A Declaration of War is still the best reason to institute a waiting period before an attack. The defender could accept the declaration at any time during a set period (say 24 hrs) beginning the war immediately. If the was no reply before the time period ends then the attacker can begin. Any colonies or structures are not covered by a jurisdiction are unprotected and may be attacked without a declaration. The time period would work across an entire empire and not just a single system. Once it's up, any of the defenders systems could be attacked.
I agree with Quake in that it's smarter to take what you need from a system and either ignore or mop up the rest later. This is a place where morale would come in handy. Destroying a systems command structure and ransacking it's capital would be a big hit on the other inhabitants in the system.
Also that defense should come first and be easily made somewhat formidable so long as the defender actually builds it.
Shields ..
Planetary shields could be a thing but not as something that just appears when the planet is threatened. It should be a couple of huge ground emitters on either side of the planet that are tied to a series of orbital emitters. It should use massive power, Need massive resources, and take forever to build. City shields should still be there as a (more powerful) second layer that needs to be cracked.
Shields could operate at a unique frequency that allows only those with the right one to pass thru. This is another scenario where espionage would come in handy. It could also be fun to make a way for a squad or two of commando's to infiltrate and try to take them down that way.
I agree with Quake in that it's smarter to take what you need from a system and either ignore or mop up the rest later. This is a place where morale would come in handy. Destroying a systems command structure and ransacking it's capital would be a big hit on the other inhabitants in the system.
Also that defense should come first and be easily made somewhat formidable so long as the defender actually builds it.
Shields ..
Planetary shields could be a thing but not as something that just appears when the planet is threatened. It should be a couple of huge ground emitters on either side of the planet that are tied to a series of orbital emitters. It should use massive power, Need massive resources, and take forever to build. City shields should still be there as a (more powerful) second layer that needs to be cracked.
Shields could operate at a unique frequency that allows only those with the right one to pass thru. This is another scenario where espionage would come in handy. It could also be fun to make a way for a squad or two of commando's to infiltrate and try to take them down that way.
I plan on living forever ..so far so good!