[Phoenix-D]

"he 'main screen' of SE V should be the galaxy map. The commands can be on a movable button-bar just like you see in MS word. Want it on top? Grab & push it to the top. Want it on the bottom? Push it there. Want it to float? That's fine too. No stupid 'frames' to draw, no mucking around necessary to adjust for the screen size. Everything you need to do is accessed by clicking on a system or clicking on a button on the bar that is placed where you want it."

Good ideas so far. An adjustable interface is definitely a good thing if done well. I don't like the galaxy map being the main display, though..see below.

"Systems should be hexagon-based rather than squares. This is easy enough to do once you give up on forcing the system window into a defined square in a rigidly divided UI screen. Click on a system and pop-up a hexagonal system map. Do whatever you want to do in that system. Click a 'close' button to make it go away and return to the galaxy map. The 'radius' should be much larger than the current system size. At least twice. This quite is doable when the system map can fill the screen."

Congradulations, you just made a system that takes twice as much clicking as the current one. To what advantage? All I can see is allowing for a slightly larger galaxy map without scrolling. I'd prefer keeping the system map the main map, perhaps like SE3's system with it in a resizable section of the screen. The current system for this is IMO intuitive and works quite well.

"Then 'vision' in a system should be range based instead of absolute as it is now and you can finally have exploration and a real need for 'patrols' instead of each system being a little room that you can guard from one sentry-post."

Should be based on your sensor technology, and maybe on what the enemy has on their ships.

"The Research and Intel systems need to be drastically revised. Something like the SE III system would be better, with the ability to adjust how much of your research or intel resources to devote to each field or enemy."

Probably. Micromanging intel projects could stand to go, or not. I'm ambivalent on that one.

"The AI must have multi-dimensional decision making! This 'anger level' thing is so crude it's laughable. We need an AI smart enough to try to get a treaty even if it hates you when it realizes it can't defeat you. It would just choose a different sort of treaty, a 'non-aggression pact' instead of a trade treaty or alliance. And we need it to be smart enough to honor its treaties and aid its allies when asked, as well as ask for and deliver diplomatic favors. The treaty system should be broken down into individual options, not the current 'hierarchy'. Why wouldn't there be situations where I'd want to share intelligence with some ally but not give them access to my resupply depots?"

I like the indivudual options, but you're asking a -lot- of the AI here. As sad as it is, SE4's AI compares well against many in the genere. The game is too open and too flexible for any AI to adapt well. Not that it doesn't need to be better; I just don't have much hope for it.

"Population AI needs to be smarter, too. Populations need 'loyalty' as well as a general 'morale' level. A 'culture' rating similar to the Civ 3 concept wouldn't hurt, although drawing borders would be tough in a space game. Just giving each colonized planet a 'sphere of influence' would probably good enough. Planets need to have much more complex environments defined by gravity, temperature ranges, and radiation levels along with atmosphere, and populations need to migrate more-or-less like they do in MOO 3 (the one really interesting and well done feature on that disaster) so you don't have to move them manually. Culture level could be an additional draw besides environment factors, and have an effect on assimilation (loyalty level) of non-native populations."

This is more feasible, though I'm not sure I like auto-migration or more complex enviroments. Though, the user doesn't need to see all this- just use the Conditions display for it. All the conditions of a planet could be put together for an averge value, on a per-race basis. Removes some of the micromanagement while still allowing for details.

At the very least, the possibility of auto migration should be adjustable during empire designs. Some empires might allow it, but the more controlling ones (Starfire's Bugs..any top-down government system..etc) wouldn't.