Posting this in the public area to iron out any potential badness from it and to once again mingle with the peasants...
Basically, due to time constraints, a lack of resources, and a desire to adhere, nay, cling, to canon...the two starbase idea for the UNSC is out. At this time we no longer plan to do a heavy starbase for the UNSC. However, we're also getting rid of the current model for the UNSC starbase. It was a loaner from Homefront and even they are getting rid of it in favor of a more personal design (also very resource intensive).
So where does that leave us? Whatever we're doing is going to have to be from scratch and we don't have the manpower/time to do two somethings. So we can create something that fits within the lore and is less resource intensive than the previous model, but it also needs to provide the kind of utility that starbases provide in SoaSE.
Anchor 9
I think an Anchor 9-type station is the best option because of the utility and available references. With starbases in SoaSE you can have sections of a model tie into starbase upgrades. With that in mind, one can have something that starts out as the initial Anchor station and have modular components pop in by upgrading the station, such as those nearby shipyards when one researches the shipyard upgrade and then upgrades a specific station to have them. Conceptually, the station would start out fairly basic with only PDS guns. One would then upgrade to archer missile pods, shipyards, hangars, trade modules, all of the little things starbases typically get, and even eventually Onager-type MACs mounted on the station, as well as abilities like shiva nukes or slipspace probes that allow you to take a peak at nearby gravity wells.
The idea being, UNSC starbases start out cheap and through an investment of time and resources they become powerful tools for the UNSC to project military power and defend the empire. At this point I'm thinking that there will be enough upgrade slots to allow for all upgrades, so it's really a choice of how much cash are you willing to drop rather than having to tailor stations to defense or econ. I think this is more in line with the defensive nature of the UNSC. In some areas you may only slap down a cheap station with a trade station to extend your trade route, and then in another location you'll a significant amount of moula into a fortress meant to deter the enemy and push out more ships for the local fleet.
Feel free to add your thoughts about this below but please be rational and mature.