Atmosphere type: Logically, atmosphere depends on the composition of the planet. The gases have to come from somewhere, and they usually come from
inside the planet, although lif eon the surface can alter them as has happened with earth. We'd be a methane or carbon dioxide world without life freeing oxygen.
So, also logically, a planet ought to drift back towards its original atmosphere type when the terraforming input is removed.
Planet value: It makes sense for minerals and radioactives to be less accessible when asteroids are condensed into a solid planet than when free floating in space. It also makes sense for the mineral and radiactive value of planets to go UP when they are smashed into asteroids and the material is more accessible. Where is the value coming from when 'value improvement plants' are used after all?
It'd be cool if an AI could be taught to use remote mining, and then stellar manipulations to destroy planets it can't use so it can remote mine them. You could have some interesting conflicts with a 'ruthless' race that wants to smash planets it cannot use for mineral extraction while you want to live on them.
Scanning and range: Yes, if the system map is expanded to at least a radius of 10, or we go to a coordinate system, then scanning ought to have a real range and this 'full knowledge' of a system just because you have one ship or unit there could end.
[ July 13, 2002, 23:12: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]