NPR generation for new games

[Mirage (OP)]

This is something I've wondered about when starting a new game:
When starting of in Sol with 1 starting NPR selected in the initial menu, does that NPR spawn a certain distance from Sol? Or is it totally random (i.  e.   he can quite literally be at the other side of a 1000 star galaxy?).   Also, if you linger around Sol and leave unexplored jump points alone (therefor they don't connect yet to anything), is it still possible for the NPR to jump IN? How about dormant jump points, when are those generated?

Since I enjoy conventional tech starts, I'm constantly looking over my shoulder wondering if the evil aliens are going to come kicking down doors. 

[TheDeadlyShoe]

I believe the starting NPRspawns within reasonable distance of Sol.  The starting NPR - and any additional NPRs found by the starting NPR -is quite capable of jumping into Sol.  It can't connect a 'dormant' jump point until all existing jump points are connected.

if you're worried about your conventional start, just uncheck the box _and_ set starting NPRs to zero.  You can use the "Add Extra NPR" function in the Spacemaster menu to randomly add a race later, or use spacemaster function to manually create an NPR race.

[Nightstar]

I have no idea where starting NPRs spawn.

Dormant jumps points, IIRC, are generated when a JP tries to connect to a system that already has all of its JPs connected to other systems. This creates a new JP in the destination system, which is not identified unless you redo the system JP survey. In theory, it would be quicker to follow an NPR back to the dormant JP site, and just resurvey the nearby gravsurvey points.

An NPR can stumble across your systems by accident, even if you don't know their systems yet. In a large galaxy, this is fairly unlikely to happen soon, though it can happen. I wouldn't worry to much about the evil aliens. Or, if you do worry, probe/mine your unknown JPs.