I'll try out these strats, thanks for the replies.
Flash_SOTU
Interesting idea. I never actually build corvettes because their damage output,health and armour is so low. Are they really that good? Edit: Almost forgot; I play on Normal Start, not Quickstart. I don't know how important the difference is.
I admit I'm not the best at this game, though it's become my favourite RTS, but I'm usually good enough to beat hard AI. ...However, I cannot do a thing to stop the computer opponents on this map. I keep managing to expand as far as third or fourth planet... and then I get attacked by pirates and on two fronts by two different AIs. I've tried teching up quickly to the Titan, and even starbases, but quite simply, I cannot get enough resources to