Oh I don't know, it could be that you are the hot stuff, looking way too sexy for the catwalk, or maybe b/c you ranked dead last in fleet, lol.  20 mins in with only 10 light frigates equal a mini skirt schoolgirl at central park around mid night.    

If you are a girl, don't try it...just in case.

Put the AI's on different teams and lock the teams so they can't all ally against you.  Build more ships.

I believe Aerolian, with maximum players, has two systems each with five players. So unless one AI had already researched Long Range Jumps within 12 minutes and sent a fleet over, you're describing a situation with one too many hostile factions.

If you consider the first few levels of Fleet Logistics, it costs 1200 credits and 75 crystal to create a second capital ship crew and 400 credits and 25 crystal and 9% of your income rate to increase fleet capacity from 100 to 250. The cost of one capital ship is 3000 credits, 400 metal, and 250 crystal. Assuming all the hostile AI players have retained their first (free might I add) capital ship, and lets say created 10 light frigates to accompany those capital ships, then...

For all AIs:
Total cost of Fleet Logistics Upgrades + 1 Capital Ship = 4600 credits, 400 metal, 325 crystal

For TEC AIs:
10 Cobalts = 3000 credits, 550 metal
Total TEC expenditure: 7600 credits, 950 metal, 325 crystal
Fleet slots used: 150/250

For Advent AIs:
10 Disciples = 2500 credits, 400 metal
Total Advent expenditure: 7100 credits, 800 metal, 325 crystal
Fleet slots used: 140/250

For Vasari AIs:
10 Skirmishers = 4200 credits, 800 metal
Total Vasari expenditure: 8800 credits, 1200 metal, 325 crystal
Fleet slots used: 170/250

I don't know if AIs have come up with a way to amass this much credits and resources within 12 minutes (720 seconds multiplied by 10.5 creds/sec, which is homeworld + 1 asteroid, gives 7560 credits) on Normal, but that doesn't seem to correspond to two of our cases, which doesn't even allow for time required to coordinate such a planned assault. Yes, there is an initial start of a few thousand credits, but that mostly goes to planet infrastructure and orbital structures (come to think of it, Fleet Logistics also requires one research lab to be built for the first level of both upgrades).

I'm not saying they don't make coordinated assaults (I've been triple teamed in the very same map), but to make one so early in the game doesn't make much sense, particularly with the numbers you've provided. On top of that, two planets and an asteroid should be able to support the first fleet capacity upgrade without collapsing your economy, so you should have been able to increase your fleet capacity beyond the 100 fleet capacity one capital and 10 Cobalts occupy.

There are so many ways to jack up your economy in the beginning, which depended on how you wanted to use your resource as the game went on.  Like Cykur said, there is no magic, go back to your replays and find out how you got pwnd by couple normal AIs.

And I guess you didn't bother with any missions what so ever, too.  So who's to blame for being greedy and lazy?

SoSE v1.05.028  Single Player - Aerolian Sector - 6 stars/10players  All settings Normal  Game start +0.0

In review of game as suggested by Cykur, I start in one solar system along with 2 TEC, 1 Advent, 1 Vasari, with myself playing TEC.  We were pretty equel in the economy department.  I come to find out in five differant complete restarts after getting pwnd (Saved in differant files), that three of the four AI's have signed peace agreements and the fourth has a peace agreement with one and a cease fire with two others.  Out of five seperate games, 1 was within 10 minutes of game start, 2 at 15 to 17 minutes, and 2 at 20 to 25 minutes of game start. Then I got slammed two to five minutes later with all of them converging on me.  The attack usually correlated with the emergence of my second Capital from the yards or very soon thereafter. I was usually a little ahead of them on tech advances.  And yes I had done some missions during the games but the AI wouldn't sign the note.

Not all five games had the same mix of AI's but the results were the same.  I am thinking that might be deliberate or a bug from the downloading.  Might try to reinstall and try it again.

I tried it again today and in one case I was taking an astorid  when they hit my Choke point, so I headed for the Home planet of the AI with the largest amount of ships and took over his home planet the same time my home planet fell.  I colinized his home planet and proceded to build up.  Stopped and reviewed the game and found that as soon as my Home planet fell.  Thier peace agreements fell apart.  I am in the process of cleaning up and over taking the system now. Go Figure.

@BlackWizardMangus - I would like to think it was the weaker AI's trying to get rid of the stronger.

Right now, the AIs make immediate peace treaties with each other (in a replay of a 10 player game, it was divided into three groups of AI with me being the odd man out), even if relations are 0% amongst each other.

In fact, I have noticed that ALL of the missions they have given me involved attacking their allies...

Well I started a thread about when to upgrade your hull, armor, or shell.  You should go find it.  What tech advances were you researching?  If you had done two plus missions and not ranking dead last in fleet, then you will get at least a cease fire with an AI.   What Capital ships were you going for?  There are just way too many variables, and I still think that you weren't producing nearly enough frigates. 

Tell you what, just keep on pumping out light frigates, forget about any military upgrades, and do your missions, you should able to beat the Normal AIs with no sweat.  Umm, I will take that back, I don't think you have been served by AI on MULTIPLE FRONTS instead of a single chocking point yet.   Oh, why don't you get the repair bays, if you are holding a chocking point as the turtling TEC?

And yea, there are no new bugs spawned from the hellish underworlds via DLs, certainly not some "bugs" would cause the AIs from your computer to be taken by Satan and pwning you til the end of the time, wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, I am coming for you.  Beware of the carebears.

actually I believe you are thinking of Hyperion's Gates (two systems (not counting little 5 planet star) and five players each system.  a pirate base on one side of the star, and a terran planet on the other.  might be Aeriolan Sector is similar though. (don't remember it)

I just played an awesome 4 vs 4 multiplayer on Hyperion's Gates (online).  Each team had one player stranded in the other team's system, and they both managed to escape alive!  It ended with a HUGE epic battle in the central star (all 8 fleets, hundreds of ships).

Hyperion's Gates has 3 star systems, and a maximum of 8  players, where mixed teams start in 2.
Areolian Sector   has 6 star systems, and a maximum of 10 players, supposedly balanced so that each team starts in its own system/sector.

Tip: To quickly view an entire map:  in single player, open/start the map (then maybe save the game), then "Surrender" under the Quit menu, and choose to "Keep Playing" and everything will be revealed.  I mean everything, artifacts locations and all!

Live long & prosper, Obi 1

Hard gets 1.5 times our income and resources.
Unfair gets 2 times our income and resources.

So yes, it is exceedingly difficult.  The AI is cheating at those levels!  (Besides ganging up on the best player).  So it takes time to get ahead, and some allies.  (Either lock teams, or complete choice missions)

I wuz rite here: https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/319987

Haha I think I saw that last night. I logged onto ICO for a second to see if there were any multiplayer games up and that was the only one. It was 6/8 and I was thinking of joining but I pussied out because I suck.

unless you have a FRAKKING slow internet connection (grumblegruble... frakking dial-up... grumblegrumble)  I can't get anything other than dial-up where I am at (not even sattelite - tree coverage) comcast says the customer amount would not justify the cost of laying a line to where i'm at (half a mile down the road from the current boundary) and it turns out that if I try to play online, mine is the connection always lagging.  literally every 2-3 seconds.