Starting Out?

I'm doing this:

1. Expand quickly (also I grab those neutral extractors)

2. Upgrade homeworld

3. Building up the fleet (and researching prototypes and weapon damage)

4. Some economic research and trade ports

5. Rush against someone (meanwhile still researching)

I see. I don't know what vehicle is what. I mean people say LRM and all that stuff.. How do I find that.. And I noticed that Civil Factory and all those other titles change when you pick different Leader. Are all the acronyms and stuff in the manual? 

Some one needs to make video tutorials/guide of this..

LRM are the 3rd frigates in the frigate factory. 1st are the scouts, 2nd are the basic frontline frigates and 3rd are LRM's (LRM's are called the long range missile frigates)

You mean don't know what are "prototypes"?

Researching prototypes means you are researching the other frigates and ruisers (siege frigates, heavy frontliners, suport ships). By researching them, you will be able to construct them

Paste this in your browser, turn your volume up a little bit and listen what the guy says

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C1-EdJ7MYg

I know. I still don't know how to beat the AI.

"Some one needs to make video tutorials/guide of this.. " yeah, that would help a lot. But since we do not have official video walkthrus, I suggest this.

1. Go through the four tutorials a couple times. Maybe three times. Glance over the manual, just sort of know what's in there.

2. Start a game against the AI. No, there is no campaign, sorry about that.

3. Go to Options, find the key commands. In there find the Pause command. Bind the Pause command to one of your mouse buttons, like mouse wheel click. Pause a lot in the beginning to see what is in the tech trees, what seems like a good idea to build. Look around your planets, give commands, and so forth.

4. You can find build orders in the strategy thread, but sort of do what seems available to do. Build a capital ship factory and get that free cap ship. Scuttle the cap ship factory when you get the ship, won't need one of those again for a while. Depending on which side you are playing, what you want to do next. Improve your home planet infrastructure so it brings in more money. Build couple metal extractors and a crystal extractor. Buy some crystal if you need more right away. Get a couple scouts out. Build some frigates for your cap ship and keep building frigates. Go capture a nearby planet. Remember to upgrade the infrastructure on that planet when colonization completes or it will be a drain on your economy. But above all get that initial ship count up. Max your fleet around that one cap ship before trying to go for better and more powerful ships. Don't blow your time and resources on research you may not get a chance to use.

At about this point the pirates should show up and blow you into the weeds if your fleet is not strong enough to stop them. Which it probably won't be. Meh. Happens to everyone. Start over and concentrate on being ready to blow them into the weeds instead. Eventually you will get the hang of how to get rolling.

It's a lot like learning StarCraft really, except that the AI player is in no position to rush. So the pirates got stuck in to take the role of a rushing, resource raiding AI.

And keep coming back to this forum. There are a few asshats here, but most are friendly and helpful.

As complicated as it may seem reading the manual helps alot. And many of the things you learn is only after getting your ass kicked in 1-5 games its a effective way of learning. After you have a good grasp of that try playing multiplayer be nice to everyone and even if you lose all the games you play always ask the person who defeated you what you did wrong and what they did. You will never master the game IMO you can't master sins you can learn it and be the best but everyone loses there are so many diffrent things you can do to win that you be prepareded for all of them. I hope you like the game and reading the manual and playing a couple games (losing winning doesn't matter) is something you should do you don't need videos to learn this.

Thanks everyone for the support. I am trying a Game right away.. Special thanks goes to wilebill. I'll make threads about my experience from now on. And you guys can let me know what I did wrong.

Well i tried pausing and unpausing. It helps. But I still lost. Pirates came to my Homeplanet. And The AI came with their force on an Iceplanet that I covered. I was using Advent. I had a fleet of a Coloinzable Cap ship and LRMs (after researching - The third one from left thats the one I am talking about). I think I had about 5-8 LRMs. I got an Astroid. I actually improved the Taxes on that one (the first green Update). I could not make anything there because my money was low. and I could not make anything at all there. So basically it was useless but I kept it because It was mining Crystals. After that, I won over an Ice Planet.. They had allot of fleets (8-10) but instead of auto I told all of my Fleet Members to attack one ship at a time. And I told my jets to annoy other ships. I won that planet, improved the plant.. Taxes (The first Update). I don't know why I lost. The enemy fleet whiped out my whole Fleet. My Fleet was full because I had made a repair station. And they all still died!!! What did I do wrong?

What type was the AI, normal, hard, unfair?

I'm guessing you wasted your time waiting for resources.

Don't worry, it happens, I remember I was knocked the f*ck out from a normal AI in the early days

Normal Days. I was Updating stuff. 

I was wondering if you have msn

Yup.

We can Have a LAN 1on1 Match soon?  PM me it.

My advice to you, if you REALLY REALLY want to get great at this game.  After you beat the AI a few times, log on to Ironclad Online and start playing some real people.  Once you start playing real people your skill will grow exponentialy.  Since the computer play the same way everytime, and are programed to act a certain way its not too hard to beat them.  People all play diffrent and people adapt, which in turn will teach you to adapt.  So you wanna be good?  Come play some real people.  You might lose your first or second match, but what I've found is the majority (although not all) of the online community is pretty tactful and they will tell ya what you did wrong and help you get better.