Quoting CaptBeefheart, reply 11

Diplomacy Statistic bonus increased from 2 to 3 [what is the "Diplomacy Statistic" used for?]



if you go to diplomacy tab and hover over any race you've made contact with it will show you how they feel towards you and why

these various why values range from pretty much +3 ( +++ ) to -3 ( - - - ) things like

you gave us a gift +

we have an open borders treaty ++

we are trading ++

we are worried about your military buildup - -

adding up the +'s and minus's essentially gives you a value that determines how much the ai likes or hates you

if they like you they will give you gifts and offer better deals. if they hate you they will refuse to trade certain things with you or declare war on you

having a high diplomacy makes you a diplomatic race and that is now worth +++ instead of ++

you can get diplomacy from some buildings, starbase modules, techs, and specialization's





Quoting CaptBeefheart, reply 11

Conquest Victory Goal is not active until after turn and the player has a reasonable military [Is there a turn number missing?]



i think this implies turn 1 (thus you cant get a conquest victory on turn 0 by starting a game with no oppenents) however this is only a guess

Quoting CaptBeefheart, reply 11

Easy target modifier now takes trade routes into effect and reduces the impact accordingly if the player is trading with them [What is this "easy target modifier?"]



i believe this means how likely it is that an ai will attack your ships or attempt to raid a trade route (is raiding a trade route still in the game or was it removed)

Quoting CaptBeefheart, reply 11

Ships In ZOC diplomatic modifier takes into account how many ships are in the ZOC . If it's just 1, it tends to let that slide. [What is this "ZOC diplomatic modifier?"]



ZOC is the area of space that is highlighted in your races colour when you have ships in another races ZOC it makes them angry unless you have an open border's treaty

this just means that 1 ship its just passing through 2+ ships and they think its an invasion