So... what settings do you use? I'm trying to get a ballpark figure for colonies controlled after the initial expansion phase.
Thus far I've tried Occasional Habitables, Uncommon Planets, Common Stars, with nine opponents. On a large map I tend not to be able to get a single extra colony. Maybe one in a best-case scenario (excluding the ones in-system). On a huge map... well, same thing. By the end of the game (where there's no longer any competition) I'll usually have about 25 colonies.