Well, there's a differance here.
Federation supremecy in SFC2, came only in numbers. The races that had the "Uber" advantage where the Mirak, and Hydran (50 drone type 4F volleys....Ouch.) And dont forget the 12 hellbore fighter fleets. That just sucked.
Now, looking to SFC3... (In a very generalized way)
Feds have more ships, and a smother transition between ship clases,
Feds have better heavy weapons all around,
Feds have better power output/generation ratio's,
Feds have better primary weapons all around,
Oh-ya...
And feds still have the advantage in numbers.
The reason people look down on feds alot is because most feds are nOObs. There are alot of veteran fderation players out there, but for the most part. nOObs. So it stands to reason that the nOObs dont want to loose the advantages that keep them alive against veteran players. This is why I feel some suggestions or comments made by some federation players are dismissed as "Whining"
Let me just get to the point. When I first played an evil dave mission in SFC2, it seemed absolutley impossible. It could not be done. But sooner or later I figured out how to do it. Then I figured out how to do it without taking internals. Then I figured out how to do it really FAST.
All in all, the challange was fun, and it made me a better player. It made me think of things I never would have thought of before tacticaly.
So, stop talking, and start thinking. For every move there is a counter move.