You should let the colony frigs get asteroids because of the low militia there right? if i send 3 or 4 scouts with it should be able to protect the colony frig ... and let the akkan handle the planets along with more scouts... this is for fast expansion play as i understand it
This is actually part of the multiplayer tip pack was going to send you:
Do you know about the solo-colony-frigate-to-asteroid trick? You can colonize an asteroid and keep it, with only a puny colony frigate and no backup. The trick is to warp in, colonize, build a turret as close to the asteroid as possible **in between the planet and the enemy siege frigate** and then have the colony warp out. The turret will nearly always destroy the siege frigate before it can bomb out the planet.
Given this strategy, if you see that your capital ship is going in one direction off your homeworld and there is an asteroid in the other direction, build a colony frigate as soon as possible (stop building scouts) to get the asteroid (and the income from the asteroid) as quickly as possible.
As others have noted, the Sova and the Akkan are probably the two best starters. Small numbers of flak and fighters make Sova bombers a real menace, and its embargo ability can really set back the AI if you make a quick strike. The Akkan is a bit better in terms of slugging ability, and I like it attributes - especially Targeting Uplink. Either ship will start well.
The Akkan really shines in the more spacious maps like 1v1, but sometimes the Sova is a better starter in larger (cramped) maps due to its sheer firepower.
I normally don't worry quite so much about whichclass of planets or asteroids I colonize so much as I do their location. Colonizing away from your enemy gives you a bit more time to prepare for an attack (depends on map size; EX - large map with few players has a lot more latitude early on). However, I normally pick out a good "chokepoint" planet (or planets) ahead of my main lines and grab it. I can usually throw up a good enough defense to hold back the pirates or enemy fleets while I colonize everything behind me. Playing defensively has advantages, but it can also be crippling to a player if he doesn't balance it with some offensive tactics. That's why I like the chokepoint concept. I can estimate how far ahead I can push my frontier, pick out a good chokepoint a little bit inside that margin, and then rush to it. Early in the game, this is a great way to mess with the AI; you can backfill the planets it has behind your new frontline, with a second (and maybe third), smaller fleet. Against a strong opponent, however, this tactic can result in your fleet being cut-off and destroyed; it has to be done carefully - don't rush for a "bridge too far."
This does work well if you have a colony cap. And if you see a great choke point, rush for it, don't be afraid to skip that unattractive Volcano planet on the way or that heavily defended Desert or Terran planet on the way - if you can secure a planet closer to the enemy, you'll continue to control that area for a while, and can colonize the planets behind your front lines later. But if you fail to get to that choke point in time and the enemy reaches it first, you'll have a significantly harder time fighting him back and taking it from him!
As others have noted, versatility and manueverability are imperative; multiple fleets normally equals good. This also grants you the ability to fight pirates on your own terms. After nailing most of the local militia forces, I use the pirates to level up my capital ships. When I finally start my full offensive, I normally have several very strong capital ships forming the backbone of my fleets. I'll continue to season new ships in this manner until mid-game; then I either pay off or eliminate the pirates.
Pirate raids are very easily fought off with a capital ship, a few turrets, and a couple repair platforms. I've found that building combat-oriented frigates or cruisers to fight the pirates usually means you're more likely to take a few ship losses. Against AI players, I'm more of a turtling player and rarely build much of a fleet until the mid-late game. Against any AI except Cruel and Vicious, a starbase combined with repair platforms on your front-line world(s) is guaranteed to fight off basically any enemy fleet they send at you: if I feel like playing cheaply and build a starbase like this, I then have the freedom to entrench, research, and build trade ports and whatever else I want to, while the AI sends periodic raids to suicide themselves on my starbase.
