There are a few keys to optimizing early expansion, which make a big difference in an exponential growth game like SMAC.
1. Plan city sites around good terrain. Be willing to move a few extra square for better terrain. This has to be balanced. It probably does not make sense to send a colony pod 10 squares away when there is some acceptable (but not quite as good) terrain closer. If there is some really good terrain in the direction of the great terrain, I build a colony in the good terrain, and let a subsequent colony go to the great terrain.
2. I tend to build cities on food resources specials when I can. Then no matter what is going on in the city, I always get this 2 extra food.
3. I try to develop any good special squares nearby. Food specials usually get cities. Mineral specials get early treatment. On rocky ground, they get a mine/road for 7 minerals; otherwise they get a forest. (Some people mine/road rolling ground also, which gives 5 minerals, but a forest gives 4 minerals, 1 food, and 1 energy, so I usually go that route on rolling ground. Energy specials which are high get a solar collector. If they are low, I usually settle for a Forest. When building a collector, I usually build a farm also (if it makes sense to do so).
4. After dealing with special squares, I build road/forests everywhere. No farms. No mines (expect on special minerals). Just roads and Forests. Hint: if you build the road first, it will build faster than if you have already built the forest. Once I have my mineral cap removed, I will go back and build mines in the rocky squares. But I will not waste early development time on mines which are capped at 2, just like forests. I like the fact that forest give some measure of autoexpansion, so I can end up with a lot more forests than just what I build.
I like to build roads ahead of my growth, then use a second set of formers to move 1 or 2 squares down the road and build a forest. The nice thing about formers, is even if they have already moved 1/3 or 2/3 movement points, they ALWAYS (not just a chance based on movement left) get to terraform. So if you are building forests which cost 4 turns, a pack of 4 formers can head 1 or 2 squares down a road, and build a forest every turn, guaranteed!
But won't forest limit my city growth, you may ask? Early on, you don't have the drone suppression capability to let your city get too big. And forests give a great balance on minerals and energy. Cities with population 2 can harvest 2 forests, with a breakeven on food. Cities with population 3 with a recycling center can harvest 3 forests. That is plenty for the early game.
If you have some rainy/rolling ground, you might leave this unforested, and forest all other terrain. Because once you lift the food resource cap, this square can get a farm and maybe a solar collector to give 3/1/? depending on the height. But no use in farming this square until the food limit is lifting, so just build a road, and skip in for now, building forest in less quality terrain.
5. Expand as fast as you can with new colonies, until you get to the limit where new cities give bonus drones. You generally want to stop here, and now develop your cities. Once you get good drone suppression technologies, you can push beyond this limit.
6. I almost never use terrain level. One of the few cases it is useful is a food special on a rocky square. After you terrain level, you can now build a city there.
This advice is written for less experienced players, so please don't overcomplicate it by special cases. I know that you Master level players can think of some cases where this advice is not optimal, but about 90%+ of the time, it is the best advice.
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