needs to be adjusted.

for one thing: if I've kept my AI from connecting with each-other end game, they have little ability to coordinate an attack on me (no real alliance)

anyhow among other things I have a few proposals:
1) have differing degrees of "hostility" in diplomacy; outright agression, moderate agression, passivity, friends, and bedfellows. for instance OA would mean attacking any and all ships (civilian to), moderate would ignore civilians but would attack any military in a grav well, passive would only move to guard things in a grav well, but not attack w/out provocation (or if they stay a bit too long/get too close), friends would mean trade rights, military access and choice relic sharing. and bedfellows would be military aid (help me damn you), intelligence pacts and full relic sharing
of course I think things like intelligence trade and relics should be togglable, but having some standards (and degrees) would be nice.

2) allow a "diplomacy ship" that can be researched part way into the game that would be immune excluding outright agression, would allow for pacts to be made with distant allies. perhaps they might even be a requirement for pacts (around friendly planets)

3) this doesnt quite fit here, but I like the idea that if you're zoomed out far enough you can see the boundaries in your empire, almost like a big amorphous blob of your color surrounding your empire, contested zones would be red/black/flashing etc. I think it would just look cool

and an add on 4) make the AI much more willing to ally with its bretheren to take down "the man" (if there exists one in any one game). its simply too easy to plow through the AI in game, currently its mostly about boom and bust cycles, booming through pirates, bust when met with a new enemy, contain the enemy, boom some more. its too simple that way.