Playing on a ludicrous size map the governmental restrictions on number of colonies means that, with habitable planets set to the default of occasional, roughly ninety per cent of the map is useless. Commonwealths do not extend a players range so the only means of exploring/exploiting most of the map is by starbase. Why explore when one can't colonize ? Why colonize only to be forced to give those colonies away to a necessarily incompetent A.I.. Having problems with/don't like micromanagement (not this player !!!)? Don't play 4x !!! Have uninstalled Intrigue as total waste of money !!!