Okay, simple situation here- I'm new. And I stink at this. Or at least I seem to.
First real game with the full version, me as the Yor, everyone else on a Large map except for the Iconians, who somehow didn't get clicked. Guess they didn't want to play along. It didn't take long for everyone to grab all the planets, and things just kinda went downhill from there. Not immediately, mind you, but there just wasn't much chance for me. There was always someone bigger and tougher while I tried to establish a trade-and-diplomacy empire. Then about midgame the Arceans just sort of exploded, with a huge portion of the minimap turning bright yellow. I had them as allies, but that didn't help much. In fact I had everyone as allies- except the Altarians. The Altarians whom I'd courted throughout the game to try and reach favorable terms but never could. Friendly would persist a turn, no more.
Then I tried to attack, and I discovered the Altarians had somehow gotten ahold of some powerful guns, which was enough to overcome my defenses and put me in a stalemate situation. That lasted long enough that the Arceans had the 10-round countdown, which no one was in a position to deal with.
So I'm wondering- is there any sort of general strategy guide to follow here?
And while I'm at it- how do you get the Minor Races to show up in the game? I've not seen them at all.
