Kirby are you setting your allocation bar to 100%? Also, you should be using that 5k BC's you start with to buy colony ships. I never have too much trrouble with the AI out producing me except in the very begining. I think the AI must cheat a bit in the begining or something because yeah it's just insane out of the gate, but then it crashes out, at least it always does for me. After that even on bright I can usually out produce them and end up owning 2/3 of the planets at least (versus one opponent).

It's not cheating, it just buys a lot of things on loan at the start through mitrosoft or others, thus the reason it crashes out. It can't handle the loan payments very well. Depending on the size of the galaxy, I do that sometimes as well. It can work... and it can shoot you in the foot.

-Dewar

It doesn't even have to buy a lot of things on loan. I can usually manage parity with the AI on early building, and often outrace them entirely. However, I tend toward the production bonuses. Also, I save a healthy coffer from my starting funds to keep spending at 100% until I am able to bootstrap my economy into proper form. The 1-point morale bonus is pure gold here, for keeping the taxes up and getting the buildings and ships cranked out before the treasury runs dry.

I spread my points around for the most part. The 15% weapon bonus for 1 point is an awesome bargain, as is the 10% influence for 1 point and 10% morale for 1 point. Luck and Creativity are fun extras, but not an essential part of my strategies. I usually have at least some military production, and almost invariably take the planet quality bonus (which works just fine, it just happens to truncate fractions, so you only get extra PQ for worlds already size 10 or above. Still worth 3 points easily; the extra tile is like customizing your bonus on a per-planet basis.)

I'm surprised no one's said +50 military production! I colonize the heck out of the galaxy, and that's without purchasing colony ships. Also +4 Sensors. It lets you send out Colony Ships blind, and they're their own scouts.

It depends how you want to play... if you're going for that easy influence win, then you want the +inf and +dip w/ Pacifists as your party. For best economy +morale (15%), +econ, + 10% PQ & Federalists.

I guess overall I think the best choices are +dip, +inf, +econ, +morale , +PQ (10%)... for my play style anyway. I basically quick rush buy all my ships and never have military slider above 0%.

Econ, sensors and speed are lifesavers, especially one time when I ended up with a +700 and a +300 manu on my home planet. THIS IS NOT A GOOD THING. Admittedly, getting a colony ship out every two turns from the beginning is cool, but being at 69%taxes and 30% industrial is not. I was rushing for anomalies (which I could see and reach thanks to bonuses) to keep myself in funding. It took 3 pq 12+ economy planets to break even.
Course, still playing it to see how it ends, but my cruisers are being churned out nicely now

Hitpoints, Weapons and Defence! Shoot! Chop! Stomp 'em boyz!

IMO, hands down, diplomacy is the "best" racial pick (+50%).

What you do with your leftover popints depends on your playstyle (influence bonuses for a cultural domination win, for example), but I'm sure no one will argue that research, military production, and morale bonuses are among the sweetest of the sweet.

I usually like to research. this last game I was the economic power house, but I didn't feel as ahead as I would have liked. anyway, usually 50% research coupled with 20% from technologists (on "very fast" tech rate this is even more crucial to staying ahead). research at 50% or more all game. If you want great diplomacy, just spend a few turns researching the diplomacy branch. In the later game when every one has it you may be behind diplomatically, but at the crucial starting stages you will be way ahead. Also StarFederation is the first tech branch I try to fill. I prefer late start, quick catchup strategies. as was said it's always individual choice. I never research the morale improvement tech line. I just extract resources like they were oil!