[dmm]

Dealing with shields:
1. Be Temporal. They have weapons that bypass shields.
2. Be Psychic. They have powerful weapons that can punch through shields. Even better, use Mind Control which takes over the enemy ship, then bLast him with his own ship. If the enemy counters with Master Computers, you can counter with Computer Virus.
3. You do know about weapon mounts in the design area, don't you? Larger ships can mount larger weapons that give you "more bang for the buck."
4. One word: Wave Motion Gun.
5. There are shield depleting weapons. If you get lucky and find the special tech called Massive Shield Depleter, use that.
6. Shields don't work in minefields. (Apparently ships can't travel with their shields up.) So mine your warp points and planets.
7. There are special weapons that attack only engines or only weapons. I think these ignore shields and armor (but you'd better check that, I never use them).
8. When Organic, use lots of armor, not just one or two pieces. Your ships become virtually indestructible, except by Crystalline which has armor-skipping weapons. Even if the enemy destroys your ship, he will use up all of his supplies in the process. Organic missiles are great, but, as with all missiles, you can't do it half-heartedly. You have to have enough to overwhelm the enemy's point defense, or else they are a waste.
9. Maxxed-out planets should build defenses: mines, sats, fighters, platforms. This is especially good strategy for Organic, which has better-balanced resource use. Every one of your planets should be a killing field, requiring a concerted invasion.
10. In the final analysis, though, much of the game boils down to your economy. You can have great tactics, but without resources you will eventually be ground down. And economy is determined by grand strategy. Enjoy!