Size. You have tons and tons of planets and that small surplus adds up.
And yes, I think the fact that I aggressively trade with my neighbours (my average trade fleet is 50 merchantmen) plays a part. Since I have pretty much reached the maximum possible expansion I can get without either a) going to war or b) sendind a colony fleet far, far away, I have to make do with whatever I have.
Since I can't put more time into the game, I've decided that this is the game I'm now trying to play - I want to have an empire with all planets maxed out. Something even a powerful player thinks twice about entering because EVERY planet is inside a dozen overlapping PDs and I can throw up a defensive fleet practically everywhere instead of having to keep them around. With enough resources stockpiled, that should frighten even the big guys. Sure you have 5000 planets and I have 500. But every single one of mine can throw up a 100 superbattleship fleet immediately. Maybe you can also come up with 50,000 SBS - but how long does it take them to reach me?
At least that's the plan. Plan B is to go pirate. Anyone got experience with that? Does it actually generate a profit or does it just destroy enemy ships?
