I should preface this with "as TEC"... Personally, I start off by maxing my homeworld cap, building 5 light frigs, 1 colonizer frig (for capturing resources in asteroid belts or at gas giants, as well as a faster flight craft to zip around and grab free planets), then 2 scouts and send them off to auto-explore while I build my cap ship factory, and 1 each of a civ and mil lab. I'll then push out an Akkan for colonization of border worlds, and while I'm bringing it online, the scouts have found my best choke points. I fleet up the 5 light cruisers with the Akkan, head straight for the choke points and take them over first, while teching the gausse rail platform's first improvement, laser improvements, and trading post and the first level resource boosts.

Once I get the choke point border worlds under my control, I've already built up more light cruisers to fly around every planet behind them and clear out the local militias and am jumping my colony frig around to pick up those worlds and beefing first the population, then doing exploration on the worlds that show they may have artifacts. While doing that, I'm setting up a frig factory and a small contingent of defense platforms to protect the frig factory and help support some small craft that guard the border world. I then use this border world to actually level up my cap ships... Once this zone is established, I then and only then take down my cap ship factory and rebuild it at the border world, protecting it with another 4 defense platforms and 1-2 repair platforms. I'll sometimes also put in a couple fighter platforms as well as light carriers for harassing/killing any Pillagers the pirates send. One cap that's leveling up, as well as a decent contingent of light cruisers and defense platforms with complete bomber loadout (no strike craft to worry about with pirates) and repair platforms can usually eventually take out the Pirate raids until fairly late game and it makes for a great "Proving Ground" for the caps to level up at while they watch it. Build a new cap, send the one there off to the main fleet at level 4-5... Endless supply of cap ships ready for the front in better than fleet newbie condition.

I do other things in between, but this is my usual workout, as a "newbie" myself, as well as a non min/maxer. I'm sure I'm doing things the vets would say I should never do, but on all but Unfair AI setting, the above seems to work for me quite well as TEC. I should probably play the other races enough to find different ways of doing things, but...I'm old, so I don' care. lol

I then start building trading posts in the backfield as well as more labs and get repair platforms and improved repair up, then get a pair of those put up by the defense platforms at my border planets.

By this time, I've enough resources to tech up my missile weapons for the building of my main fleet, as well as getting teched to broadcast towers to help push my culture (thus eventually influence) to the worlds past my border worlds, then tech up my auto-cannon ammo. My fleets mainly consist of heavy on the missiles with secondary on the auto-cannons, as missiles can actually usually chase down scouts and fleeing enemy craft.

I also NEVER pay the pirates off. I find out what world they're going to hit most, build up defense platforms, trade posts, and other "targets of opportunity" to actually force them to go to these choke point worlds,

A lot of posts have been made on standard opening moves, look around.

Using 1.09 patch, in single player games... note that you shouldn't wait for the first thing to complete before you do the next. You can do the most of these steps here before you run out of money/resources.

1: 3 scouts. Absolutely the first thing you should do. You need to knwo whats out there, and what to take first, and what direction to expand in. Wormholes, pirate base.
2: Crystal asteroid, you only have one to start, so get production going as fast as possible since this will limit your early development.
3: Cap ship factory ( near asteroids to minimize constructor travel time )
4: 2 metal asteroids
5: wait for scouts, set to auto-explore
7: build cap ship. This is the first big decision. Do you go for the fleet killing power of a 6th lvl Marza, or the colonizing Akkan ? In 1.09 I go for the Marza.
8: Get a colonizing frigate to let it charge AM while I clear planets.
9: Build a Civ lab. For my style, I look at a longer view. If you want Ice/Volcanic worlds, you need to be able to colonize them. buy a second as soon as you get a chance. I then switch to military labs exclusively.
10: order as 5 frigates.
11: start clearing worlds, starting with the adjecent asteroid. You can split the frigates and Marza, having each take a seperate planet/roid, unless it's a dessert/terran where you'll need everything you have with your initial fleet.

A lot has also been posted on whether to get a Marza/Kol or Akkan. In 1.09, I get the Marza. At level 6, it is currently a fleet killer. It can literally clear a pirate base in under 30 seconds by itself. This choice will slow your expansion a bit, but at level 6, you can decimate enemy fleets at will. I'll accept initially slower expansion for a later game ace in the hole when I need it.

You also might note I didn't upgrade the homeworld. It takes 20+ minutes to recoup that cost. I prefer to use that money on my early fleet, techs, or structures and will upgrade a little later. Money is tight at the start, and i'd rather have that cash doing other things.

After that, it's purely situational. Rush HC's ? LRM's ? Tradeports ?

What Harada said but...
I go with Akkan b/c of the free extractors, I am sorry, but that's too nice plus the accuracy + range aura and nice fighters, personally I think Armistice is overpowered with Tec's speed+ production Tech, did I mention that you can further upgrade your repair bots as Tec? You can't touch that philosophy with Armistice.
Obviously I also get the phase lane detection tech asap.
And obviously I like trade ports and don't mind the pirates with my lane detection and Armistice and speed production program.
You need Kol as your second cap...just because it's the bomb, lol.
Please do group all your planet killers in another fleet or group, those things dies easily and could cost you a fortune.
Personally I think Marza doesn't like to live too long at a time, missile barrage? Ion bolts in your face, bitch.

P.S. Crystals are what I need, I am made of money as Tec, that's how I fly...hahaha...got to be cool than nerdy...then again, I am playing sins am I not?

First off my strategy viewpoint is playing with friends against hard/unfair AI.

1. Build 3 scout frigates and send them off into the unknown. After the 3 scouts are done build around 5-10 light frigates to escort your akkan or marza

2. Build cap factory > Akkan (I love armistice to much to give it up) > Marza has a really nice lvl 6 ability but it is to easily counted by the AI.

3. Build extractors

4. Build 2 civ labs and research volcanic or ice planets because there is always one or the other at least 2 jumps away

From here its all about colonizing all planets and asteroids around your homeworld. Find choke points and prepare to defend them. After the 2 initial civ labs I build military labs exclusively to 5 for the Heavy Cruisers. Also worth a note is if you are playing against the AI to get a Kol or two out for the flak ability that absolutely rapes the AI's spam of fighters and bombers.

my 2 cents

add

>Sac cap factory to the above list. It's a nice early game boost.

-ska

First, I use my LEV's to build a Metal and Crystal Extractor. At the same time, I build 4 Cobalts. Once the Cobalts are done, I order my LEV's to create a Military Lab and Cap Ship Factory. At the same time I build two (or one) Scouts and scout nearby planets.

If they're ripe and don't have a crapload of units there, I build a Akkan.. I take the planet over. I then do the same there like my home planet.

I build 4 more Cabalts and I upgrade the Fleet Logistics a bit. I research two or so Frigate Prototypes.

I then make a Colony Frig and a Battleship. I use those extra Cobalts and Battleship to take over another planet. I move the Protev in for the kill.

By then, it should be about the end of the start of the game. Not a great strategy, but works good for me