A nice start to a game just went sideways on me 37 years in.
My Arthropoid Despotic Hegemony was doing relatively well and came across a weak neighbor. He owned 3 planets in 2 systems, his capital was closer to me than the other 2 planets were. I DoWed and went after the 2 outer rim planets, thinking that was safer than going after the home world right off. His fleet was no match for mine and I easily made my way through his space destroying all of his Stations on the way in; including destroying his only fleet and the Spaceport at his homeworld before moving onto my main targets. Once I got to the system with the 2 target planets I destroyed the Spaceport and he suddenly surrendered, leaving me no choice but to accept it. This trapped 95% of my Fleet and 3 Armies (2 Assault armies and an Elite army) well behind enemy lines with no way to get home. Oh well, I will wait out the 10 years, re-DoW him, take the home world and then get the boys home.
Nope.
Now the part that was my fault, was that I didn't pay enough attention to suppressing the resistance (though as they were in their own Sector I don't know what options I had) and suddenly a new enemy fleet spawns, with 7 Destroyers - of my own design - (I just build my first Destroyer and had a second on the way) in a system with no Spaceport and stomps my Army transports and my ~20 Corvette Fleet almost before I can hit the pause button. <_<