You can only play the game with the exact Version that it is running. You can install multiple Versions of a mod. Just append the mod Version number to the folder name, and away you go. You can even use periods.
IIRC, the Space Vikings and the Kazharii are in the best positions out of the empires that need replacement players.
[ June 09, 2003, 06:13: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]