars) ), three hangars and what have you. No radars though, as they would just be redundant due to its proximity to the primary base. I then make the primary base even smaller by removing all but one of the hangars for a troop transport. Basically I'm making a larger more distributed primary base. It does feel like putting too many eggs in one basket, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. So far, the only problem is that by having this 'extended' primary base, I now have one less listening/interception post.

- NKF

My primary base is much like NKF's one (almost always in Europe)

Then I've 2 manufacturing bases, one in China and one in USA (which one gets built first depends on alien activity in those areas)

After that I build another fighting base which also serves as a massive storage area in Australia, it is rarely used as a fighting base though as I am near the end already (between June and November, depending on the difficulty level and the luck that I had in capturing a psi-capable alien)... I may build 1 or 2 Interception bases but that is also rare.

I hope you're not talking about June of the first year(!?) It would be impossible to establish such a vast network of bases and interception craft and 100+ engineers and scientists, etc. that early.

I always start the game with a base in Crete (south of Italy), it has the best coverage in my opinion.

In response to the topic, I usually have all the base slots filled (eight?). They are all completely filled, full with Firestorms, Lightnings and Avengers. I usually keep my first two skyrangers and 4-5 interceptors. All the rest are advanced craft. And unless I am completely unprepared, I send assault missions from the closest base, even if they are all rookies. I usually have 550-600 soldiers at the end of the game, to keep promotions good. On every assault mission I have 4 rookies at least, except for Cydonia, naturally, in which I transfer my most badass men to my prime base for the final assault.

But out of all the bases I get usually on three or four are really totally "functional", meaning the rest are pretty much for show.

Actually, I AM talking about that date. It's not impossible if you do well (few losses throughout the campaign)... and I don't establish such a vast network.... just enough to keep my sponsors happy (I usually have scores of less than 2500/month) and to keep my economy rolling

I have a primary base where all the manufactoring, research, and the strike team are. Then I build interceptor bases on each of the continents (interceptor base= hanger, radar [replaced with hyperwave decoder when availiable] general stores, living quarters [for a small garrison of only 20 ro so]

Alpha Omega, my primary strike base is always located in the Alps, to cover a nice area, and major cities to Novosbirsk once the Hyperwave Decoder becomes available.

Then, I build a manufacturing base later in the Carribean, which usually has a Lightning or Firestorm stationed there. Later, a listening base is established in Asia, occasionally with a few psi-labs for my recruits if I can be bothered to scan them.

Primary base is armed to the teeth with high ranking soldiers, latest armours and weaponry, usually including 3 Avengers with Plasma Cannons for Anti-Battleship missions, and usually 2 Fusion Defences (if available) with Grav Shield to boot, as by the time I have mind shields, the aliens have usually discovered that base. Other bases have a mind shield, and one fusion defence incase they discover it by accident.