| Couldn't you change the inherent racial bonuses in the previous versions? |
Not the hardcoded "extra" bonuses that don't go away when you click the reset button.
There is a way to get different sets of hardcoded bonuses, though, based on the other races' profiles.
For example, if you want to start with inherent bonuses for trade and diplomacy, first start a game as the Terran Alliance. Change the abilities, etc. all you want. Start a game, then quit.
Next, start a new game and choose the custom race. On the screen where you change the abilities, click the Load button at the bottom. You get a dialog of all of the raceconfig files that you have in your My Games folder. Pick the Terran Alliance (or whatever you renamed the Terrans to be). Voila, you're playing a custom race with the Terran bonuses. Don't forget to spend your unused tech points before you go on to opponent selection!
It's not complete customization, because you are still stuck with the inherent abilities found in the established races, but it's better than always having loyalty and soldiering; and you start with the alignment leaning that the original race had, so you don't need to start at neutral.
I sometimes use this to play as an offshoot of a major race while still having that race in the galaxy. I have a game going now as the Black Drath, for instance.
