That one line is actually two links.

HuntingX's build orders &
Overall strategy guide

Apparently I need to lern2proof...

Probably the biggest thing a lot of new players don't notice is that when you colonize a planet, it actually drains money from your income and you need to upgrade its Infrastructure (first upgrade option) before it starts generating money through population taxes. A good rule of thumb that works for me is that you should expand when you can afford this upgrade as soon as the planet is colonized.

Always go after the asteroid next to your homeworld first, it's cheap to upgrade to get rid of the credit drain, and if you get lucky and get 2 ore and 2 crystal mines, it will greatly speed up your resource income.

If you play TEC, which I highly recommend as you're starting out, you can get trade ports with only 2 civic labs and those are a great help making credits for you.

I would also advise to not rush research in the beginning, only research what's really important (Volcanic/Ice colonization if you have either of those near, trade ports, broadcast centers, ship hulls). Leave the weapon upgrades for a little later, in the beginning the number of ships matters a bit more than a slight damage increase.

This is all pretty general, but if you post with examples of what you're doing when you play, you can get better tailored suggestions

"Probably the biggest thing a lot of new players don't notice is that when you colonize a planet, it actually drains money from your income and you need to upgrade its Infrastructure (first upgrade option) before it starts generating money through population taxes. A good rule of thumb that works for me is that you should expand when you can afford this upgrade as soon as the planet is colonized."

Oh, I just thought of this as I hit the post reply button... Maybe I am blind or something, but is there any way to tell how much of a drain it will be on my resources BEFORE I colonize? Or is that just something I need to figure out by trial and error?

-Gizmet

The question was if he can tell how much it'll drain BEFORE he colonizes.

I haven't played in a while, but I'm quite certain you can't. You just need to memorize it. It's something like 2.0 credits a second.

After you've colonized, a better method of finding out what planets may be draining your eco is be to hover over your credit income number on the top GUI bar. It'll give you a break down of all your planet's contributions, if any are bleeding cash, and how much they're generating from trade.

2 eliminates it for all planets. The negative income is removed immediately after the 2nd pop upgrade.

However, if you just upgrade once, planets will eventually grow out to be zero. IMO, it's better to just upgrade twice though.

It's a little different depending on planet type and a few other factors, but it generally comes out to between 2.5 and 3.5 credits per second lost. IIRC, it's higher for volcanic and ice planets than for Terran, Desert, and asteroids.

civilian upgrades and research are incredibly important early ingame. You should start on a medium to large map with multiple AI's and unlocked teams. If AIs are giving you trouble, research more on the military side and make tactical defenses were you think they're needed most. Trial - and - error is how I figured stuff out. If you're having trouble ask around on the forums, which you did, which is good.

P.S. I've been playing the same method for two monthes now and I'm stoompig multiple hard AI's