So I started this too, with the name of "Duvaille". It seems that I neighbor someone big by the name of "harlow".
If I have understood it correctly, after some point this game becomes too much of a chore simply because there is too much to handle, with or without scripts. BM is excellent in this regard because there are limits built in when you expand too much. I do not suppose Dave sees a need for anything like that.
If there were a natural limit (something like diminishing returns) based on the number of planets you had, another strategy would need to be thought of. You would need to subjugate your weaker neighbors and make them your pawns. They could of course always turn against you if they found a better master. But then at least you would need to put in some effort in diplomacy. Then the smaller players could in turn subjugate some of the even smaller ones that are otherwise not worth the trouble for the big ones.
Or I suppose the game could be seen as "just fine" as it is now, each doing their own thing as long as that is fun. We shall see.
By the way, from the looks of it, "hydrocarbons" are the only resource that in due time vanish completely. Does that mean that after awhile, the heavily colonized areas become essentially uninhabitable and worthless, forcing migration to yet undiscovered places?
