So, since my last game was a bit slow to develop, I started a new game with the latest patch. Everything was stock, except 40% NPR generation, bumped up the population on Earth to 1.5bn and set 4 starting NPRs, and Jump gates on all Jump Points. No wormhole nightmares at start.
10 years into the game, 9 NPR's, including one low tech NPR next door to Sol. Most have been friendly/neutral, but they DON'T like each other. The United Kingdom of Milerton is three jumps away, four from their home world, and they and two other NPR's have been blasting each other to scrap. 30+ wrecks in their home system! They and one of the combatants have already setup trade relationships with me. The other combatant isn't too friendly, and I think his government type is going to lead us into conflict.
Definitely the busiest game I have seen so far, and having the gates on the warp points has folks expanding like mad. I like the fairly low tech scrapping going on, lots of Ion Drive ships blasting the stuffing out of each other. Ships are few and pretty precious right now. The big three way shooting fest has devolved into Destroyer vs FAC combats, since all the big ships got stuffed. Been fun watching the plucky little Milerton's hold off the hordes of the Fleshlough Khanate and the fascist Issa Empire. I suspect I will get to ride to the rescue, at least vs the Issa. The trade relationships have been a lifesaver though. Been expanding like mad without my usual deficit spending crisis that I got in my last several games.
Adding gates has certainly made for a much busier game!