Technology Tree Overwhelming

[Wardad]

Most experienced players build additional space yard space stations around their home worlds. These extra shipyards can crank out some extra ships, but at about half the speed of the home world. When you do run low on resources you can mothball the extra shipyards and use them later on.

They also design colonizers that take 2 turns to build on the home planet ship yard. This can require design your race with a boosted shipyard rate. These slower colonizers are great for the home system. Small planets are good for extra research, radioactives, units, and planet shipyards.

SATs placed in worm holes can be a good early defense, especially against a missle using race.

Try building armed small transports instead of escorts. Include 3 sat layers and 3 cargo for required 150 cargo space. Then add Cap Missle (CSM) or Depleted Uranium Cannon(DUC).
For an explorer Version drop the weapons and add fuel. Carry SATs to recon neighbor systems. If an enemy kills your SAT, so what, at least you know their weapon loadout.

generally good early game research:
Larger ships, DUC3, Point Defense,

Also try this strategy site:

http://home.earthlink.net/~petemmer/

I'll email the Dubious strategy guide. I can not remember where I down loaded it from

[Mudshark]

Try this link http://home.earthlink.net/~petemmer/research.html .
I copied a tech tree from a zipped .txt file from Andrés Lescano. the tech. tree is near the bottom, and is very complete. I know that Andrés spent more than a few hours on this.

[Andrés]

Here's a link to my tech tree (now it includes drones)
Tree

[ButSam]

Excuse me for being totally naive, but how do you capture ships? I just keep destroying them.

[TerranC]

1. Build a ship with at least one boarding party component.

*you might want to include Sheild draining weapons if you can*

2a. Set the ship strategy to capture enemy ships, send it to the nearest enemy ship and engage Strategic Combat.

2b. send your ship to the nearest enemy ship and engage tactical combat.

*If your boarding ship has no weapons whatsoever, it's best to send in an escort ship that can drain sheilds fast*

3b. after the shields on the enemy ships are at 0 *or no more blue bars left on the enemy ship* move your boarding ship as close as you can to the enemy ship.

4b. if you have at least one point of movement left, click ship orders and click Capture ship.

5. enjoy your newly captured ship by analysing it, scrapping it, retrofitting it, or repair it and use it against your enemy by sending it to the nearest space yards.

[Suicide Junkie]

Edit to 4b: You do not need movement remaining. You just need to be beside the ship, and have intact boarding parties.

[Mudshark]

Andrés do you mind if I add your latest to my site? for that matter is it OK that I added your previous work? It is not my intention to take credit from other peoples work, just to help out with new players.
I will of course remove with no hard feelings. I just hope I did not cause you any discomfort by posting without asking!

By copy this goes to the rest of the forum as well!