Mods...

[Cyrien]

I loathe quick start.

I tend to add the various modded races that I have found to be the most challenging high difficulty high bonus no tactical combat. Somtimes I disable stellar manip sometimes not... just depends on whether I want to be amused by the haphazard way the computer seems to use it.

Really adding 19 races and setting each one to computer play isn't that hard... a little time consuming maybe but it is worth a little extra time for a great game.