[spoon]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
Additionally, the fewer points available, the more similar empires will be forced to be, as there is less room for "optional" picks. 2500 points down the drain just for your colony tech reduces the amount of options you have available.

This is what I was sort of getting at. Make the first Colony Tech free by providing a "Take Me" Advanced Trait that cost -2500 points and does nothing for you. Then if someone wants to invest in another colonization tech, they can. Which is a really cool idea, btw. Following that idea, maybe you should make more research-based racial traits. Stellar Manipulators could start out with some Stellar Manip tech, etc etc.