I don't have the game, but I was wondering if the followinf was a good way to design your ships during peacetime, when you're not sure who your next enemy will be.
It seems to me, that the optimal build scheme in the absence of a clear threat and with sufficient tech (which you would need to trade for) isa fleet of three ships, each with a different attack, and 1/1/1 defence (effective 3 against all attacks), or ultimately a 4/4/4 defence (effective 8 vs all attacks) or 9/9/9 (effective 15).
Once war breaks out, you can specialise your ships to block their strengths and exploit their weaknesses.
Early on, you may only have one good attack tech and one good defence tech and small hulls, but by the mid game you should have enough of everything to make a fairly diverse fleet.
I'm wondering if anyong has tried this and if it worked to effectively protect you in the early stages of a war.
