Also a note for the Rage for v1.35 of SEIV... I literally started right next to them, and of course, they declared war on me. They kept coming at my one border system non-stop (although they had already visited three of my systems). I built up some WPs and kept fighting them off while I built up my own fleet. Eventually, they must have overextended themselves because they could only send a ship once in a while, and I proceeded to send my retaliatory fleet to finish them off. I think what could have helped them is 1) if they attacked some of my other "softer" systems, 2) if they grouped fleets more often, and 3) maybe had more shipyards to build stuff with. Although I'm not sure if that's hardcoded or what.
I must say, however, that their expansion abilities are pretty impressive...it took forever to take ALL their worlds.
Keep up the great work!
zen