And I go games where the majority of the time I dont build a single support ship 
(support ships being the non-capital ships..)
Really? I've always wondered if that was possible. What does an early game look like when doing that? I always figured that sort of strategy would die at the first wave. Although I guess liberal turret spam and a very defensive early expansion could sort of make it work.
I'm also curious to know a bit more about how it works. It's the kind of thing I've wanted to try but never have quite gotten to the point where I felt like sitting down and figuring out if I could make it happen or not. I know some of them really do get to be quite powerful and durable if you unlock the higher mark versions of them, but it doesn't feel like there are nearly enough to handle everything without playing rather differently from how I'm used to.
I apparently completely missed this reply...
Turrets are generally enough to cover the first wave. If I am feeling particularly pressured I will spam mk1 fighters, but with the recent price reduction its not so much an issue any more. The more difficult points come from the first hybrid attack, in that my fleet might be in the wrong places (and hybrids are just painful anyway), but generally keeping up with scouting and keeping your core fleet (light/fleet starships, possibly riot mk1 early on) mobile it works. It helps to bring the fight to hybrids whenever you see them... I once made the mistake of jumping onto a blackhole generator planet to clear out a few hybrids preemptively. Cost me a tad more than I anticipated to retreat.
as far as knowledge costs go, this type of thing has gotten a huge boost; Being able to make light starships, along with mk1 riot starships (the el-cheapo core of your fleet early on) without knowledge cost is really nice. the first tier of upgrades isnt that expensive either.. its when you hit zenith starships that stuff starts getting expensive.
Getting early economy is really nice for being able to have as small a defensive surface as possible, so your fleet can react to hybrids and such.
As for how difficult this works on? I run at 8.0, currently on a grid type map for fun, with wave warnings disabled+cross planet waves. It could probably go a bit harder, but this type of minimalist play probably wont work forever.. I assume at some point I will need earlier support ships to fed off the first waves, and I dont know much past that.
Of note; Doing this does require some micromanagement. Its a tad more than the 1a (select blob, attackmove, for those who dont sc2) of easier games. the relationships between bomber/siege/fleet starships and their positioning is key, as well as knowing when to give up ground. In the end, you just cant afford to lose everything - The loss of a few starships is ok, but when your entire fleet is wiped it takes absolutely forever to rebuild.
