How are you playing?

[Dweeb]

I am excited about playing SE4 multiplayer, so I am playing my single-player matches using the "simultaneous turn" mechanics as practice. Are you all doing the same?
I am curious as to exactly how the multiplayer game will work. It looks to me that players will design empires to match the host's specification, who will then add them into a new game. The host will then send files to players who will give orders and then send a file back to the host, as in VGA planets, right? Can the host run without all the players having taken their turns? This would seem to be a very important feature to keep the games going.