Mid-game

From VoidWiki

There is nothing like an official definition of when the mid-game actually begins, but one could argue that the appearance of the first capital ship heralds a new era, putting an abrupt end to the common doctrines of the early days.

Basically, two closely linked concepts change drastically:

• First, a single capital ship with its strong laser armament and the superheavy Neutronium armour can on its own defeat any conventional fleet. The ship's laser weaponry, though strong, isn't the perfect weapon to destroy agile fighters and heavily armoured frigates, but this only means that the battle will last longer. Other types of capital ships exist, but will appear later and bring less significant changes with them. In mid-game, laser capitals rule the void in any major battle while the usefulness of other ship types is reduced to light task force duties and fast skirmishing.
• Second, a Homeworld no longer is a save haven for your fleet. The outstanding importance of capital ships largely isn't due to their weaponry, but to their virtual indestructibility towards any weapon other than Tri-Cobolt charges. A capital ship can sit on a far-away enemy Homeworld for hours, destroying an entire fleet - and then just fly back with its impressive fuel range, hardly scratched.

This needs to be pointed out as new players don't realize that some day, their fleet just isn't capable of fighting out a large-scaled battle against a large empire anymore. Capital ships can be countered with appropriate ships, but it isn't easy. Read about it in the Combat tutorial.

If destroying the enemy capital is out of question, there is no way to stop enemy assault fleets in space, so planetary-based weapons are the last line of defence. However, at that point, a Planetary Plasma Cannon Mk I won't stop a large empire from invading your systems. Planets without Planetary Plasma Cannons Mk II (and EMP if the attacker is Bakani) will soon be easy prey for powerful, aggressive neighbours. Scout ships Mk II will also allow them to scan your planets' defences from adjacent fields, so they will know how strong you are.