Yes, you can customize your race quite extensively at game startup, and the things you choose tend to have a major impact on gameplay. Check out the demo.
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My second question is: if I do start playing the game, what mods do I have to download???
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You do not have to download any mods. Best to get bored with the stock game before you start playing mods in my opinion... It is quite rich on its own. Although, if you find the AI to be a little weak, you might want to get TDM Modpack, which is essentially a collection of heavily customized AIs that are stronger than the stock AIs.