The empire is I think in good shape, on par with other players, and has so far been under human control. This is a good point to enter the game, as we've gotten many of the lengthy preliminaries done, and are about ready to start squabbling over the space between homeworlds.
Well, some of us are, some may not be, and some look like they make be working up some serious business, or may have already been on the receiving end...
AFAIK the Leonine are in fine shape, though - the previous player said he queued up 20 turns of construction so the successor would be OK.