The above advice is certainly sound. If you are attacked, don't be intimidated. Read TA101, one of the economy threads, and cheesy fleet tactics. Put a cheap defender on all your planets. Research sensors early, and get Eyes of the Universe. (Galactic Guide Book is also helpful). Use military bases at key choke points. Set up a defense line of fleets and bases. Grab and defend all the resource
That's important information. I have noticed that the Thalan do ok economically dispite total lack of farms. It really simplifies the strategy. If a planet is isolated, focus on stock markets. If a planet is in a cluster, build factories and research structures enhanced with economic starbases. You can only build for bases per sector, but a planet can be effected by bases in adjacent sectors, so the bonuses can be i
The victory conditions are there if you want them. I leave them turned on personally. You never know how this game will turn out, but usually by the time you have air supremacy, it is over. I was playing an immense galaxy with 9 opponents last week (Crippling level). The Jayded Knife (forget the spelling sorry) showed up and took the 72 best planets and all the techs. (One of the more annoying events) They are not aggres
Lots of bonuses available. The red military resources are the best and you can have more than one. You also get bonuses from the tech tree. As mentioned above, with Thalan's and the right techs you can get to +60 on a resource node and +36 on an economy base. These are all percentages. You also get 1 or 2% from anomalies. They add up alot during a long game. (with lots of surveyors) Check you Civilation Stats for your bonuses.&nbs
As most of you know, you can upgrade the space miner to a colony ship for 66 gold. Before I do that, I improve the 3 local asteroids. Thats basically production bonus with no upkeep. Meanwhile, I grow the population. (with 100% morale). I also design cheap Colony ships (the module and maybe a life support or two), Constructors, Miners, and even Freighters. When I get Small ships, I design sma
Anyway, the 1.99 autmatic starbase upgrader is a welcome addition to a great game. Tanking with a starbase or resource base is a great option when faced with a multiple front war, but it's not perfect. Be prepared with some spare constructors or even a spare fleet.
You hardly need tons of speed to win at GC2. This may be true, but it's alot more fun. Speed improves both defense and offense without the need for expensive engines. (engine research still adds speed of course) Arceans make great opponents. Their speed is 2 - giving you plenty of time to react defensively.  
Sorry for all the confusion! Next time I will clearly mark the post as edited. I did in fact roll a Gigantic galaxy with the Korath, 8 pts in speed, 1 in creativity, 1 in luck on crippling level. I thought I was doing well, until the Terrans showed up. It has been a long game, but I am finally getting close to victory.
The Terrans also get an influence bonus which can be powerful (and annoying). (partly comes from their special building) Spore ships are very powerful, you just need to transport population to the planet (which is alot of micromanagement). Thalan's super hive is great, but they are very hard to invade with. (Soldier bonuses are limited) The Drengin ability can be useful early - logistics is helpful, as well as military resources. (which are always hel
I am a recovering WOW addict, and have only been playing for about a month. I have tried different races, and have done reasonably well except with the Arceans. They are just too slow. Even when things seem to go well, the AI players seem to do better. I usually pick +1 Creative, +1 Luck and +2 to speed (8 pts) to speed (Arceans still too slow). This make the Terrans very fast and overpowered (as usual). I have e
