[c_of_red]

One battle does not a war make.
I am picking up the recommended patchs and will start soon on learning the game. 4X games are mostly economic. I see youse guys are all focusing on the shooting part. In any 4X game I've ever tried, the less shooting , the better. War is wastefull and to be avoided whenever possible. If you had used your 2.5% advantage over the course of the whole game, it would have been 4,000 to 300. Ever hear the term "Compound Interest"? The Main reason I'm ditching MOO3 is that if you build your empire thru skullduggery, deceit and bribery, as an empire should be built, the Program drops as many ships as needed on you to destroy your empire.
You are looking at the trees and not seeing the forest.