I've played through sandox mode twice now, both times with a small galaxy (5 X 5 I think) against the Drengin and Torians on Normal mode.

I found that the two computer players both did the same thing both times, with a few exceptions. I was wondering if other's who had played this (default) sandbox game had experienced the same thing....

Drengin did not move quickly to grab colonies. Torians did. So did I. The result was the torians and I each had 5 or six planets and the Drengin only 2 or 3.

Each race went for different weapons each game. (Missiles in one, beams on another).

The Drengin and Torians were at war with each other almost from the start. Despite their economic disadvantage, the Drengin gained ground. Both players all but ignored me.

Is this what others have found? Or does this play out differently for others? My starting strategy is almost always the same, so it could be the AI reacts to me the same each time because of that.

For what it's worth, I found this a real good way to learn the game stress free. Just buy colony ships up front (until you are out of money) to grab real estate. I'd imagine if you didn't do that and you started in a weak position the Drengin would be after you pronto.

In this scenario you get to learn to make probes to keep an eye on the others, fool around with making ships, building planets, researching etc. As long as you don't get into the fight they will keep at each other. In fact, if one seems to be getting the upper hand you can visit the other one and give them some new tech or a few thousand credits to fuel hostilites. Ultimately you'll end up with an influence victory.