I also would like private games/single player scenarios like in the original. It would be fun if a couple of friends could play together (fosters diplomacy, for instance). That said, I don't think it is impossible for a new player to enter into Anacreon and at least get a good foothold. It is true t...

For what it's worth, I have seen the same issue. It seemed to come up if the intro screen was left up too long.

I've left 1.02 unmodded to this point.