Colony Management

[Loser]

First priority is always whatever resource I am low on, usually Minerals, after that come the other decisions.

Try to put a Shipyard on every planet. They are cool.

I try to put the System Capital on the most worthless planet I can find in a system.

If can hold a large number of facilities, it gets Research or Intel, as needed. I try to keep heavy Research and Intel worlds to their own systems, so that I don't need both their system-wide facilities.

Sometime late in colonization, when I am ready to start saving, I try to put huge numbers of Resource Storage Facilities on worlds that fit large numbers of Facilities. Sometimes your game will not allow this. If you desperately need other facilities on planets, just put a few Storage Facilities on worlds, here and there.

Any planet with a bunch of moons gets Fleet/Ship Training Facilities on all of them.

If a planet is near, or on, the front the first thing it builds are Weapon Platforms that have been designed to be built in one turn. Have two separate designs, three if you're facing a religious enemy: one with just guns and Shields/Armor, one with Combat Sensors, ECM, Stealth Armor, Scattering Armor, and guns, and a third, just for those planets facing a religious enemy, with the Combat Sensor, guns, and Shields/Armor. Try to keep two 'gun' platforms for every 'other stuff' platform. Remember that the platform with the lowest number of total hit points is likely to be hit first.