I'm playing a 5-star map with 10 Hard AIs.  I started out in a solar system with four other opponents so I knew my starting location was not ideal.  I made friendly with my neighbors and set out to conquer opponents in other solar systems (perhaps my first [maybe biggest] blunder of the game).  I guess it's the role-player in me but I always want to make peace with my fellow humans (I play human).

The solar system I'm in has four wormholes in it and they all are attached to wormholes in other systems.  This is proving to be a hindrance to my offensive aspirations.  I've taken out the Advent to my "north" and the TEC to my "east" (they broke our peace and stabbed me in the back while I was off fighting Vasari in another system).  I have three fleets but can't expand beyond the wormholes.  As soons as I do three "other system" AIs show up with their very large fleets and I have to double back to keep a world from falling.  When I do any forward progress is wiped out by another "same system" AI.

If I go on the offensive and jump through a wormhole and then on to another world I get too strained fighting the "same system" AI along with the combined fleets of the "other system" AIs.  I'm taking massive losses and lost 4 capital ships within minutes after a particularly bad, two-front battle.  The damn AI pinched me (I was impressed)!

I know that I should have concentrated on wiping out the opponents in my own system before moving outward.  I knew it then but didn't do it.  I am paying the price now.  But even if I had these wormholes offer far too many "backdoors" to my empire.  I'm Novalith-ing everything left in my system and hoping to switch back to the offensive gear soon.

Anybody else have such problems with wormholes before?