I guess I don't even matter but will post my comments on the game.
I guess my empire didn't matter much because one empire I had a partnerships with dropped the game with no warning and never set the "AI taking control" setting which resulting in the partnerships being dropped and war being declared and me scrambling to deal with enemy ships and lost planets in the rear of my empire.
BUT, I still had one other partnership going on. WHOA! Change #2...that empire dropped the game and guess what...same thing!
Now, I understand people have RL things that interrupt their games but some warning would be nice AND setting the AI switch would be a plus.
Same thing happened in the Anklebiters game (although I didn't have a partnershp)...I get a T&R agreement, then war is declared, then the same empire asks for a T&R agreement again.
Suffice it to say I have lost much of my interest in multiplayer games. I have a tough enough time playing most people without having my game and efforts messed up by others (RL or not). Just too many variables that can come along and ruin your game.
Not to mention they seem to move much slower than other games.
So I will be very selective about future group games I join. I don't think Mediocrity II will be one of them. It was interesting but I can tell you 8 turns to build a DN at a low-pop planet is a real drag
.
Best of luck to the rest of you who strive to rise above mediocrity
.