Tarm: Anyway I was thinking more like if you wanted to play for a economic, diplomatic, military victory or something else.
Can you build your ships in a certain way that you like to play? Like use mostly missiles?
That sort of customization.
Yes, you can make your own ship designs, mixing and matching weapons, engines, shields, etc. however you like. You don't get to pilot individual ships though. Combat is RTS style (rather simple RTS style).
Edit: As far as I recall, you win by being declared emperor/president/king (I don't remember the title) of the galaxy. You achieve this by having the most votes. This can be ensured by both military means (owning more than half the populated planets) and diplomatic means (getting others to vote for you), but it's been a long time, so I'm a bit hazy on the details.