I got the first edition in 1977. Of course my first run was a ripoff of Star Wars, complete with Mos Eisley spaceport, with a bit of Jack Vance thrown in.
My second attempt started with Regina subsector from 'Kinunir', but with a distinctly Star Wars-y Imperium. They didn't say which direction the rest of the empire was. I thought it was off the left edge of the map. I used a map of Oz for the rest of the Imperium, with the capital where the Emerald City was. This was by far the most gonzo campaign, with rampant psionics, anagathics and ancients (ripped off from 'Land of the Lost'). The scouts were secretly conspiring against the Empire. They had a 'controlled misjump' technique that allowed them to cross a subsector in the same time as a regular jump. This allowed for a more star-spanning campaign.
I never used the Imperium. It always felt too hemmed in, too pat. The end of that for me was when GDW came out with maps and stats for the entire Imperium. A huge part of the fun is making your own setting. Right now I'm noodling around with a near Earth setting, but I miss the fun of my Retro-Stupid setting above. Or...
Andre Norton and 'Forbidden Planet'? Hmmm...