Race choice

The advent are probably the most military faction. If you just like spamming one ship (besides illuminators, but even they aren't that OP anymore), this faction isn't for you because they rely on (or should take advantage of) their support cruisers and capital ships buffing their entire fleet. In general their ships have the most shields and take the lowest fleet supply. One of the most common tactics is called "the battleball" where position your fleet around a Mothership or 2 with a handful of guardians around them and your other combat ships around the guardians. This allows the motherships shield restore and the guardians shield projection to effect all the ships in your fleet. This leads to almost unmatched tanking power, and is but one example of the kinds of synergies the advent can pull off.

I think the races are pretty balanced now.  They all have their own advantages and disadvantages.  A strong argument can be made that the Vasari are now the most powerful (in Entrenchment and Diplomacy) as of the last patch because the Skinatra carrier's Scramble Bombers ability was buffed.  However, you'll find experienced pros who play all three races and play all three well.  Lately I have seen a trend of many pros who never used to play TEC taking up TEC.  Perhaps they covet the fleet supply increase pact.  (I really think that a player's skill plays a much bigger factor than the particular race they are playing.)

If you're comp stomping it probably doesn't really matter which race you're playing; the AI is still a completely incompetent opponent so play whichever race your want or whichever race you want to learn.  It's good to be able to play all three and gaining experience with all three will help you fight them better as well.  The only thing that has really changed about the AI is that it received a greater economy buff in the Cruel and Vicious settings in Diplomacy but you can defeat them 1v1 using cheese-tactics.

If you're already coming online for comp stomps, have you thought about learning to play it against human opponents, which makes for a greater challenge and more interesting, intense, meaningful and satisfying games?  It seems like there are new players around who want to play against other people every night who aren't afraid to mix it up with the pros.  If you already have a large amount of experience and familiarity with the game you could probably pick up the humans v. humans game quickly.  (However, it sounds like your knowledge of Vasari and Advent is lacking, which would hold you back.)

@Dirty: I'm sure you're aware that many people stay away from online play with people other than their close friends simply because they've been burned very badly by d-bags who have no interest in genuinely helping someone improve.  That, or the level of arrogance of "marquee" players is so high that it isn't even worth pursuing.  I'm not speaking of this game, specifically, as I have no experience.  At some level there is no way to avoid this.  What is your opinion of the proportion of "appropriate and helpful" Sins players in Ironclad Online?  I'm a very busy adult who has very limited time and if I get burned more than once it just isn't worth my time.  This is a serious question, too, I'm not trolling this.  I'm just very serious about not wasting my time online.  ;)

well, the SINS community does have the generally crappy attitudes of that other communities have, but it also has a great base of players that are willing to play\teach online or join in comp stomp games.

if you guys venture online, you can try setting up a game either here or by stating from the beginning that you are looking for a learning session.  if you find someone that goes back on their word in a game, then bail the game and find another one before you invest too much time.

Klecser,

It sounds like playing it against humans probably isn't for you.  Sins has its share of jerks and its share of helpful friendly players just like any other game.  One thing I have noticed about Sins is that people have a much greater emotional investment in their performance and in winning than in FPS games, which makes it easier for people to lash out at other players on their team who they feel contributed to a loss or who they feel might be compromising the team.

It really does require having a significant amount of free time so that you can play a couple times a week in order to acquire skill.  If you only have a few hours a week for Sins then it's probably not for you unless you want to try to play against newer players on vanilla Sins, which is still possible.

Ultimately people need to develop an adequately thick skin to play any humans v. humans game in online multiplayer.  However, this really shouldn't be a problem for people.  If you allow people who live 1500 miles away to get under your skin by typing snide comments in a silly computer game, then you may have self esteem and confidence problems which are far more serious to worry about.

It's hard to put a number on it.  There are many experienced pros who like to offer advice to new players.  Then there are some who aren't as friendly and as welcoming and understanding.  I'm not sure what you mean when you say that you have been burned nor exactly what you're trying to ask.  Are you asking, "If I play against other people will be picked on and will people make snide comments?" or "Will other people be nice and not try to steamroll over me and beat me badly?"  The answer is probably Yes and No, respectively.

The only way to get good at Sins is to acquire a lot of experience playing against other people which means losing regularly and often.  (You have to see the tactics other people use against you in order to learn them for yourself.)  For example, last night in a 1v1 a newer player (who had about 80 games under his belt) confidently jumped his fleet onto my fully upgraded Vasari starbase backed up with a sizable fleet and phase jump inhibitors.  He couldn't believe I was able to do that.  (I don't know why; there's nothing unusual about that.)  He then surrendered.  The lesson?  Don't send your fleet in to a known hostile gravity well without scouting.  He just learned a lesson--the hard way.  (I also learned this very same lesson two years ago, the hard way.)  Experienced players will generally offer advice if you ask nicely and we have an entire forum full of threads about strategy.

Thanks for the detailed reply Dirty.

This makes sense, as there is a significantly greater time commitment required to set up a cooperative RT4X than an FPS.  This is part of the reason why I like RT4X's though.  There is more of a balance between strategy and tactics, as opposed to FPS' which tend to be more tactics oriented.

Sure.  I'm not looking to become "good" at the game and I have no problem losing, so long as the frequent losing is a learning experience each time.  There is nothing I hate more than a silent experienced player or one that isn't very tactful in giving their advice.  I can have a lot of fun while losing if the other player is a "good winner" and a good sport about it.

Trust me in that my self esteem is in no way impacted by snide comments on the internet. I've been around for a while and I've participated in detailed discussions of competitive miniatures games online.  I know all the types.  But given that my time is now limited, I have no desire to even get involved in those sorts of experiences.  So, at some level you're correct that it may not be right for me.  I wasn't trying to go off topic by commenting.  As an "outsider" I frequently like to remind vets of games that there are frequently very logical reasons why many gamers, both casual and competitive, don't choose to play the "metagame" of online gaming.  ;)

The first one bothers me, but not because I'm offended personally.  It bothers me because I hate the the fact that you can get away with stuff on the internet that most people wouldn't have the balls to get away with IRL.  But that's the nature of the system.  The second one bothers me, not just because I'm beaten, but because frequently a vet in any game will steam roll a new player, say "gg" and just leave.  No tips, no nothing.  I don't have time to do my day job when I'm recruiting and I resent the fact that in online gaming you practically have to if you want any sort of depth.  Some communities require less than others, and so I asked knowing that I'd get some truth, some lies, and some answers that people don't really understand what I'm asking.  You seem well spoken and very knowledgeable and in the time I've lurked I've only seen positive contributions from you, so I take this as more truth.  Other members on here will level the classic "get tougher noob" that is so characteristic of the socially inept gamer mentality.

Absolutely.  I've gamed competitively (just not Sins) so I understand this. 

I've definitely learned the importance of scouting in playing just the AI.

Thanks for the advice.  Regardless of how I end up on this issue, I hope that your response helps new players to think about what is necessary to really improve.   I hope vets are reminded that a player base is always dependent on new recruits, which you can't get without a proper social investment from vets.

Thanks for the talk guys, it's just that my internet, while fast, isn't stable. I live kind of out in the middle of nowhere, so the only time I can play multi is when my friends drive out for game night. Playing online just isn't feasible with my internet connection. I'll play random races for a while next game night then. Thanks everyone for your help!