[Paul1980au]

A few hints on how to do better against the AI

Play against hard always - medium and easy are just to easy. Play bigger systems (200+ per map) need to mod the data files for this - do a forum search.

Play against less AI players (max 5 per 200 system map) as smaller enemies are easier to beat - if you have a few bigger enemies they get a lot bigger before bumping into each other - higher tech and they do use it.

Change youre racial modifiers

Once you get advanced and into modifing the game files you can raise the resource generation of mineral and organic production facilities - this gives you more production capacity but also more to the AI which it uses.

Fiddile with the ship yard tech and raise the number of tech levels ie lvel 1 = 2000 resource construction - level 2 2500 level 3 3000

Add up to level 10 - the extra levels i have are follows (without temporal shipyards which i also bump up in a corresponding way)
level 4 - 4000
level 5 - 5000
level 6 - 7500
level 7 - 8500
level 8 - 10000
level 9 - 12500
level 10 - 15000

These techs are later game and more expensive to research but later game with the AI both you and them can put up massive fleets (baseships) that can be pumped out very quickly and this leads to massive fleets that at least make the game Last longer.

There are all sorts of other mods that can be made to the game data files to boost the AI competitiveness - ie making intel much cheaper to research - this gives the AI access a lot earlier and you and leads to a much more less secure game - having crew insurrections early on makes the AI more underhanded etc as once they have a tech they will put them into use.