Xbox platform, been playing maybe a month. Been running Imperial (avian) with militaristic, zenophile, materialist (I've done pacifist with the others the same, but that's not pertinent atm). I don't want to flood this thread with 100 ?'s, but at the same time, I don't want to ask all 100 in one thread lol. So, priorities priorities...

What are the: Pros/cons of running all city districts filled on planets with smaller district spaces vs 20 district spaces? (Ignoring the specialized planets for now ie: generator colonies)

Pros/cons of running balanced districts (let's say a 15 district max colony with 3 of each district built)?

What's the best way to maximize Empire size with minimum cost (what research, traditions, ascensions etc)?

To protect trade routes (if I go for merch value)... I've attempted to upgrade starbases to Citadel with all slots filled with hangers (6= 6 range, 60 protection) at midpoints between starbases that collect trade, on the trade routes themselves if it's not next to another route (a solitary route like the trunk of a tree far from the branches). Not wanting to eat up naval capacity with patrols... Good idea, or is there a better way? (I do have plenty of starbase capacity to do so, and it does keep piracy levels lower and holding).

And I guess lastly for now... Adjusting the tech cost for empires higher/lower to give me an unfair (lol) advantage... Does it only affect the AI empires, or does it affect my cost(s) as well?

Thanks in advance for any who have answers/hints. Again, I'm just plain vanilla, no DLC's, so I'm at the mercy of what's available.