Did something get changed in the most recent updates? It feels like the larger AI empires are being very slow to expand on the Alpha/Beta quadrant maps.

Possibly related: In a couple of games I've played this week it feels like crew production has been really nerfed somehow and I'm struggling to get it back up again. Not sure if it's because of crew upkeep figures or buildings not producing enough. Didn't used to be a problem. I've got crew-producing structures on all my planets and it's barely in the positive.