Contributors (in no particular order, I don't know how else to commend you for your services):
* Mr. Frosty L
* mk31bolo
* coyote720
* steelplayer36

* ## Starting system layout
Using the Terran-faction as template for your custom race, you can check the tiny checkbox (bottom left) which creates you an original home-solar-system. Consisting of Earth, Venus, Mars. Where the last two are immediately colonizable. Then you have also Mercury as barren planet, one asteroid ring and one gas giant.
Once you researched the "planet creation"-field, you can transform the latter three into favorable, rich to ultra-rich planets.
Combined with a great Labor-leader, moral boosts and lots of support ships, those six planets will crank out Titans every 4-6 turns.
Since they are also colonizable by colony-base instead of ship, you gain another advantage.
Other factions usually start with a single-planet-system (at least to y observation).

## Charm them
Pick "Serenity" as skill and "Charming" in the customization-screen. And you are good to go to be allied with almost every single other faction you meet. Works up to difficulty Impossible.

## Ruin searches: save and reload
Definitely cheating, but since the results are more or less random (except if someone else searched this ruin before): save before doing so and if you don't like the result, reload. This can turn "nothing was found" to "Adamantium armor".

## Clairvoyance: save and reload
If you use clairvoyance, and none of the stars in your initial supply area has a colonizable planet, you can reload the turn and choose two different sectors. Rinse and repeat as necessary (or until all available sectors have been scanned).

## Configure your weakest foes
You could play only against custom AI races that have all the worst negative picks and none of the positive. This probably won't affect end scores, but makes impossible games considerably easier as the AI is not so all-powerful.

## Gift what would be robbed anyway
If you have an AI heading for one of your outposts with an overwhelming force and you're not prepared for a war, try gifting the system to them. They will often accept it, thus improving your relations and avoiding a war.