The First Turn
Notice: This tutorial does not apply to Giant Melee games as they give you more planets and more ships. Your first will also not necessarily be turn 1, either.
The freighter
To start colonizing planets, you transfer cargo to your starting freighter (which has a Transwarp Drive). Transfer about 160 clans and 40 supplies, invert it if you are The Cyborg. Carry about 300 to 500 megacredits, to be dropped to a very important planet to facilitate maximum growth.
Move it to adjacent planets. Make every attempt to avoid going into deep space (or disguise movement if unavoidable). Your freighter can move up to 81.54 ly each turn, using warp factor 9. A warp well can allow you to go further, but they are not always reliable.
The planet
With respect to the home planet, it is a good idea to build some mines (about 75 more, double the increase if you are playing Feds) and factories (about 150 more).
There are two different approaches to taxation practices that you can use to raise megacredits. While it is imperative that you learn to growth tax later, especially if you are playing as The Lizard Alliance, you'll need to stick with safe taxing for now until you feel more comfortable with the taxation system.
Safe taxing employs a constant tax each turn, without an adverse change in happiness. Although this results in a slower overall growth, your population's growth is not important in this tutorial.
The starbase
Starbases are key Space Objects that orbit a planet. Always raise the Engine tech level to 10 so that you can build the most efficient engine, the Transwarp Drive.
The first build is a key choice to make, and ultimately depends on the race you are playing and what you would like to do.
Fed
Because of the taxation bonus, the Feds benefit greatly from the construction of a tech 6 Large Freighter, possessing one of the largest cargo holds in the game with a whopping 1200kT hold. This allows you to easily carry clans to the outer worlds so that you can collect maximum taxes from the various natives.
This also means that the Large Freighter is a Neutronium fuel guzzler, so manage its fuel wisely. When you have it next turn, make sure you put enough to allow multiple turns, but don't necessarily fill it up all the way.
Good alternatives include the Nebula's decent cargo hold, and the Brynhild's bioscanner.
Lizard
The Lizard Class Cruiser (tech 4) is an excellent ship with a 290kT cargo hold and cloaking capability. Be aware that it requires 8 kT Neutronium to cloak. With torpedo tubes, it is also a great mine layer.
Furthermore, this ship is an excellent ship to capture opposing planets with, via ground combat. Lizard colonists attack at a whopping 30:1 ratio.
Bird Man
Although the Resolute Battlecruiser is a pricey (tech 7) design, you'll love its Advanced Cloaking. Unlike normal cloakers, these ships are unaffected by ion storms, and they do not burn Neutronium to cloak. It also has a great cargo hold. 280kT is certainly no small change.
Fascist
The tech 5 Ill Wind Battlecruiser is a great hybrid design, being able to sweep mines and kill fighters (10 beams), carry cargo and lay lots of torpedoes into mines (260kT hold).
Privateer
The Meteor Blockade Runner (tech 5) is one of the most powerful ships the Privateer Bands can employ. It is equipped with a Gravitonic Accelerator, allowing it to move twice the normal speed (162.54).
It is also potent for exploiting the Rob mission (steals Neutronium and other cargo from hostile ships), and can lay decent minefields as well with its torpedo tubes. Of course it cloaks, too.
Cyborg
Don't let the B200 Probe's small cargo hold fool you. As a tech 1 design, you can easily get away with dropping only a single clan on each planet (assuming they have non-Amorphous natives).
A common suggestion is 5 clans, 10 supplies, but 7 clans and 8 supplies might be more desirable. It can also hyperdrive about 350 ly at the expense of 50kT of Neutronium.
Crystalline
The Ruby Light Cruiser (tech 3) is one of the most commonly built ships in the Crystal Confederation's arsenal. It's cargo hold is a whopping 370kT, allowing it to serve as a freighter and/or minelayer.
It can lay devastating web mines that not only are much harder to sweep, but drain the neutronium fuel of any opposing ships that try to move through it. Once these ships runs out of fuel, the Ruby (or any other ship with two or more engines) can board it or tow it to a starbase.
Empire
The Pl21 Probe (tech 1) is another hyperdrive ship, extremely potent for its uses, as it can detect enemy presence with its Dark Sense mission.
Given the Evil Empire's weaknesses, intel may be one of their best friends. They can give intel in exchange or peace and/or the elimination of one of their neighbors.
Robotic
The Cat's Paw Destroyer is the Robotic Imperium's only mine layer, but it is extremely powerful for a tech 2 hull. It's 300kT cargo hold allows it to easily carry enough clans and supplies to colonize planets and when the time comes to lay minefields, it will use the robotic racial ability and lay quadruple the normal amount of mines for the same grade of torpedoes.
Rebel
The Tranquility Cruiser (tech 6), like the robotic Cat's Paw, is an excellent mine layer and cargo transport. Capable of ferrying 380kT of cargo, it is just as versatile Cat.
Colonial
The Cobol Research Cruiser is another good tech 4 hybrid ship. It's 250kT cargo hold allows it a lot of flexibility in colonization. It also serves as a good support minelayer.
It possess the powerful Ram scoop ability, allowing it to generate 2kT of neutronium fuel per light year traveled after it has moved on its own. It is also equipped with a Bioscanner, allowing it to detect native life on about 20% of the planets each turn within the sensor sweep range (default is 200 ly).
Finalizing the first build
First, make sure your engine tech level is maxed (tech 10) so that you can build Transwarp Drive engines.
Once you've decided on your first build, then raise the hull tech to the tech appropriate with your hull and if what you plan on building supports torpedoes, then raise the torpedo tech to level 5 (Mark IV Photon torpedo tubes) as well before you enter the space dock. X-Ray Laser beams require tech level 1, which is always free, although Disruptors, a tech 5 beam, is not a bad idea, either.
The space dock is where you construct the various ship parts and assemble them to form a new ship.
