I believe the first game after 1.08 is released will have a sizable population, though in the hundreds not thousands. There are a number of people interested in this game, but that are waiting for some of the changes discussed here in the forums. I am enjoying a game right now that had 50 people register, though the active population in that game is less than that. It took me a few weeks to fully get the hang of everything and I still learn new things periodically that I didn't realize I could do (such as using harvesters as a fleet).

Also, if you didn't realize this right away, probes can travel in a straight line (including diagonally) and they explore all of the sectors in that straight line. Many people go crazy the first day they play (i.e. me) sending probes to explore individual sectors one at a time until they notice this.