Help creating a custom computer controlled opponent

[OkieMurse (OP)]

Okay, now that I have watched a few videos and played a few starter games, I want to make a custom game to play through long-term.   Since I am a huge fan, I want to make it 40k themed.   

I plan to play starting in Sol and edit the Terran Federation to be the Imperium of Man.   Editing the player race to fit my flavor should be easy enough - just rename some of the commanders and name ships appropriately, all things that I have done before. 

The part I am not familiar with is how to flavor the filthy big bad "xenos" that I will be purging from the galaxy.   I would leave this up to regular NPR generation, but I really would rather that the theme of the race was recognizable to the 40k universe.   To be more specific - I don't want to control when or where NPR races spawn or what they own, I just would like it if I could rename their ship classes or pick their empire naming theme or even name their race and pick their portrait, as you can do for your own race on the Race Details screen.   It would be even more wonderful if I could edit their species characteristics and such, but not as necessary. 

Is there an easy way to do this without taking overall strategic control away from the AI?  Do I just need to turn off "Generate Empires as NPRs" and then plop them down manually during the game when I am ready to encounter them? Or is this possible to do to NPRs in SM mode after I discover them?

Is this possible to do without manually playing all the enemy races myself?

Attached: Likely the area I need help with.

[Ziusudra]

You can do most of that on the Intelligence window (Ctrl+F5, last button on system map).

You can rename the race, set a theme, and rename ship classes. (I don't know 40k well enough to know if any of the themes are what you're looking for.)

You can't change which portrait/flag files the race uses, but you can see which files it is using and replace them in the OS.

Though, you won't be to do any of this until your empire encounters them in the game.

[OkieMurse (OP)]

Oh wow, never seen this window.  Thanks! This should do the trick I think.  I'll try it out.

[Hawkeye]

My memory is a bit fuzzy about it, as I haven´t done it in a while, but here it goes:

Create a new game and check the "Create Spacemaster Empire" (Center Top)

You can un-check the "Create one or more computer controlled Empire checkbox, as we will create the NPRs later.

After hitting "Create Game" and waiting a bit, you will be facing your regular start-game window. Select your newly created game (if not allready selected) and hit "Select".

Select "SM Race" from the "Game" menue.
Enter SM mode
Then hit F9
You are now presented with an "empty" system screen.
Hit the "Create System" button (lower right)
Delete and create new systems until you get one you like.
Select a planet you want to be the homeworld of your first NPR and hit "Create Empire"

The "New Empire Setup" screen will pop up
Enter the name, population size, tech points and make sure you tick the "Create as NPR" checkbox (upper right)

After you are done setting all the variables, hit "Create Empire" on the lower left and voilla, you have just created a computer controlled NPR

Hint: Personally, I manuelly increase minerals on their homeworld to several millions at decent accessabilities for each TN mineral, cause NPRs are notoriously bad at managing this stuff.

Repeat until you have as many NPRs as you want.

Now, to your own race.

In the SM Menue of the main game menue list, hit the "Create Sol System".
Hit F9 again, select Earth and hit "Create Empire"
Create your own empire as you did with the NPRs, just _uncheck_ the "Create as NPR" box.

Done