OK, time for me to spill:
What I did was throw the balance of power totally out of wack. We've been doing a bit of RP, especially between BD and myself, and the Certadsh history is catching up to this game.
The Certadsh have an Enemy, that chased them from their previous galaxy, reducing system after system to ash. The Certadsh made it.. barely.. and have been in a state of war for over 500 years, both here and there. It's the reason they're so xenophobic, along with their Neutral happyness type (which is a PAIN to keep happy..)
Now, I decided the Certadsh are going BACK, for revenge. The initial plan was to give all ships and planets not in my core systems to BeeDee's Irha-Nrr, and destroy the other ships, abandoning the planets. Problem: SE4 won't let you abandon your planets with over 50m people!
So I donated much of my equipment and planets, and am in the process of destroying the rest. Suddenly the third place player drops to 5th, and all hell breaks loose.
Phoenix-D