I just wanted to clarify a few things though.

So in this game...

-it's entirely possible to fight proxy wars with another empire through pirates??? (I've been doing that pretty much all game, although I'm not sure if the pirates actually do any good to the other empire )

I am seriously considering getting this game, but the Demo seems a bit...slow. I mean, even in the game options, when I put everything to full speed (like research), the game seems draggingly slow. I've seen the screenshots on these forums and to see some people having HUNDREDS of ships on the screen at one time, and over a MILLION credits, is stunning.

So although this might have been repeated many times, I have to ask...do the patches speed the game up any?