Starting position bonus?

[Sinapus]

I've been noticing that whenever I start in a system with a huge habitable world (usually) and some other planets with my empire's atmosphere I seem to be closer to other empires.

Is this some sort of feature sort of like in the Civilization games where you'd end up with bonus advances and maybe another settler if you were close to other civs?

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--
"What do -you- want?" "I'd like to live -just- long enough
to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a
pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors
come with too high a price. I would look up into your lifeless
eyes and wave like this..." *waggle* "...can you and your
associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?"