Is it normal to spend the first few years with no ships and just researching constantly?
Yes. Your tech in the starting game is pitiful at best. You can try to build ships that early, but it won't give much return before you've got better tech.
However you can use your Fast OB Creation points to create a small defense fleet(Not as if it's useful at this point, but you may want to train your officers, and have an experienced crew to refit with), a big or a few smaller PDC, a small surveyor fleet, and a few logistic ships, provided you're not doing a conventional start.
Also, engine tech is important. Starting ships with ion engines remain useful much longer than those with nuclear pulse ones, and goes to places 50% faster at the same HS percentage.
He uploaded himself into your research computers to assist in all future research projects.
I cannot live without research! upload me into the computer!
*cue glados*
he managed to last for about 75 years before dying, though.
Had a +40% 25 labs propulsion expert in my last game, and she was killed in an accident after getting me all the way from ion engine tech to halfway beyond internal confinement fusion in some 15 years.
Good things never last.
I started with the jump gates on all jump points option enabled, and my ship can't transit through either method.
Here's the ship.
Tribal class Scout 4400 tons 103 Crew 223 BP TCS 88 TH 450 EM 0
5113 km/s Armour 2-23 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control 1 PPV 0
Maintenance Capacity 32 MSP
Commercial Ion Engine MK1 (3) Power 150 Fuel Use 8% Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 255.7 billion km (578 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor MR8-R100 (1) GPS 1600 Range 8.0m km Resolution 100
This ship is classed as a commercial vessel for maintenance purposes
Does it just need to be bigger, or what?
Check your message log, and make sure to use the right option for transiting gates. I don't see any problem w/your design.