More newbie stuff
 

How do the Cue Cappa get level 5 telekinetic thingies so fast? At a point in the game when my best weapon does about 50pts. of damage, the CCs can hit me with a top-of-the-tech-tree 210pt. weapon. I got into the tech file and cranked up the research cost for these things, but they still get level 5s about five years into each game. Is this some sort of AI cheat?

Re: More newbie stuff
 

They repeat research it.

Also, they use heavyer weapon mounts.
Weapon mounts are accessible in the Design window.
Design
New Ship

Then look to the upper right corner. Weapon Mounts.

Good luck.

Re: More newbie stuff
 

They only "cheat" if you give the AI a bonus in the game set-up. That will allow them to research faster than normal. How much faster depends on how big a bonus you give them.