I had set my max number of sysyems to 254, changed the size of planets to all huge, ensuring at least 1 rock oxygen in each planetary system. Created 11 star trek races for the game, mine being the UFP, all of which usr rock oxygen except the Hydrans (makes it extremely competitive), set the game to all the hardest settings, and let the computer generates the maximum number of additional empires and neutrals.
I will say this, that this game is not for the feint of heart. Sheesh, I can barely keep up with whats going on and how huge the empires are getting. By turn 60, several empires exceeded 100 colonies, I never made it past 10th place. I am about to integrate mephisto's mod, and see how that works, I expect even more grief. Once we get the map editor, I plan on making a full blown Star Trek world with completly modified AI files to better represent the races. Right now I just use copies of existing files. I am also collecting as many shipsets as I can (some really nice ones out there), but I plan on creating what I need to finish the race sets. I would really like to be able to specify unique ships and structures to a particular race, but I am not sure if that is possible yet. I know unique research trees can be created. I would also like to add some different back ground theme music, but not sure how yet. The midi files for effects are easy to change. This is the best 4x game I have ever seen, so much flexibility, almost too much, but not quite
Andy