Defense updates:
Outpost:
Primary Weapons: Missiles, Cannons (front sides rear)
Secondary Weapons: Beams (front sides)
Tertiary Weapons: Cannons (any), Beams (any)

Advanced Outpost:
Primary Weapons: Beams ( front sides any)
Secondary Weapons: Cannons (front sides rear), Torpedoes (front)
Tertiary Weapons: Missiles

Goal:
Early outposts focus more on missiles and cannons with fairly balanced weapon facings. Each facing can be reinforced by the all around weapons and the forward arc is overall stronger. Late game advanced outposts are stronger forward arc but have a much larger all around weapon complement. They mount torpedoes to help tag large ships. Advanced outposts also switch to higher beam count as beams get stronger late game.


Starbase:
Primary Weapons: Cannons (front sides any)
Secondary Weapons: Missiles, Beams (front any)

Goal:
Starbases focus on higher frontal firepower to engage ships but have a weak rear arc though their all around weapons can still hit hard. Starbases and the advanced versions are meant to act as an anchor to other orbitals that can have higher damage output. Starbases also focus on any fleet boost tech you have like wide area jammers.

Battlestation:
Mostly a boosted starbase but with more emphasis on beam weapons and a higher number of all around weapons.

Starfortress:
More balanced between cannons and beams with a small number of missiles.

Missile Base:
Increased space slightly to allow more specialization. Missile bases and Advanced versions also mount torpedoes.

Batteries:
These have been redesigned and given a bit more capacity as well. They focus on frontal weapons with a very small number of cannons that can fire all around. Advanced versions focus more on beams.

Fighter Garrisons:
Space reduced so they aren't as crazy powerful.

Goal:
The different orbitals have more focus and fill in gaps that a starbase itself can't fill. The intention is that some will be better options for some races while others will be more useful for a different race. I've tried to change the weapons and load outs so that the overall result is a more interesting tactical battle against planets. The secondary goal is to make orbitals a touch less crazy late game.

Race changes:
I'm considering limiting orbital defense blueprints according to race disposition to make battles and assaults more varied.

Aggressive races: Only build starbases but will build other defenses if you trade the tech to them.
Defensive races: Build all orbital types they research and will build defenses you trade tech for.
Balanced races: Build starbases plus orbitals matching their tech affinity. (eg, races that like missiles build missile bases, races that like drones build fighter garrisons, etc.)

Defense Preferences by race:
parenthetical items are defenses the race may not always build.
Alkari: NA
Bulrathi: MB, AMB
Darlok: MM, AMB, AGB (GB)
Humans: GB, AGB
Klackon: (MB, AMB, GB, AGB, F, AF)
Meklar: F, AF (AGB)
Mrrshan: AGB
Psilon: MB, AMB, GB, AGB, F, AF
Sakkra: GB, AGB (AF)
Elerians: NA
Gnolam: MB (AMB, GB, AGB, AF)
Trilarians: MB, GB, AGB, F, AF
Terrans: NA

Tech Tree changes:
Advanced Fusion: Choice between Fusion Drive and Missile Base
Robotics: Choice between Orbital Batteries, ARU, and Shield Capacitor

These tweaks allow for more specialization between races for the amount of defense and type of defense that fits their personality.

Phasors:
Phasors reduced from 17 to 16 damage and accuracy increased from .2 to 1.5
(phasors hit a sweet spot that makes them one of the best weapons and massively boosts fighters, trying to tone that back a bit.)

Anti-matter and Plasma torpedoes:
Minor adjustments to base speed to account for fast torpedo mod being a bit too hard to dodge.

Hyper X Capacitors:
Base size reduced to 4.

Reinforced Hull:
Changed HP bonus from 50% to 75% to balance better vs Heavy Armor. This may increase a bit more.

Nucleonic Charges/Anti-matter charges:
Range reduced from 50 to 35, damage reduced to 10/25 respectively. Rationale: you haven't lived until you faced 28 Klackon frigates armed with charges. Individually they really aren't all that great, but at scale they are way too good. This change should make it more balanced.

This has now been released.