I absolutely love the combat in SEV. I have a fleet with three task forces. The first contains my Beam Weapon ships and has optimal firing range attack strategy. The second contains my Missile ships and has the maximum range stratey. The third one contains my transports set to Capture Planet.
It is just awesome to watch my ships approach the enemy ships. One the missile ships get within firing range, they stop moving and begin lobbing missiles at the enemy ships. Meanwhile, my beam weapon ships close and begin firing. Once the enemy ships have been destroyed, everyong closes the distance to the planet and begins taking out its defenses. Once it is save, my transport approaches the planet and drops its troops.
Wow! This is truly amazing stuff. I just can't begin to describe how much fun it is to watch combat now. At the end of my current game, I really love watching my Cruisers with their Large Mount Anti Proton Beams that look like they are literally burning holes through the AI ships. Meanwhile, the AI ships shots are exploding in the air around my Cruiser because they cannot counter my ECM and thus cannot get a weapon's lock.
Did I mention the explosions?