I think you are right about that.
I figured out that you need to start out with a fair sized fleet unless you want the pirates to attack you every turn.
But I'm still having trouble getting started. I'll click on a planet and see come info about trade conditions. Then, I'll click on the market to trade again. But I've forgotten what the trade conditions were and go back out of the market. But it's closed until I leave and come back to the planet. So, the pirates attack me again or I lose a lawsuit.
I wonder... am I just goofing up when I want to go back to the main planet view to check out market conditions again before I buy stuff?
The graphics are great, btw. The game seems really cool. But I'm just having trouble getting started. I wonder if maybe I should buy the first one and get the trainer?
I did an internet search for the first one and the game seems to be EVERYWHERE!