Weapons, ground-based & Heavy Mounts

[Courageous]

Re: weapons mounts. I've noticed that on a
per-tonnage-taken basis, heavier weapons
mounts are always better, in particular on
bases where the range is dramatically
increased.

Re: weapons platforms. I always build weapons
platforms early in the game. This has proven
to be a critical piece in early-game
strategy, in particular because I often
eschew treaties with the A.I., and I play in
small, crowded universes.

C//

[Lupusman]

What I do is just throw a few mines in orbit above my planets. That way even if a treaty gets broken and I get attacked unexpectedly, their ships just blow up on my minefields. I find it more effective than WPs and leaves me the cargo space free for other stuff.