I tried, The Trillian Empire. Got to the first warp point and I just couldn't keep it together.
I played for a few turns beyond that (well, several dozen turns, and my empire did not fare well in terms of neighbors and such).
I also think I may have set the parameters too high (I always play the max setting of 255 systems, which just becomes so tedious mid way).
Any suggestions on settings for the game? How many PC players? How many systems? Perhaps I'll revive the Trillians.
