Do I have to be evil to play the Empire?  Well, actually, it’s a misnomer – the Empire needs allies even more badly than other races, as they lack any early economic advantages, and they don’t have much in the way of early-strike capability.  So no – you can’t be evil – you have to be nicey-nicey, at least until the very end of the game.  Even then, rubbing it in isn’t good for your reputation in the community…

Empire Advantages:

• 5 “Free” fighters at each starbase each turn (still cost minerals)
• Dark Sense mission – allows location of enemy colonists regardless of Defense Posts
• Imperial Assault – Super Star Destroyer mission can capture a planet using 10 clans
• Powerful large and medium carriers
• Hyper ship:  the Probe

What the Empire Needs:

• A decent minelaying ship (preferably cloaking)
• An ally with an economic advantage, or the ability to build fighters in space (or both)
• Time to develop:
  • Lots of starbases for fighters & defense
  • Lots of fuel for their big hulls

Good Allies:

Anyone, really, but especially:

Feds:  Taxation bonus, Refit and Combat bonuses (shields recharge, fighter bay bonus)

Lizards:  Hiss, Mining, Cloakers, Ground Attack, 150% hull damage

Rebels:  Dark Sense + Rebel Ground Attack, cheap fighters, lots of utility and smaller ships

Colonies:  Cheap fighters, fuel makers (Cobol, Aries), no fear of minefields, lots of utility ships