I have heard mentioned that you can get into some of the files and mod. Are there any tutorials for that or a list of what can be edited?
Modding is one of the items we hope to add at some point in the future and is on our big list of items for potential future inclusion. Right now, there is very limited modding support, if you can call it that. Basically, you can edit your custom races XML files (here: C:\Users\<your_username>\AppData\LocalLow\Praxis Games\ISG\Races\) and alter a bit their diplomatic behavior when they are played by the AI. You can also tweak a few parameters that will influence the AI's behavior by altering their proudBias, benevolanceBias, warmongeringBias, arrogantBias. These values go from 0 to 1. I cannot guarantee tweaking these values will result in balanced gameplay, and some of it can result in pretty unpredictable and odd behavior by the AI, but if you wish to increase aggressiveness and cause even more wars, then the warmongeringBias value is the place to look for if you're into that until we eventually offer official modding support.
I appreciate that and don't want to rush perfection... But I was looking more into editing ship stats and experience rates. That sorta thing.