- on the galaxy map, pressing 'q' shows the number of ships you have in all the planets, while pressing 'k' shows the knowledge you've harvested from each planet
- on the 'normal' planetary screen, pressing 'd' selects your space dock, pressing 'b' brings up the build menu and 's' selects any science vessels: means you don't have to find those buildings
- while you have ships selected, holding the 'v' key while right clicking somewhere will put those ships into 'free roaming defender' mode, which basically puts them on automated guard mode on that planet
- in a multiplayer game, each player can have a separate set of power stations on each planet, so gift each teammate a set every time you take a planet
- in a multiplayer game, you can gift fabricators to share them around the team
- if you put 2 or more shields over a key asset (eg your home command center), in an emergency, you can repair one while the other is being hit, buying you the time you need for your fleet to come back and rescue it