I switched over to the Deathmatch mode and it played a lot better! The resources seem to be properly set but i only managed to play a couple matches. I noticed that in Deathmatch mode there is an option to prevent the player from destroying the enemy in under a certain time limit however this option isn't available in the Battlefield mode.

My current theory is that this is actually enabled under the covers as the point of Battlefield is to fight off waves and i just so happened to have built enough to attempt to take the enemy out around wave 5-6~.

Will continue to play around with it, great work!

How do you even survive the detroyer/frigates wave? I play as Higgaran vs Vaygr and shield frigates are useless, the missiles just go trough shields. I tried building anti missile assets on mom , 2 carriers and 5 defense platforms, but due to their retarded AI they can't shoot all missiles down.

I'll try a Vaygr enemy next but after 30h~ or so between Battlefield and Deathmatch the AI is proving to be really funny. I had one match in Deathmatch where the Higgaran enemy mothership continued to build Juggernaughts and send them at me for like 20 mins straight. I effectively had a graveyard of them by the end of the match.

Regardless, i haven't been met with a challenge thus far that warranted more than two ships with Anti-Missile Turrets. I typically equip my Destroyers with these and let them deal with any incoming missiles. I typically am ahead of the enemy AI in terms of construction. I go full Interceptor, Pulsar Gunship, skip frigrates and go straight for destroyers. This allows me to reach Destroyer/Battlecruiser statues faster then the AI which eventually leads to a win.

Edit: The Sentinel platforms are also something i go for. I typically have one after a Destroyer but before a Battlecruiser. Wish they were a little faster though as its fun using them to attack rather then for defense.

Thanks Overrider!
I apparently haven't encountered Vaygr much and it was by far the hardest enemy race. I put the AI on normal and was able to go through your pain. By the time the first Destroyer/Frigate wave came in i had Destroyer research queued up, capped Interceptors, 18 pulsars and a good bit of defense/weapon upgrades for them.

Rather then giving you a wall of text i'll break out my fleet as shown below. The start was shaky because that was my first time dealing with 20~? Missile Frigates + Destroyers. The MVP of this match goes to a total of 4 Defense Field Frigates being setup in 2 groups on a field generation rotation. I rarely have to do that in Deathmatch mode but it really does shutdown everything in the game.

First Wave (Reached Mothership)
1) Capped Interceptors (LVL 2/3 ~ Armor/Weapon)
2) Pulsar Gunships x18 (Lvl 2/3 ~ Armor/Weapon)
3) Destroyer x1 (Weapon level 2) (Anti-Missile Turret)
4) Mothership / Shipyard (Anti-Missile Turret)

First Wave (MayDay / Later on)
1) Destroyer x2 (Anti-Missle Turret)
2) Defense Field Frigate x4 (Setup in two groups to easily rotate field generation)
3) Fighters / Corvettes (Capped and basically doing all the damage. Kill frigates first)

Second Wave (Somewhat Stable)
1) Sentry x2 (Anti-Missile Turret)
2) ....

I think you get the idea but by the end of the match i ended up with Sentry x3 (Two Anti-Missile Turrets, One Ion Battery), Destroyer x3 (Anti-Missile Turrets), Battlecruiser/Battleships x3 (Ion Batteries). I can't believe how many Anti-Missile Turrets i needed but on the bright side, they are squishy if you can live long enough to get Ion Cannons Research going.

Alright thanks for confirming my thoughts...so the answer is MOAR anti missiles turrets. And when I think I have enough, build even MOAR.