

This is purely optional, but beginners can certainly benefit from having a safer learning environment. This creates a reasonably safe play environment for a beginner player to use in figuring out the basics of how an empire works, how colonization and expansion works and how certain technologies work before moving on to actual gameplay. If one wants to create a safe environment for figuring out the most basic game functions before taking to the stars for real, it is possible to do so by creating a galaxy and removing all AI empires, Fallen Empires, Primitive Civilizations, Marauder Empires, Gateways and disabling Endgame Crises by setting all the appropriate sliders to zero in the game settings when starting a new game. Section 3 (User interface) of this article can provide some basic information about the UI but for an optimal experience, it is recommended that the player themselves figure out how the UI works and how to use it.

Once in-game, keep the game paused and invest some time into exploring the user interface what the different buttons do and where they lead.

If you decide to create a self-made empire or want to gain some general information into how the empire structure works, proceed to Section 2.1 (Empire creation) of this article and read through all of its subsections until you get to the header "User interface".

Brand new players may want to avoid choosing overtly aggressive empires, as provoking an early game war can be overwhelming.
