Where can an Orbital Weapons Platform be purchased?

Question

I've searched much of the galaxy, probably more than 100 sectors, but I haven't found any shipyards producing orbital weapons platforms.

I would love to get one of these to upgrade the defenses around my factories and to hold spare weapons and drones.

Can a player purchase or build a small, medium, or large orbital weapons platform?

Or are orbital weapons platforms only for the AI-controlled Core Sectors?

Answer

A quick look at the Egosoft forums turns up a few posts that indicate that it is not possible for the player to control an Orbital Weapons Platform - they cannot be purchased or captured.

However, there are also posts on the forum that indicate that mods or scripts can be used to add this functionality to the game, but I don't currently have the game available to test any of them and I'm not going to recommend any of them blind - but have a look around on the forum if that's something you're interested in trying.

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COD Black Ops Multiplayer - Is there any effective way to defend against attack dogs?

Question

This is one killstreak reward I totally don't like (when I'm on the receiving end). Ive tried knifing them (as the game suggests) but to no avail. The only effective strategy I have is to shoot down the dogs but even this is not very effective since they run so fast.

Another strategy is to make it to high ground (on the top of containers, ladders, etc) but this usually leaves me exposed to enemy fire.

Does anyone have any good strategy for defending against attack dogs?

Answer

If you want to take the defensive way, keep in mind, that, dogs are attracted to noise.

So don't make any: Hide in some corner, don't shoot and don't move.

If you prefer to shoot them from the distance, like I do, use a gun with the silencer/suppressor attachment.

Praying they don't get to you is not always the best strategy, of course, so peek around and listen carefully to their barks, and shoot them if they get too close.

Update:
Oscar's comment made me curious about the mechanics behind an attack dog's chosen target. So I made a small test with a mate:

We stood almost side by side, I being two steps in front, in the wide area near the spawn point of the map "Launch", and let someone unleash the dogs from the other side of the tracks.
We made sure, in the ones that the dogs emerged from the middle corridor, in which they could see us at the same time, they always preferred me as the meat to bite. In this test suite, neither of us shot a single bullet.

In the second test, we kept the distance to the dogs equal, with him firing his weapon in their general direction. They always chose him.

The third set of tests brought an interesting result. Like in the first test group, I stood forward, with my mate much more distant to my right, a little behind me on the vertical.
He fired shots, I didn't.
The first dog to arrive headed in his direction, the second, as it appeared immediately behind the first one, headed for me. This was the repeatable behaviour, as we switched roles.

This showed us two things:

1. They decide about their target dynamically and not as they hear a noise, but they head for the noise anyway until they see anything to bite.
2. They prefer to eliminate targets that have a higher threat level (firing), then ease of access (distance).

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