I'm sure its a moot point but Im always curious in strategy games what the general time scale is. Even though it's a "real time" game, it's obviously impractical to build an interplanetary empire and conquer vast star systems in however many hours it takes to play a game.

So just for fun, what are some opinions on the game's time scale?

*edit:  I wasnt clear on the topic, I guess.  I was not wondering how long it takes to play a game, but rather how long the little men in those spaceships perceive the game to be.  Does one minute of play time equal one year in the game, or something like that?

Im not asking for a definite answer, just some opinions on how it might work.