Hey I am a beginner at the game with some idea of what is going on. However I can't seem to get my civilization off the ground past 'beginner' unless I got with accelerated start.

I was wondering exactly what more experienced player do in terms of initial buildings, colonizing and whether or not spending your initial bc on buying things like colonizers and constuctors and what have you straight off the bat instead of waiting for them to finish building. Furthermore what things should I think about when researching.

Also do you wait for your planetery improvements to finish or do you purchase them straight up as well?
At the moment I am still sussing out the Terran Alliance so if you have to speak from a race perspective think of them.

I know there are a lot of 'beginner' strat guides out there but I was wondering if someone could fill me in on the more techinical numbers aspect.