Calthropstu

Those of you advising "build more frigates" I counter with build none at all. In fact, most games against the AI, I mop the floor with them by building not a single frigate the entire game... except a few scouts for demining worlds I conquer. I don't even use colony ships. My first cap is a progenitor, then I pop out 2 halcyons. That takes me all the way to the enemy. Then I build a starbase at my most viable choke point, wait for them to attack, then build 1 of each of the rest of the cap

I did not have this problem. I can't exactly go cruel, but I can easily take anything Unfair and below with ease. Any time I go above Unfair though, it's just insane. I seriously can't seem to find a strategy that works... except build a map big enough that the computer doesn't find you until you've got a formidable defense up... and even then the superior numbers are in the extremes that they overwhelm starbases. Edit: Turtle strategy works VERY well