New to the game..What are victory conditions?

You have to destroy all enemy planets, currently there are no other victory conditions. The AI can give up, though, if it sees the situation hopeless, usually when it has only few colonies left.

The research tree has two different branches, civilian and military (also defence if you have the Entrenchment beta), also fleet supply must be researched from the same place. You can set research speed lower when creating a game if you think you get them too fast.

they are two ways to destroy ennemy planets : weapons or influence (media hub)..:D

I suggest you to play your first games on small maps(7 planets) against a rookie computer in order to learn how to develop..:D

good game to you!

media hubs arnt the only way to gain a cultural victory

i prefer the deliverance engine myself... which is the only other way and only when it works

Destroy all enemies is the main victory conditions. Either wipe them out or they give up. This does not mean every faction needs to be destroyed. I won a game today on a 4 faction map. I had one faction that I negotiated to 100% allie. That faction wiped out the last enemy and then the game ended with victory. If you choose to continue to play however that allie becomes an enemy.

Yet you still win

I too have wondered what exactly are the victory conditions, or what exactly makes an AI quit?

there have been more than one occasion where I have had an AI quit, when they still had 3-4 planets, and a massive fleet. Yet other times, an AI in a clearly hopeless situation will still keep trying (backed into 1 system, an asteroid, and still sending 1-2 frig's at a fully developed system, with massive defenses and such).

A couple of times, I realized I left superweapons on auto-fire and "accidently" wiped someone out and didn't realize it, but there were some that I could find no real reason for them quitting.

and a note about the continue playing thing... you can't get achievements in that game after that point.

well you can't get achievement after you win a game, even you complete all of the achievements

Victory Conditions:

1. Everyone on the map holds hands, singing come by arr (all at peace, with a peace treaty)

2. Blast everyone on the map who arn't allied/at peace with you into oblivion (Total Domination/Conquest) - NOTE: some may surrender. (AI - as they can give up)

(Speaking of surrender - i always thought it would be a good idea for the person who's surrendered (including AI) to be able to choose who they surrender to based on some sort of criteria with the possibility of handing over their fleets/planets/having their labs as your own etc and absorbing it into the victors empire etc)

actually, what happens if in a map with multiple factions, one surrenders? I mean I only had it with the last remaining surrendering and then I won the game. but at least in mp there is a surrender option. for example in a ffa? I'm not sure I ever had the case, so ... if in mp I guess the ai takes over, but even some ai's have a threshold where they surrender, so what happens then, if they are not the last one on the map? they become inactive and you are free to overrun what's left of them?

it would be something to fiddle around with in that famous 2nd pack, but then I think I already noted that before.

If you play as "fixed teams" your ally wouldn't attack you at the end would it?

Nope, locked teams mean you win if your allies and yourself defeat the enemy.