I'm not seeing these mass siege rushes that everybody else seems to be suffering from on medium, even if I set the AI on aggressor. I find that rushing to the capturable mining stations gives you enough capital to bury it underneath a horde of pirate corvettes. Pirates aren't at all obnoxious once you figure out the start-up routine. I even don't mind some of the maps starting out with under-developed capital worlds. I have to eat a delicious industrial pollutant-laden crow on this one, because when I first came to this game I gave it an 8.0. It was fun, but there were a few things that limited my playtime. Now I'm at a 9.5 because all of the annoyances have evaporated with a bit of experience.

I'm sorry, Ironclad, for doubting you. I should have known better than to second guess the team (or at least part thereof) that brought us Homeworld: Cataclysm.