[bearclaw]

I have to agree with Q. At first, I didn't like SE4 way over SE3 but now I do.

And in answer to your second question, I created a race that is maxed out in construction ability. Called the Sethillans. In the beginning of the game, they aren't too much of an advantage. with only SY I's colony ships still take 2 turns to build (the second turn only has 200 minerals left or something like that). Once SY II's are avaliable, then colony ships take only one turn. For the most part, ships can be built about 1 turn faster than normal. But when bigger ships are involved (DN, BS) it can be up to 3 turns faster. The biggest advantage is late in the game, when Stellar Manipulation ships are being built. I've got one game where I'm building a BC that has an opener, a closer, a repair bay, and a quantum reactor and iirc I can build this ship about a year faster than everyone else.