Thanks for the comments about huds and damage indicators in the battle view. We discussed this a lot while we made the game. This is one of those infamous "tough call" areas where a risky decision may frustrate some players, especially those who expect certain "standardized" displays to be there.
The mouseover damage indicator is a bit of an experiment, and as you guys point out, it is quite different than SAIS. But I like it for two reasons:
1) It keeps the clutter off of the screen. That way I'm not reminded that "it's a game" all the time. Also, battles just look sweeter, "sort of" like you're watching them on a display monitor, which, of course, you are.
2) The idea is that gameplay in both Weird Worlds and SAIS should be intuitive, or at least based on observation in this way: graphics and sounds give clues too. The difference between the sound of a shield hit or a hull hit. The way a beam looks and sounds so when you see an alien use one that you have used, you know (you intuit) what it is.