This is just my personal strat-I use it for all 3, but I'll refer to tech here.  First I build two civic research modules and a cap ship factory at my homeworld, and advance infrastructure.  I buy 2 or 3 hundred crystal from the black market to do it, but it's worth it.  I build 1 akkan bc and 1 scout per nodeline. Autoexplore for the scouts and research lvls for the akkan.  I wait til I see a colonizable planet, then research the appropriate tech to colonize, and a level of capships.  I send the akkan in to the first colonizable planet, and unless it's a terran, desert or neutral colony, there's only a light frig and a siege frig, which the akkan can take alone.  Then I build a dunov, send it to meet the akkan(or the akkan to meet it if I am at the end of a nodeline).  On to the next planet.  Another level of capships and a marza gets built and joins fleet.  Hopefully I have now acquired a planet to place two more research modules and I start researching hangar def and then armor.  If I run into anything major at this point, I add 20 lrms 20 flaks and 40 lt frigs(with necessary research).  If not, I continue building capships, one per planet until I hit something I'm scared of.  Neutrals will fall to as few as 3 caps without too much problem, just build fighters on the caps that will take them for those pesky hanger defs, and avoid the pirate bases if possible until you have 5 or more capships. I like to have 8 in my fleet before taking on other players or pirates, 2 kols, 3 sovas, 1 akkan, 1 dunov, and 1 marza.  If I'm still being left to my own devices(like if each player has his own star) I finish my solar system out, build 3 kols, 3 sovas, and 2 dunovs for home fleet(which will sit on my star for safety) and let my first fleet be my invasion fleet.  Find a nice spot for 3 or more frig factories(deserts will take 6 with a trade port, broadcast center, and refinery) and start cranking out frigs and cruisers.  Invasion fleet gets 100 lts, 50lrms, 50 flaks,25 lt carriers, 5 hoshikos, 5 cielos, and 25 heavy cruisers.  I try to keep that with the other fleet, but it tends to wind up being lt frig heavy.  Then I move against my enemies.  I play against hard ais or on multiplayer and seldom lose this way, especially on big maps.  Small maps tend to be 3 capships-an akkan a kol and a sova-and as many lt frigs, lrms, and flaks as I can get built before I start any real offensive ops, tho I always honor cease fires and peace treaties until I have run out of ship alots and tac slots at all of my planets.