Cheesy?
I tend to use cargo hulls for multiple purposes in the very early game.
a)Research sensors very early then stick 10 of them on a cargo ship and you never need to add sensors to your normal ships again.
b)Stick any weapon and loads of engines and you can zoom around and kill any undefended target (most things in the early game).
c)Stick on loads of weapons and you've got a reuasble fire barge of sorts... Great for pre-emptive strikes.
Gives me a ship very early on with 4 attack in my chosen mode. (It only has 1hp but that doesn't matter if I only attack things I can kill in one shot... or if I don't mind dying at the end of the 1st round).
Does anyone else use such low tactics... is it just outright cheese?
put 3 impulse drives survey mod nad basic support and you will never have to worry about running out of cash early thanx to anomalies. I always rush sensor tech and impulse drive or warp drive. On large galaxies 3 cargo surveys is enough