Investigating your neighbours
- On the map, you can see only planets bordering your colonies.
- Note the player ID# on the map (under the planet-name, or click on the planet to get the player name.
- In the browser, click MAIN, SEARCH, and enter the player details and search, this will reveal his total systems.
- It is best to enter his player ID in the alliance search box, so you can also check whether he has allies.

Recognising an Inactive
- Players who have not logged in for 72 hrs are INACTIVE. Their rank is dropped to [active players]+1 or less.
- Players who delete have (deleted) included in their name.
- Nothing stops an INACTIVE player from logging in and resuming his game, although he might be far behind already.

Spotting uncolonised planets
- Uncolonised planets can be 'conquered' by any ship with a weapon slot. No bombardment is necessary, since it is not colonised.
- If your map graphics quality setting is on level 3, you can determine whether the planet is colonised or not by the planet icon.
- Each species has a specific and unique icon which is representive the hab for that species. Colonised and bioformed planets will all share this icon. Uncolonised planets will be represented by different icons representative of the habitation attributes of the uncolonised planet.
- If you can spot several planets all belonging to a single player, and they are all identical, then those planets are likely to be colonised and bioformed. Planets which vary from that 'norm' are likely to be uncolonised and thus not bioformed to that species requirements.
- A single ARMED ship can capture such planets (assuming no defending ships), otherwise you have to use a fleet of ships to bombard the planet into submission.
- Note that is is only an INDICATION, not a guarantee. The planet may have been recently colonised, but not yet bioformed. In any case, new colonies are easy to conquer than well-established colonies.

Attacking tips
- SCOUT target planets to determine defenses and to locate the enemy homeworld (size=1095, at least 1 defending ship). The Homeworld will have a defending Space Station, requires 10+ destroyers to take it down.
- Uncolonised and undefended planets may be captured by 1 armed ship.
- The best planet bombers in this phase of the game are destroyers with mixed weapons (beams and bissiles).
- The best combat ships in this phase are Escort Carriers (heavy ones).
- Any ship (even unarmed ships) can blockade an enmy planet. This prevents colonisation and all forms of construction (minefields, shields) from being added to the planet.