How to build capital ships

Advanced Hulls
Medium Scale Building
Large Scale Building
Master Hull Building
Massive Scale Building
Reinforced Hull Design
Hardened Hull Design
Superior Hulls

Advanced Hulls - gets you a couple more small/tiny hull designs. Lets you build the "Xinathium Hull Plating" trade good, which slightly increases the hit points of all ships you own (except cargo hulls).

Medium Scale Building - Frigates and Cruisers. Cruisers are for planetary defense only. Frigates are for fleets.

Superior Hulls - Does nothing. There just to give a lengthy pause between building frigates and building battleships.

Large Scale Building - Battlecruisers and Battleships. Battlecruiser = large hull with massive firepower, weak defenses. Battleship = large hull with good firepower, heavy defenses, escorted by smaller ships.

Master Hull Building - Increases hit points to all ships you own (except cargo hulls). If you notice that one of the AI suddenly has a massive increase in military rating, this is why. Also lets you build an Hyperion Shipyard.

Massive Scale Building - Dreadnoughts

Reinforced Hull Design - Increases hit points on every ship (except cargo hulls)

Hardened Hull Design - Same as above.

Thanks

Also, make sure you design your own ships. The core ships are not as good as almost ANY ship that you can design.

Capital ships are over-rated. Just build a buttload of fighters, it works for me! Oh and it helps to make alliances.

It's actually quite easy, try go with a depth first approach. Try to research weapon systems in one direction - you'll get very powerful systems very fast. Then, research some about ships, here and there. This way, you should be set for a good victory.

I find I prefer medium hull ships. You can build them much faster, with good techs they can pack a good punch and still have good def. In battle it is better to have a bunch of ships rather then a a few or just one, sure that one battle wagon can really pack a punch but keep in mind it can only fire at one target at a time. By the way keep in mind I have been playing the game for a total of two weeks so take what I say with a grain of salt

If you build large ships, I find it's much better to use a lot of defense. With smaller ships, the cost generally isn't worth it.

On larger ships a 30+ defense early on can make your ships invincible. I usually max out my defense tech quickly after getting a half decent weapon tech. (evil weapons rule here)

My reason for this strategy, is that it's just easier to manage the fewer stronger battleships than hordes of smaller ones. Generally they just get stronger and stronger and attrition just doesn't apply to them. You'll have a whole lot less clicking this way...

Early on, i just build small fighters with a few weapons to basically keep the AI from getting any ideas and to be basic defenders. (later they defend starbases)

I'd have to agree with the large/huge hulled ships. I play on a Gigantic map, level set at Crippling or higher and all 8 opponents. Once I get a Huge or Large ship, I seem to always slap 4 engines, a few guns- (no more then 4 offensive weapons) and the rest Defense. In the game I'm playing now, my normal huge ships are rated about 48/80 with a movement of 28. I find that just 2 or 3 of those ships by themselves (going solo- no fleet support) is more then the AI can handle. The fighters/frigates it comes up against can't dish out enough damage to get by its defenses. I took on 9 ships at once, the weakest was a 20 attack with a 6 defense, the strongest had an attack in the 30's. My ship destroyed them all. While I agree- early on the small hulled ships are your breed and butter, but I'm finding a fleet of Huge and Large ships make for an unstoppable fleet

The AI should be able to come up with anti-(put traditionnal player designed ship)

Usually, we humans (player) develop 3 kinds of ship:

- The Tank. Large or Huge, Heavy Defences, balanced attack. Has a long, long durability in most case, and often get out of battles without a scratch.

- The Puncher. Large or Huge Just weapons. Designed to take out the Tank

- The Swarm. Many, many, many, many small or tiny ships, just offense, no defence (it's number is it's own defence). Can take out a puncher quite easily, but usually can't pierce the Tank's defences.

That's a great paper/cissor/rock thing. I hope the AI will be able to eventually take it into account.

My usual make-up:
Tiny vessels:
I never build tiny vessels. No need to do such a thing.
Small vessels:
Defense Ship - 1 engine, triple defense system(means three of each if agaisnt colorful enemies, if not, focus), lots of guns, does not deviate from it's designated planet's orbit
Guerrilla Ship - 4 engines, single defense, great support, the rest is guns, takes out trade routes, starbases and vital enemy targets
Medium vessels:
Assault Ship - 2-3 engines, dual defense systems, good Support, the rest is weapons, good for pressuring and maintaining a battle far from your worlds
Defense Ship - 3-4 engines, single defense systems, no support, lots of weapons, primarily used to intercept enemy attack fleets
Large vessels:
Main Battle Ship - 3 engines, dual defense systems, great support, lots of guns
The Really Heavy Guns - 1 engine, single defense system, good support, zomfgingly huge number of guns
Huge vessels:
Heavy Battle Ship - 3 engines, dual-triple defense systems, good support, a heck of a lot of guns, travels in fleets of Heavy Battle Ships, or bolsters Main Battle Ship fleets
Flagship - 1-2 engines, triple defense systems(if I'm Yor, I'll take quad even), huge number of guns, can take down whole fleets by himself, usually travels in a fleet with The Really Heavy Guns, I never have more than one Flagship at the same time
And that's what normally takes down the galaxy.

Defense Ship - 1 engine, triple defense system(means three of each if agaisnt colorful enemies, if not, focus), lots of guns, does not deviate from it's designated planet's orbit

If it's a system defense platform, why use up any space for engines at all? Oh, unless you have to move them from a factory planet to their destination. nvm. heh.

That, and I sometimes need to protect my starbases(the poor things with 100 attack power are fragile), before I manage to produce Medium Defense Ships.

I like rushing to Medium hulls. I almost always get them well before the AI does, and they do a great job of mopping up tiny and small ships. Later when the AI does get medium hulls, I move to large (though I don't necessarily abandon the mediums).

Fightes - the best

My naval terminology may be off. If I cared, I'd do some research.


Tiny Hulls - Varies

When I get the Eyes of the Universe wonder, I spam a few of these out as sensor ships to go around and fill out my territory. Generally destroyed a lot, as they're unarmed and only have 1-2 engines.

Small Hulls - Early game.
PT Boat -- 1-3 weapons, 1 defense, rest engines/support -- Used as my ship of the line for the early game, if I or the AI rushes.

Medium Hulls - Whenever I get them to the end of the game.
Cruiser - 2 defenses, 3-4 weapons, rest engines/support -- my main ship for the later early-game, the mid-game, and my support ship for the end game
Destroyer - 1 defense, 1-2 weapon, rest engines/support -- my raider. This attacks defenseless/lightly defended vessals. Generally heavily armed enough to kill the computer's escorts. On larger maps its an interceptor and focuses on enemy transports

Large hulls - Whenever I get them to the end of the game
Battleship - 3-4 defenses, 3-6 weapons, rest engines/support -- My ship of the line for whenever I get it. Its always armed well enough to be able to go toe to toe with the AI's best (comparable) ship and win.
Heavy Destroyer - 1-4 defenses, 1-5 weapons, rest engines/support -- Used as a deep raider on larger maps, when medium ships just aren't fast enough. Heavier armaments used when the AI has been building heavily armed starbases.

Huge Hulls - Whenever I get them to the end of the game
Dreadnaught - 6-10 defenses, 3-6 weapons, rest engines/support -- Used as a damage absorber in fleets, but still well enough armed to provide some . Often used as flagships, I never have more than two to three of these.