Capital Ships above level 3 ?

You should be getting more through combat. Level 3 is as high as you can "buy" their level at first, however.

Combat is the way to raise their level. I've got one cap ship at level 7 right now and 4 more at level 6. Just a small 1v1 map though.

What is the max lvl for cap ships? 10?

Yes, if you've ever played warcraft 3, almost all of the hero mechanics are exactly the same.

sweet. hero mechanics in that game are stellar!

So if you have 4 cap ships in battle together, the level up slower?

I'm not certain, I haven't paid that much attention to the growth of xp but I don't think so. I think if a capital ship is in a system it gets experience equivalent to the amount the kill is worth, regardless of whether or not there are other ships or capitals in the system too.

Can anybody confirm this? That would make getting a second capital early quite good (I usually don't since frigates do more damage for their population point - which only changes for very high level capital ships).

Yes, they share the Ex-Points...

If you Mouseover a Enemy, theres a Point called "Experiencepoints" or so... a Pirate ship givs around 50 Points. If you have one CapShip it's Expointa rise 50 Points (also Mouseover)... if you have 2 Cap's they get 25 each... doesn't matter which ship (Cap or no cap) destroyed the target...

Actually i bulild first a colonize-cap-ship and second a battle-cap-ship... it takes around 20 min from start to get this... afterwards i group them and colonize the first planets with those.. (versus AI not MP)

And NO, i don't think it matter if they where in the same fleet or not... every capship at a planet get the same expoints... not 100% shure about it but after the 10th won game i think so...

You really shouldn't be waiting for 20minutes until you go off and your first capture planets.

Build the captial ship facility immediately (I build it before I build the final 2 extractors at my homeworld), then get a cap ship out. With this cap ship you can conquer the asteroid that will always border your homeworld, and (probably, depending on resistance) one or two other planets also.

If you're sat in your home system waiting to get 3,000 credits and 400 metal for a new cap ship, well, your enemy will be expanding his economy instead.

i go out with my first cap ship to colonize asteroids, yes.. when the capship colonized the first asteroid, my second cap ship appears on the screan and i have the power to get my first ice or fire planet...

if i do it the same way but build around 5-10 small frigates instead of a second capship, i loose some of the small frigates... so i canched to build a second capship before i build frigates (Singleplayer - not Multiplayer)...

my first 30mins

-build extractors on Homeplanet
-build capshipfactory
-build capship (colonize)
-build 2 civilresearch
-send out my battleship to an asteroid
-research +1battleship
-wait for money for second capship(doesnt thake too long) and build it
-first capship colonizes the asteriod
-second capship apears
-research civil if requestet for next planet
-get my thirt colony (terran/ice/fire)

then i have to pimp my planets and do further research
if you want, you can build two or three scouts at start of the came and let them die as soon you need the fleetpoints for the second capship (remember: you start with 100 points and a capship need 50...)

works good for me and at the end of the game the statisic says i've done right...

But shure, there will be a better way to start, but i think it also depends on the way you play the game...