At the beginning of each mission, you will play as a civilization that has just discovered the ability to travel between worlds and build space stations. You will be offered several options for station development to choose from. From the very beginning you will be able to show hostile actions towards other players, build ships with guns. There is also a deep research system open to you, in which the main thing is to study what is near you. Build a system of knowledge about each planet with its own creatures, anomalies and resources; build your own resource extraction stations on them and capture what you like best.
Wars and diplomacy in Stellaris are explored in the same way as exploring the world around you. It will not work to fight “stupidly” with anyone. First you need to declare war, prepare a fleet of ships, try to reject offers of peace, and then gather allies for an attack. Your civilization will have an individual set of characteristics. For example, ships will fly exclusively on turbo engines or attack with thermal guns. Rule in your intergalactic state is also an individual matter. The people and the overall system are also determined by you.
There is a version like a pirate