Preferred starting point

[bertipa]

What is your preferred starting point in the Galaxy? (and why?)

I'm partial for the outer core: it gives you a good chance to been able to get a section of the perifery, a good thing to have your shoulders against a wall, but with less risk of being cornered there.

[fix_account_please]

I generally play in a small spiral, and prefer a central starting location. I build many explorers (with extended range fuel cells). The access to discovering ruins first, and abandoned derelict ships / colonizers out weigh the safety of one secure border (edge of map.)

[bertipa]

I also prefer spiral, the space between the arms adds a little of geography to the map.
As the size if I'm playing at a strategic game I always go to the maximum possible (in CIV5 that means the maximum without assured crash).

[Data]

I used to play rings and started in the void between the core and the outer rim.
Now I prefer varied clusters and any starting position

[J HG T]

Always random. Makes more fun and undpredictable games.

[Tree Dog]

I always play a spiral galaxy and start in the outer core.
Don't quite know why.

[Lrfss]

ORIGINAL: Tree Dog

I always play a spiral galaxy and start in the outer core.
Don't quite know why.

I usually do the same, though recently been trying out random...

[Kayoz]

I usually choose "quick start -> epic". Starting a game on a typical random map following the "start new game" option has notoriously bad spacing of the empires. If you start one up with a 1000 or 1400 star galaxy and then fire up the editor, you'll notice that all the other empires start in a little clusterf*ck around your star.