In order to get the best ships so you have a chance in battle, you will need to research technologies.
You can wage war, you can try and get along and you can even dabble in a bit of espionage as well. There are many different tactics that you can do in this game. In order to reign supreme, you have a lot of work to do. You cannot just steamroll your way across the galaxy, you must use diplomacy and also develop your own civilization with various technologies and so on as well. The goal of the game is to be the supreme force in the galaxy and to do this you have to deal with the other civilizations in various ways. Everything in Star Trek the Next Generation Birth of the Federation is themed around The Next Generation so if that particular form of Star Trek does not float your boat, you may have a tough time getting into this.
There are a ton of other races/civilizations in the game as well that you will have dealings with. You can play as The Federation, The Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi, and Cardassians. The main game mode sees you get to take control of one of five different civilizations.
