Can you limit the number of opponents in the retail game to a specific number?

[Elowan]

I'm still awaiting my game CD, therefore I'm banging away at the demo. It seems even if I pick LARGE map - I end up meeting 'bozos' fairly quickly. How large is 'large' supposed to be and is 'huge' available in the retail game?

I've also been choosing 3000 attribute points and allocating them to: 1)ancient race (so I can find 'ruins' planets nearby, 2)natural merchants (traders?) so as to avoid having to build spaceports, and 3)Storage experts to gain the extra facilities per planet colonized.

Any criticism on this choice?

I also tend to construct extra research facilities on all oxygen planets - especially in the same system as the Homeworld.