zolobolo wrote:Decided to let Imperials build up for around 100 turns before attacking them when I saw they have a large enough fleet and advanced tech (normal difficult)
Is it just my imagination, or are Ashdar ships utterly rubbish? The Ashdar CL can only throw 6 missiles, and the putative missile cruiser actually has a lower throw weight than the CL, and the heavy cruiser isn't any better. The "Escort" Cruiser is actually the most powerful ship accessible early on, being capable of throwing 8 missiles, while the BC is simply slow as molasses and its throw weight really isn't all that much better for its cost...and there simply is no BB. All of them are firmly outclassed by their counterparts from most other empires, which are capable of throwing larger volleys and/or being faster. Their carriers don't seem to be anything special either, not being noticeably better than the other factions' carriers. Even the Humans have better ships than them, not that the humans really need to build much in the way of ships, because the main thing I do with humans is "FLY ME CLOSER! I WANT TO HIT THEM WITH MY SWORD!".