Not really sure.. i did start the campaign the other day.... dread lords.. the first two missions were total cake/boring, the third, sends death troops that can wipe out your entire fleet in a few turns.. I restarted the game a bunch of times, trying different tactics, and after about 4 hours i completely gave up... was far more frustration than it was worth.
I tired making ships around turn 100, after you get ships the attacks start.. I tried making ships almost from the start.. and as soon as you get ships the attacks start.. You try sneaking ships around, and they just cheat to find you.. Trust me, i love single player games, but this one seems very very lack luster.
But if you speed through the first two missions, which shouldn't take long, you can at least experience 400 damage death ships from the start..