Of course they will effect the game balance - but they will not BREAK it - and there is a difference between effecting and breaking.

<t>The starship advantages is a must. There can not be any fairness in the war - it is no a fair play competition. You either win using your available advantages and enemy weeknesses or give up. Comparing to the Navy Fleets (earth, of course:-)- there weren't two absolutelly identical ship even from ...

From whoa I read it seems there are no *real* differences between the races - like better research, better productivity and such; and there are no different preffered planetes for each races - each race likes the planete 1 most atc. Please someone who has the game to tell if it is true?