[ChronoReverse]

You need to destroy your infrastructure to get past the 500 limit (at the end of the last mission).  I basically start replacing everything with SCUs, had very few land units, a dozen battleships, a dozen Atlantis, a dozen fatboys, and a HUGE swarm of Broadswords =)

[Fineus]

That's the trouble, there's a period where you're wiping out what you started at so you can replace it with something better that leaves you very vulnerable indeed!

[ChronoReverse]

Well, you can easily beat it with "just" 100 broadswords.  And you don't have to tear anything down to do that.

[butter_pat_head]

Funny you mention that mission, I just beat it today (loosing 3 times in a row no doubt).  I finally take out that Aeon base and then WTF, Im rushed by 4-5 Monkeylords... I die, reload savegame (made just before I wipe the Aeon base).

I turtle like mad and let them come.  Most of the upper half of my base gets wiped but I survive... only to hear "Strategic launch detected" about 5 times in a row with my defences in shambles from the first Monkey attack.... time to reload.  Third time some strat bombers hose my commander when it strays out from under the massed shielding to put up more guns.

It's not until I pull down every wall, get rid of all my non t3 powerplants, more PD, more t2 arty, more tac missiles, more strat missile defence, spamming t3 gunships and the tactical use of strat missiles that I survive taking hardly any damage, heck that czar stood no chance and that commander fell pretty quickly as well.... all without using any experimental myself.

twas quite satisfying to push the 'I win' button at the end of all that! ^_^

I'm enjoying SP more than MP at the moment.  At least I don't get instantly steamrollered by the enemy, even the hard AIs in skirmish make light work of me.... T_T