You are going to hear a lot of theories about how to win at GC1, because everyone has their own techniques. That is what makes this game so good. So here is my pet theory, basically known as the "Ferengi" method (as in Star Trek: Next Generation and Deep Space Nine), or, acquire, acquire, acquire.
1). First is the colony rush. Get as many good ones as fast as you can. To do this, crank up the tax rate to 50% and the spending rate to 100%. Watch your treasury, don't let it drop below 0BC. Decrease your spending rate to keep your treasury rate just above 0BC.
2). Crank out colony ships as fast as you can (I DON'T buy them, but you could buy one or two at the beginning of the game) and colonize more planets of class 16 or more (ignore the lesser planets for now).
3). Tech research: This is a hard one, because there is no set path that is better than another. While learning how to win at the game, research the techs that give you a). production improvements, b). research improvements, and c). speed improvements. Also get the universal translator early on.
4). If you can, sell techs to the minor races for cash. Try for the long term payment plans because you get more cash over time. It also is nice having a steady income for 10-20 months. Caveate: Be careful what techs you sell them. Some of them can have some backlash affect. As an example, if you sell a race a tech that improves diplomatic abilities, the next time you try to sell a tech to taht race, you won't be able to get as much. One more thing; try to sell only to races with plenty of cash. Otherwise, you won't get as much for your tech.
5). Adjust the spending percentage sliders to get the most out of your spending. At first, when you are trying to acquire planets, you will want to build colony ships as fast as you can, so set the ship construction slider higher than the social improvement slider. You also want to develop your research as quickly as you can, so run it up as well. After a while, you may want to reduce your spending on ships and increase it on social improvements. etc.
6). As you learn the game, look for ways you can be more affective in advancing your race.
7). Watch the morale of your planets. Don't let any of them drop below 30%. If you do, they will rebel, usually joining the independant league.
8). Watch the influence other races are exerting on your planets. If any of them raise their influence above yours by 200 you could be at risk of loosing systems to them (this is not really rebellion. Perhaps defection is a better term. I don't know if StarDock has decided on a term for it.)
Anyway, this is just a start of some ideas that may help you.
