You’ll find that while combat is still the biggest factor among the 4 X’s, exploration and non-violent systems like diplomacy and economy will have expanded paths as well. That said, the mod aims to add depth to the exploration and expansion aspects of the game through a ton of new features. This mod seeks to give more depth to the other 3Xs of the game by adding additional game elements or refining the existing ones to reward players who give more strategic thought to the non-combat side of the game.” Use a text editor to edit the various files in the '/Stardock Games/Sins of a Solar Empire/Galaxy' directory. It’s up to debate whether Sins succeeded in this goal, but I think all can agree that of the 4Xs of “explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate”, Sins is much more focused on the exterminate than on the others. Cheat mode Note: This procedure involves editing a game file create a backup copy of the file before proceeding. The following entries should appear at the top of the file. “Sins of a Solar Empire is often described as a 4XRTS game, or a game that tried to merge the action and tactics packed gameplay of a Real time strategy game with the deep, complex, empire wide strategy of a 4X turn based game. Cheat Mode Note: This procedure involves editing a game file create a backup copy of the file before proceeding.

Modder GoaFan77’s explanation really best describes what you get here:

Sins of a solar empire cheat