Early game metal starvation

[Nalgas]

I've noticed a trend in my games of never having enough metal in the early game. I'm curious if this is just me, or if this is typical.

That seems to be the case for me these days, too.  For some reason I more often than not also seem to run low on metal rather than crystal later in the game, unless I'm doing things that call for a bunch of crystal-heavy ships or happen to have ended up with a ton of bonus ships that all use tons of crystal.  I used to always be completely crystal-hosed early in the game when I went nuts with sniper/spider turrets, but ever since deliberately backing off on that I've had the opposite problem.  Go figure.

I don't know what it is, but I just can't get enough metal. 

[NickAragua]

In the very early game, I usually run out of resources very quickly. Crystal goes first, but metal is not far behind, as I micromanage and switch to metal-intensive projects when crystal runs out.

And then, I start building starships and turrets, and then crystal is pretty much at 0 all the time.

Next game I play, I'm going to try to just build Mk1 and Mk2 fighters (and maybe some bullet proof fighters as well) early on, then take over some nearby planets while I build my bombers and such.

[Echo35]

In the very early game, I usually run out of resources very quickly. Crystal goes first, but metal is not far behind, as I micromanage and switch to metal-intensive projects when crystal runs out.

I tend to drop Crystal pretty quick thanks to the turrets I prefer (Those Tractors are expensive!) but with an economy like this, it tends to be faster to build your ships/turrets in small batches so you don't deplete anything too fast.