Hi!
any tips dealing with drengin?
1) have at least some military. A fake defender (cargo hull with one cheapest gun, missile and beam will display in orbit 3*2 attack, and so artificially rise your mil score (giving you only one "minus" in relations).
2) have one trade route to them (a "plus" in relations).
3) have better diplo ability than they have (a "plus" in relations).
4) make them fight someone else (a "plus" in relations).
5) play as evil.
6) when they ask for money, give it, if sum is low. If sum's big, deny, but give them immediately thereafter (don't close the screen!) 1 BC for the same effect (works in DA 1.8).
7) in the time you'll buy doing this, develop your planets. Research medium hull and level-2/3 defenses for the main weapon they're using. Build a few most-defense mediums and lots of troop transports. Make them fight even more wars, then start one of your own. Forget their ships (destroy only what you REALLY must), go for their planets and resource-mining starbases, and their econ will crunch on no time (maintenance costs of superdominator corvettes helping a lot there). After that you just mop-up.
BR, Iztok