But I just played a small map by myself (pirates only). Just to get a feel for how it would play out. I basically wiated a couple of raids, realized they would pick off the same two planets,and was able to build tactical structures and park a capital ship on each planet. Then... I built up research, got that giant cannon thingy and tore them up lol. Very satisfying lol
3 or so turrets and a couple repair bays can effectively fight off most pirate raids. Maybe add a few turrets the stronger the pirates get... or build a starbase on the targeted planet.
I personally consider pirates too annoying to play with and always turn them off 
I just kind of wanted to explore the research tree and play with the game a bit. Research is a slow progress I noticed.
Play with Faster research speeds (Diplomacy). You'll get the low-level techs you want in no time! Higher levels still take a while though...
(Experienced Sins players rarely research more than a few of the essential low-level techs, except if they're playing against a very strong AI (Cruel or Vicious) and the game is going to take a very long time.)
This game is tough. It's going to be a fun challenge getting into it.
Once you think you have the basics down, consider coming online eventually: playing against decent opponents adds a whole new dimension to the game!
