Ship Count

As every VGAP player knows, the ship limit for each game is 500.
However, just what these 500 ships should be comprised of is a subject
of much debate.  First, every race needs an adequate freighter force,
generally somewhere in the vicinity of a half dozen ships.  A few races
have some warships that can double as freighters pretty well.  The Rebel
and Colonial Gemini or Tranquillity a good examples.  Both have large
cargo areas and can serve other purposes, i. e. combat rolls, as well.
Generally I have less use for Super Freighters than I do the small
variety.  Unless you are playing in a very rich cluster, its not often a
super freighter can be filled to capacity.  The Large Freighter should
be the workhorse of every empire and I like a few medium freighters as
well, simply for the economy of the things.

Engines - If possible use Warp 9 on all ships.  Warp 8 at least.  Many
players use warp 7 engines when for 30 MC more they could have warp 8.
Many players don't understand the two-fold reason for high tech
engines.  First, it is extremely important NOT to telegraph your moves,
supply lines and base locations to the enemy.  Slow ships that are
unable to planet hop do exactly this!  You might as well send messages
to your enemies and tell them all about your empire every turn.  (Also
slow freighters make lovely targets!)
The second reason for the big engines is the importance of TIME.  When
the war breaks out you will need to move clans and minerals FAST.  The
difference between supplies reaching a base this turn or the next turn
often is the difference between a base's survival.  Slow, cheap ships at
the start of a game will come back to cripple you later in the game when
you need speed the worst.  Don't be penny wise and dollar foolish.

Warships -  That every race needs all the warships they can build might
sound like a ridiculously obvious statement.  I've never known a player
to complain of having too many.  However, the TYPE of warship is another
subject.  Here again many players think type and equipment don't
matter.  Any kind of engine will do.  Any kind of weapon will work.  Or
so many players think!
Many players race toward the 500 ship limit as if this is how the game
is won. The first player to reach this limit or the player with the most
ships automatically wins.  This idea is totally false!  Junk ships are
just that...junk.
And when the test of combat finally comes, they will let you down every
time.
The slow ones will never be able to reach the spots where you need them
to be in time and the weak ones will die.  ALWAYS put the best engines
on your warships you can build.  And unless it's an emergency, don't
build a warship with less!  Wait a turn or two if necessary to get the
money or minerals to build a good ship.  Let the other guy build junk.
When combat comes your one ship will most likely destroy two or three of
his.  I've noticed a curious thing about ship count in games.  The
players who build top of the line warships NEVER have the most ships
when the limit is reached.  However, and this is the point, by the time
the game is over, they not only have the most warships left but they
have also WON the game.  The players with the swarms of junk ships have
been destroyed while the race with the good stuff just keeps gaining
strength, building and capturing more and more ships.

Finally - Weapons:  Players who race towards the foolish goal of ship
count could care less what sort of weapon their ships have.  It never
crosses their minds that having skads of warships is useless if you
don't have the materials to equip them with fighters and torpedos!  I
once attacked a planet with SEVEN enemy warships orbiting the
base...EMPTY!   They had fuel but no torpedos or fighters.  I'll let you
guess who won the battle.

Generally speaking, put good weapons on your ships.  If YOU were going
into combat, I think YOU would want the best weapon for the job you
could get.
But there is some room for flexibility with weapons, whereas with
engines there really is not.  First, consider WHO you are going to be
fighting?  If you KNOW which races are going to be your opponents
possibly by virtue of early alliances or attacks, chose your weapons
accordingly.   For example, low tech beam weapons may be fine for
battles with fighter carrying races, but if you are going up against
mine laying races like Robots and Crystals, you better have some good
beams or you will spend the game swimming in deadly enemy mines.
Torpedo tubes are something I frankly try to never scrimp on.  A torpedo
ship with less than Mk 4 tubes is almost worthless.  It can't fight and
it can't lay a decent minefield.  But put Mk 7 tubes on let's say a
little Crystal Opal ship and it becomes a dangerous opponent!  This
little ship only carries 19 torpedos...but that's enough to lay two very
dangerous web fields and perhaps stop an enemy Biocide in its tracks!
Talk about David and Goliath!  The point is match your weapons to the
enemy you are facing.  Don't send your guys out ill-prepared.

Finally, FORGET SHIP COUNT!  Build the best you can put together, fine
tuned to the enemy you are facing.  Strive for a balanced fleet as
well.  Just as you can't have an orchestra with all trombones, you can't
have a warfleet with any one type of ship.  Big ships are wonderful, but
the cruisers and destroyers have an important place in the overall
scheme of things as well.
Now go out and conquer.          Vootah