I'll join if there's time, and yes, I have encountered the Sonne race, and they scare the crap out of me! They've been at peace with _everyone_ and have quietly taken over about 70% of the quadrant! The current victory condition is Last man standing, so I have an odd feeling that I don't stand a chance. And I _think_ they singlehanded whiped out the monsters. I saw some of the monsters, but I never saw any of their planets, even though I've flown through their claimed sectors. My only hope is to build 3-4 ringworlds, beef them up like crazy, and hope that it'll be impossible for them to kill those planets while I slowly edge out my empire. I have an odd feeling that those 4-5 star systems will be _very_ handy when I get stellar manipulation 5. And even better is the _huge_ surplus of minerals my very treaty with them is giving me.
No, I haven't tested them in combat, but I'm too scared to at the moment. Does anyone know if the AI do the evil empire thing to other AIs?