I just wanted to take a moment to mention my impressions of the Beta, thus far.  I've found the time to play a few games, and I've come away with a few thoughts.  First, I'd like to explain my play method:

1) I tend to play with maps featuring "few" planets.  I like a balance of 4-7 per player, with 7 being pretty high.  I enjoy games where eking the most out of planets, and utilizing limited resources is a competitive edge.

2) I tend to play with Hard AI.  Yeah, yeah, hardcore guys can laugh, but Hard is fine for me.

3) I play a lot of chess, so, for me, the theory of having a "strong house" for your king is paramount.  I try to leave it behind a test some "marauder-style" tactics, but I always fall back on the strong house principle (what this means is that I analyze a map after initial exploration via scouts to find choke points.  I even accept having less territory to have a strong funnel point.  Then I fortify the crap out of that planet and use it as a doorway.

So, that said, obviously, Loyalists fit my play style.

However, I was quickly finding that, even for marauder games, I like Loyalists more.  The idea that I can blitz into enemy territory with my Titan and a few accompanying capital ships is valid and fine (they stomp most enemies already, no need to worry about friendly territory bonuses).  Since I can work toward "super-fortification" with the various defense upgrades, I need fewer ships left behind to support my doorway planet.  This frees me to be more aggressive.  Especially since I can build early superweapons to "soften" a planet's defense (and by "soften", I mean eradicate).

It feels, to me, at least (and please keep in mind my strong house philosophy), that Loyalists far outstrip the Rebels.  I tend to roll with overwhelming force anyway (trying for 2:1 ratio of me:them on attack), and now I chew the enemy apart.  In many way, it feels that Loyalists are almost more aggressive than Rebels, as the rebs tend to require stronger fleet defenses, whereas my own defenses can roll with minimal fleet backup (a few Hoshikos and Cielos to assist). 

I have found that the Dunov has found new life for me, in using the antimatter/ability-neutralizing ability to shut down the snipe ability of the enemy Titan is very useful.  Overall, the Loyalist faction just plain feels more powerful than the Rebel faction.  With a fleet-melting burst ability, and a stronger armor/shield rating, my Loyalist titan positively eats the Rebel titan alive -- especially when backed up by a Dunov and Kol.

That said, I'm having a ton of fun.  One suggestion I do have, however, is to ramp up the Occupation Planet defenses in-line with Pirate upgrades.  Out of the gate, until I construct my Titan, sure, that planet is going to be intimidating... but as soon as I am respectable (say a Titan + 2-3 capital ships), I'm fine.  If, as with pirates, the planet got better as the game progressed, I'd love this "arms race" for the planet.

Thanks!

Dav