Exploring all of it

[Detros (OP)]

• Are  systems from "Max number of systems" number from the game settings used only when you or some NPR gets there through a JP (beside starting systems from all races)?
• Can NPRs explore systems player race has not visited yet (beside starting ones)?
• How fast are NPRs in searching other systems? Does it vary depending on their traits?
• If you lower "Max number of systems" number under you current amount of explored systems (or rather under amount of systems explored by both you and all NPRs together) will you just make all found-but-not-explored JPs lead to already explored systems?
• If you explore all systems from "Max number of systems" number can there be thus a state when there are no more JPs to explore?
• In such JP-search-saturated state, if you raise "Max number of systems" number will there be new JPs to get to these new systems?

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Every system has a system number.  When a ship enters a jp for the first time it rolls a system number to connect to.  Typically, this system number is in a small band around the systems existing number, but sometimes it can vary wildly.  The 'max system number' is less of a hard cap and more a variable determining how varied the system numbers you can roll are.  So as you approach the max system number it becomes massively more likely that you will be connecting to existing systems rather than to new ones...    You can indeed increase the max system number on the fly, or manually force a jp to connect to a new system in Spacemaster, or make more JPs.

NPRs can absolutely explore new systems. 

NPRs are likely better than you at exploring, as their exploration ships do not need fuel or shore leave or maintenance. I believe they tend to only explore so far from their populated systems though.

[Detros (OP)]

 I am using just like 100 as my MaxNumber I thought about possibility where I search like 20 systems, find NPR or two, they quickly search the rest 80 systems and then, once all JPs are linked to something we are forever stuck in this 100 system galaxy.

But if even JPs can be SMed in than all is right.

[Titanian]

Be aware that the starting systems of NPRs ignore the restriction on system numbers. They might very well start in system 500 even if only 0-99 are allowed, and when exploring from there, every time they roll for a system in the narrow band around it, they may get another system outside of the allowed range. If they roll for a totally random system, they get a connection to a system in the allowed range. Thus the galaxy isn't really restricted to the number of system you specified when playing with NPRs created on game setup.

[MarcAFK]

One other caveat, I'm pretty sure setting real stars during game generation basically makes the max systems number get ignored anyway.

[Garfunkel]

One other caveat, I'm pretty sure setting real stars during game generation basically makes the max systems number get ignored anyway.

Yes. Real stars overrides everything else.