What triggers the events that unlock virus research, bioengineering and machine intelligence in the ancient galaxy scenario? I tried letting the Shakturi almost win against me before I got bored and wiped them out and no event fired.

<t> There are two kinds of abandoned ships/bases.<br/>
<br/>
The first kind is an abandoned unit that can be investigated by just moving close to it.<br/>
<br/>
The second is a damaged unit that needs to be repaired by a construction ship. You can tell them apart by the kind of icon you get if ...

<t> For frigate sized vessels I start off with a maximum size(200) ship, but they usually get smaller as my technology improves. By keeping them small I can also make them extremely fast and maneuverable, while keeping the cost down. <br/>
<br/>
You have to realize that a small fast ship is fairly ...

<t> Well the problem with destroying them is the fact that they need very little time to destroy a planet. They warp in, turn toward the planet and zap it. All in all about 5 seconds and then they can warp to the next target. They also have a huge fuel tank and the ability to refuel themselves. <br ...

<t> Would it be possible to include the option of only letting the automated construction ships do some things while prohibiting them from doing others?<br/>
<br/>
For example I would love for the AI to handle in the field ship repairs and building mining stations, but don't want the ships to keep ...

The short answer is: yes.

A station won't help against one of the 'Deathstars' you can find lying around the galaxy. From what I could see there is no actual way to protect a planet from one of those.