racial points

[Parasite]

The score the first turn is set by resource production. no ships, bases or other colonized planets exist. Advanced Storage is, as RandW said, the best for first turn score. Other than that, Mineral and Research bonuses and less so Rad and Org bonus set the score level. After the first turn, the score more indicitive of planets and ships. The more the better.

That said, in the early game, score means nothing except the intellegence it provides you on other player settings. Later in the game it still means little, but in the final part of the game it can be said that noone has ever won without having the highest score. Even then it is rarely the score that gives you the win, just the winning ships and planets that give you the score.