REPOST, I suggest actually reading the forums before you make a thread of which we had a similar one a month ago or so.
Solution: play on smaller maps against normal, or play against 2 of them allied against you. If you can defeat 2 normals, well, you will be able to kill Hard AI.
Or play against Hard 1v1, why a 8 player game for the first time against hard? and you are surprised it wasnt easy....
Try playing not FFA, seriously. This will prohibit you getting in a 2 front attack (why does everyone likes FFA, I don't understand, I always get in 2 front wars and I hate it)
1. AI titan, easy to do, even under one hour without major fighting everyone can build a titan who knows how to play good, and Hard gets a resource bonus.
2. Expansion, as far as you can, try to take the biggest territory possible, and remember, AI never skips your frontline worlds so the backward ones are in safety. Best to take the worlds limiting ai movement into your inner empire, chokepoints, even if it is closer to the AI than to you.
3. why asking if you already know the answer? 
if it helps, don't research anything else than USEFUL ship types (= corvettes, long range, maybe flak, later if you have a big fleet carriers and repair cruiser) and some economy research, try to be first in fleet and if you are, strengthen defenses and build trade everywhere, constantly check your fleets relative strentgh. If you have a good number of trade ports get a titan out, AI is dead if you have your titan. And spamming Orkulus on your borders is not a dead idea, just don't waste too much resourses on them, by defending periferial worlds that will never be attacked.
I had 3 Capitals, 20+ long range missle frigates, 10 or so light frigates, 10 flak frigates and 2 Starbases and was just annihilated by Titan's. User error or are Titan's really thjat powerful?
Big mistake, that fleet is so small a human would steamroll you even with the fleet he has 20 minutes into the game. And yes, titans are powerful, but even a medium sized frigate fleet kills most of them easily. A big fleet consists of a titan, 1-2 capital ships (for maximizing their XP gain, more capital ships slower leveling), and 100+ frigates, accompanied by ~20-30 light carriers and some repair cruisers. Against AI you can have some heavy cruisers as well, against humans they suck.
5. ... Flak attacks individual fighters, so no surprise SQUADRONS don't fall right after getting a single hit. They do kill fighters effectively, but they take time, otherwise fighters would be (even more..) useless. You should have some fighters too, and bombers, bombers can easily kill structures, capital ships and titans. And heavy cruisers. And whjile flak attacks bombers, it takes much time to kill those as flak has a penalty in damage against them, fighters are better, though still too slow to kill them in time. You can have anti-strike craft capital ships if opponent has superiority, Halcyon, Kortul, or Kol.
Maybe you are right in that Hard is a too big step from normal, and the Vicious and Cruel levels are useless when Unfair puts up a real challenge even for good players, BUT! Hard is not hard once you know how to play. I can kill Hard on medium or even small maps without building a starbase at all..
