Base Management
Base management is the art of placing, maintaining, and defending the bases X-COM needs to counter the alien threat. This includes placing bases in a way that maximizes your chances of detecting and intercepting UFOs, building new base modules to supply necessary services, and arranging those modules in a way that gives the garrison an advantage over invaders.
Managing coverages around the globe
There are three types of coverage you need to provide to areas of the globe. Detection (radar/hyperwave) coverage is the first and one you will need to consider most carefully when placing bases. Interception coverage is the second. Recovery and Assault team coverage is the last. There are also several types of bases that don't provide coverage you may want to build.
You probably want your first two to three bases to mix all three kinds of coverage with some utility thrown in.
Detection
Detection bases have at least one radar installation, some people also call them listening posts. Generally a listening post is just radar and nothing else. You might start with a Small Radar since it builds in 12 days and a large takes 25 days. However, you in the medium term the Large Radar is more important, with it's 50% longer range and doubled detection rate.
One large radar in a base gives you a decent chance to detect a ufo that is operating in the area for a while. However, if one just passes by on the way someplace else, you may well miss it. More base mean a better chance to detect the fly-by UFOs, as they move between coverage areas. Once you lock on to a ufo, you won't lose tracking till it reaches the outskirts of your radar range. This range is quite large; a base in the Northern USA can keep a lock on a UFO to the northern coast of South America for example. You can detect most of the UFOs you need to with three well positioned detection bases. Once you get Hyper-Wave Decoders you will detect all the UFO's in range, of course. Don't forget to sell off your radars once you build one.
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Interception
Interception bases have at least one hanger dedicated to aircraft that shoot down UFOs. Interceptors have great range but poor speed. You should be able to intercept a good number of the UFOs you detect from the same base. If you have one or two interceptors in each base with radar, you should get a shot at most of the UFO's you want to shoot down. The Firestorms limited range may mean that you will be disappointed with the placement of your interception bases once you switch over. You generally will want to launch interceptions from the destination of the UFO rather than where it's been detected, as when they first arrive in Earth's atmosphere they are often travelling extremely rapidly and only slow down once they are close to their target.
Recovery/Assault
An assault base has at least one hangar with an aircraft that carries soldiers. Skyrangers and Avengers have terrific range, Lightning provides more localised coverage. You can launch an assault or recovery from anywhere on earth, however if you take too long the downed or landed UFO may have taken off by then. Worse, you may be forced to land at night where an assault craft that had been based closer could have picked the time of the battle. If you find a base with weak aliens (floater bases and to a lesser extent sectoids), you may want to set up, or beef up an assault base nearby to raid the Supply Ships pm a regular basis.
Utility Bases
Utility bases are ones that fill a specialized need. Supply depots, listening posts, R&D centers, factories and psi training centers are all common base types. Once you get the first three bases set up, your fourth base will probably be to fulfill one of these special missions.
Base Placement
Keep in mind that as you shoot down UFOs you will piss off the aliens. When they go searching for your strike base, they may stumble upon your factory. There is very little penalty to spreading out your bases. Building bases at the poles is probably not fun for the personel there, but makes a good isolated spot for non-strike bases.
Facility Placement
Base Defense is a primary consideration when choosing what to place where and when to build what. The higher the difficulty the more important a defendable base is, and your placement strategy also needs to account for known bugs. The secondary consideration is the amount of time modules take to build. All bases need general stores and they are a fast module to build. Consider placing them first when you have to choose between them and something like a large radar that takes more than twice as long to complete. Money is the final arbiter of what you should build, be sure you are aware of your income situation before you go on a building binge. You may be sitting on a pile of money now, but what happens when there are no UFO's to shoot down for a week or two? Make sure you have a more or less balanced budget. Build workshops first if you are tight on cash.