I love how you tried to approach the idea of interstellar diplomatic, it sure is fun to play this game. I just don’t fully understand what to do to stock up the weapons, I always either not have enough money or the alien decided to start a war too soon.
And ultimately, I think the game always tends to go to the war state. There does not seem to be a peaceful side of playable content. Although it might be your design decision, I still think if we met the aliens, there is a chance (slightly) that we can be peaceful neighbors.