Hi all, my first post here.

I've been lurking here for a few days, reading and learning. I d/l the game last night. I can't believe I never heard of this game before.

I don't want any spoilers, I'll learn the game myself, but I'm open to good advice and suggestions. Please let me know if I'm on the right track.

* installed the game
* installed latest patch 1.79
* installed balance mod
* reading these forums
* reading wiki site: quick start and strategy guide very useful! Manual is kinda painful to get through, I'm still eyeballing it though

All of these years, I've been playing Star Trek: Birth of the Federation (botf). Wow, SEV makes botf look like a rookie game! I'm really looking forward to learning this game. Even with mods, botf has gotten boring.

I do have a few questions:

The 'quick start' vs 'new game'. I like the quick start, because it sets up all of the races, and creates the map. I didn't spend much time in new game option, but was disappointed I have to define each and every race, and place them on the map. The problem is: I don't want to see the map OR know who else is in the galaxy. I'd prefer the computer generate that for me. I noticed the option to 'load game settings' or such. Has anyone created default start game configurations that others can play? Where are they? Which ones do you like?

Other question: For a new person, are there any documents you recommend I print out, reference material, to have next to me while I learn the game? I'm bringing my 2nd laptop home, so I can have two side by side, one for this game, the other for online reference material. I'm thinking a flow chart of the tech tree would be nice to have, but haven't seen one yet.

That's all I can think of for now.

Cheers!

Daryl