Matrix Games Forums

I have watched some videos and read a fair amount and am about to start playing for the first time, using AI Improvement Mod (1.05 Extended Release) cos all the cool kids seem to recommend it.

Because I don't want to get overwhelmed (but don't want to automate everything either so I can see what works) I would like to choose a race I can "turtle" with - get reasonably successful without having to build a giant empire and numerous fleets etc. My instinct so far is to go with the Quameno - I generally go tech in 4Xs anyway and that might help me survive with less as well. But I would also be interested in trying other races that are not too difficult to play but have interesting quirks and don't rely on growth.

Is there a simple chart somewhere giving an overview of racial strengths and weaknesses at a glance?

Try Ikkuro. They have a special event every ~5 years where your planet quality increases by 1%, which is actually a very sizable economic boost when looking at the GDP formula:
max_pop = 0.025 * (size^2) * ((quality/100)^2)
GDP = max_pop * (quality-50)
A 100% quality planet has 256% more income than a 75% planet.
I even had one planet reach 101% quality, even tho the game editor doesn't allow to set quality over 100. Also they have much better income and growth than Quameno thanks to their starting governor.