1- How do I protect my systems from random pirates?

I can place a few Defenders at each system, But I was hoping for a structure that damages ships in orbit



2- Is there a way to prevent pirates from appearing at a random system?

ie If I control all the systems connected to it will it stop the pirates appearing there? High level technology etc



3- Also do ships have upkeep? I looked but couldn't find it



4- Are there any Hot Keys?

Specifically next idle ship & next idle planet/system



5- I purchased the Emperor's Edition through steam, Where/How do I spend the 500 G2G (& how do I earn more)





It's already a great 4X game, I can't wait for the beta, let alone the final release

1&2- I don't play with pirates personally. If you find them irritating, I would suggest trying to play without pirates at all. You can find the option under 'Advanced Options' to the right of the screen, under the Difficulty and Game Speed options.



3&4- I don't know, but I'll be watching this thread to find out. I do believe that each fleet costs Dust. I've heard that Dust can be saved by combining fleets (a large fleet costs less than two small fleets).



5- Somewhere around here there's an option to redeem your game's key code. That'll give you your points.

1. Keep some fast ships around for rapid response, instead of keeping some at each planet.

2. I'm not sure

3. Yes, you can find out by hovering over your dust amount in the empire screen. Not well itemized, though.

4. Haven't seen them yet.

5. Yes, I believe the option is somewhere in your profile or on the main site.