The latest update for Galactic Civilizations 3 adds the ability to create your own custom race of intergalactic space-bastards, ready to head off into the galaxy and wipe out all the cuddly, friendly species.
Or you could choose to be good at diplomacy, I guess. Beta 5 also adds two pre-set factions, the Thalan Contingency and the Iconian Refuge, and continues to fill out the game’s bare Early Access bones with some more meaty content.
You can mess around with your faction by editing their leader, art style, starting star system, traits, abilities, UI theme, ship designs and colors, and AI attitude (for when you’re not playing as them). There are sixteen different faction key abilities to mess around with, each of which nudges your civ in a particular direction, from military skill to trade expertise.
The update fills out the galaxy with eleven minor factions, who you can’t play as, but who will become either valuable assets or thorns in your side during your galactic conquest. A new planet invasion system lets you decide if you want to invade with ground troops, persuade the populace with propaganda, or unleash horrible bio-weapons.
Other additions include enhanced diplomatic options, Excessive and Insane map sizes for if you never want to see the sunlight again, and a whole bunch of other stuff I couldn’t possibly find the space to list here. You can check out the full patch notes here.