If you want to be able to attack and defend at the same time, the best solution before Entrenchment comes out is to make a second fleet for defense. It doesn't have to be as big as your offensive fleet, since you can build repair platforms & hangar bays at your planets to help make it more effective.

As you noticed if you try and stick with one fleet, you'll be coming back to deal with the AI constantly.

There's no way to stop the AI from using the star to attack you, that's how the game is designed. You can do it to them too.

You could also use units which are capable of withstanding your opponent's fleet long enough for yours to return, or for reinforcements to arrive.

I don't want to derail the thread, but I haven't exactly seen, read or heard much about Entrenchment yet. How will the expansion change this?

Entrenchment is mostly about defense. The current defenses are beefed up, and stronger. Plus you can build Starbases, which are MASSIVE defense platforms that theoretically are going to require fleets to take down.

If you put one at the star, any invasion into the system is going to have issues. We think. Waiting for the beta to find out for real.

I really don't get that point of view on a 4X game, the extreame opposite was the old rts read alert2, in the end it was just a rush war and the top 10% of the players never had games that lasted more than 5-10min, how is that fun?

And that was just an rts, this is a 4x game and have much more to offer, fast games = why do we even have a reshearch tree / super weapons etc etc.... if you want a fast paced mindnubingly repeatitativ game go play starcraft

How many cruise missiles do you think would be wating for an enemy fleet 1month after we found them?? an invasion against another starsystem is not something to be taken lightly and should be an epic undertaking, 30-1hour battles would (at least for me) make fans of this genre turn their back on the game...

how fun would the civilatation games be if a map took 1h to complete. There are 2 kinds of strategy games, fast paced where you pretty much just do the same thing game after game after game and thoose that try to be epic and where each game (at least that is the goal) should play diffrently, I really hope they don't screw over this game be payign attention to (sorry to say this) whiners with apperently no social skills-- if they did playing a game over 1week or more wouldent be a problem.

the most EPIC strategy game i ever played was MOO# huge map with12 players, we played every 3 days for ~4hours, it took almost 2½month to finish.

/rant over

anyway GIEF beta!!!

ahh my bad then, internet talk is bad:)

well, all computers ends up that way, not really much to do about it, unless you have lots of $$ to bribe the dev's with, and if you do well buy a new rig instead:))

on a serius note, im preety impresed by how smooth this game runs, they have done a pretty good job imo. tho' im geussing fps will suffer if they ever get the AI up to speed

Hey I told you that, I'm not a reliable source!

AI and stars are a baaaad mix for the AI, for some reason it dossent launch it's strikecraft when it's moving throu gravwells that can be exploited(a bit bad spotmanship) be placing a number of carriers in your suns gravwell(remember you will face no fighters here and the carriers will NOT be targeted so go all bombers) if you at the same time build up your border worlds like Xylan sugested you will have pretty much secured that solarsystem.

if you are still finding it hard, try out the vasari, Phazegates are cheatingly good at multiworld defence.

as long as you have atleast 1 repairbay up it seems like construters are never targets for the AI, it's a little silly but if you have the econ for it it works amazingly well, i think me record was beating an 1800 supply fleet using only defences(unfair AI) -- if there are free tac logictis it should kill them as 1'st prio(atleast for stikecraft) but it dossent!

Vary, it tries so hard. and it got so far, but in the end it dossent really matter...

-not launcing strikecraft on the move

-not grapping exstaktors on UCGW's

-Not killing constuktors when invading

-not focusfireing

-taking forever to recolonize destroyed worlds(i've had it not recolonize a world 3 jumps into it's territory for 1½hours, sad)

makes it far less of a challenge than it should be but thats ok for now, the games is essienatlly still in beta as far as i'm concrened. Was it 3½years for the finnal patch of starcraft came out? as long as it keeps getting better it's ok:)

No you  didn't I got that from another source.