That’s interesting about the pirates. They’re annoying to me, but they’re also the only aggression I ever see, even when I’m next to the Cravers. Granted I’m not playing on the hardest difficulty level but I’ve won on Normal, Hard, and Serious now with different races each time and no game has been close since I figured out how the game works. I’ll try turning them off.
I do like the game but agree with the above opinion that the other races in the galaxy are almost entirely irrelevant. I hope this helps.