Feepness -
          Talk first... don't give away too much. If it's named
          something nice like "Friendly" then you can assume it's going
          to be OK. Also, if it is a size 1 shuttle you don't have much
          to worry about in any case, but a size 6 d, you should
          definitely make friends if you aren't going to be able to
          destroy it immediately. Put yourself in the other person's
          place (he is just trying to colonize and will be pretty
          pissed if you blow away his ship for no reason other than he
          exists.) Also keep in mind that this person is probably very
          near you as well. A close-in fight like that can be
          disastrous in a game.

  Lestat -
          Find out who owns it, try to communicate with that player if
          you wish. If you're aggressive or foolish, attack it. If it's
          a colonizing pod, blow it away. This is all more a matter of
          personal style than learning the rules.

  Keskiolut -
          Talk, negotiate. Do not shoot first, you'll be losing most
          probably.

  Neue Regel -
          Don't try and destroy them right off. That person could be
          your best ally later on. If you see another ship early in the
          game, it means that someone else is close by. If you start
          into a war right away, you will have a really hard time
          building up at all. The other players who are not fighting
          right away have more time to expand to other systems.

  Garfel -
          Try to negotiate armistice if he is in a high place in power
          list, or if you have good allies near then splat that
          bastard.

  Cylons -
          When this first happened to me, I panicked somewhat. After I
          calmed my self down and thought it out, I realized that the
          ships were not a major threat, and that they couldn't know I
          was here, so it's not a personal attack on me the player.
          Open up a duologue. If there is a planet you can't use but
          they can, let them in exchange for permission to colonize in
          their own system. YOU CAN'T WIN GALACTIC BLOODSHED ON YOUR
          OWN. FIND OUT ABOUT 'ALLIANCES' AND BLOCKS. THESE ARE WHAT
          CAN BE DECIDING FACTORS IN WINNING THE GAME.

  Thing -
          If you see another ship that is not yours, send a telegram to
          the ship's owner. If he is hostile, capture it. If it is in
          your home system, capture it no matter what.

  Muu -
          That really depends on you. If you want a war, then by all
          means, do what you will. However, it can be REALLY profitable
          to team up with a Meta, if you are a norm. They generally
          produce more rapidly, and make great troops. Be careful,
          though, they are not as easy to suppress as some might lead
          you to believe. Thinking of him as "my Meta" might just get
          you into a nasty little fight. Again, its really up to you
          and the situation.

  Fnebish Legion -
          Try to find out what player number owns it by using "tact."
          If it is your own pod and you see the other ship on a map,
          tact won't work, but there is a trick for seeing who owns
          other ships which appear on your map but are too far away for
          a tactical command to work on them: Use the "highlight"
          command to run through the list of players, generating a new
          map for each new highlighted player. As soon as the other
          ship lights up, you'll be able to see who owns it. It's best
          to talk to that person since he's probably a neighbor. If you
          want peace, don't start by making demands or claims of "I was
          here first." That gets you nowhere. Of course, as a general
          rule, I only let the _most_ trusted allies colonize my home
          systems. Players should understand that being allowed to
          place a colony in another's home system is probably a pretty
          big act of trust. A lot of full-scale and crippling wars have
          been fought simply because one player refused to leave
          another's home system. Deal with this as you see fit.

  Microbians -
          Diplomacy. Declare neutrality if you have the APs and start
          talking to the owner. Look for an alliance and try to
          ascertain the enemy's experience. Oh, and one other thing.
          I've done EXTREMELY well in my first two games and the secret
          to my success has been (with the exception the deity of
          course) NEVER EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, LET ON THAT YOU
          ARE A NEWBIE!!!!

  Tribbles -
          Talk first, shoot later. Besides, the first ship you see will
          most likely be in a place where you can't do much any way.
          Allies can be more powerful than enemies. *grin* Think about
          it.

  NB -
          If it's in your own system, or one just adjacent to it, don't
          shoot right away (unless it's a missile - ALWAYS shoot
          missiles, and be sure to give their owners a hard time about
          it in the future!) Try to communicate with the owner. If
          you're seeing them relatively early in the game, then they're
          probably a neighbor, and you need to negotiate with neighbors
          to avoid counterproductive wars. You may have a planet
          useless to you that would be useful to them - and vice versa.
          When pods burst in your system, talk to the owners *quick.*
          If they don't respond, snuff out the one - man invasion that
          results on whichever planet it showed up, and do it quickly,
          because 'morphs reproduce like, well, 'morphs. Bunnies can't
          hold a candle.

  TheCulture -
          If it's a pod it might be a good idea to shoot it down (at
          least if its in your home system), otherwise talking is a
          *very* good idea. Making too many enemies too fast in the
          game can lead to your home planet being turned into a nuclear
          test site :-)

  Froos -
          This really depends on the individual context. Try to talk to
          the owner, perhaps.

  Griffons -
          Close to find out who owns it and then try to parley with
          them. Successful parleying can allow you to have a good
          relationship or give you time so that you can backstab later.

  Pillarian -
          Find out who it belongs to (ie tact)! Then the best idea is
          to talk to the owner (ie email to him) or send him a
          telegram, etc., then decide between you two what you are
          going to do. Then progress from there.. However you have to
          remember that generating a fair trust level in this game is
          difficult.. if you mess up explain the mess up.. else you
          could invite war at the drop of a hat.. this could be good..
          but then again :)

  Tao -
          Send him a message and say Hi!

  Empire -
          Try always negotiate first, you need allies to be good in this
          game... And GOOD LUCK! ..we may meet sometime...

  Link Baker -
          Do a 'tactical' on it to see what it is, who owns it, etc . .
          . If it's an enemy and you have an armed ship around, blast
          it (fire command). If you are close enough board the ship and
          capture it (Assault command). Any alien ship in your system
          is a threat. You might want to telegram the person and find
          out what his intentions are before taking action. A pod is
          trouble; it means a meso is looking to colonize.

  Greenies -
          Send a message offering them one of the planets you don't
          use, or tell them that you live there already.

  Zurgithian -
          As a meta there is not much you can do, arm up some military
          on each planet so that they can not kick you off (high fight
          is important). I usually go the diplomatic route send them
          some telegrams, you will need a techie ally and they will
          probably want a meta friend as well. Always check the tactical
          report in your home star !

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check the tactical
          report in your home star !

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