I'd like trade to become more important. Right now weak empires want to trade with strong ones to get big bonuses. Big empires have no reason to trade with anyone. And I mean treaties not trade offers. Here on earth, trade is very important. Cutting external trade to a nation cripples its economy, even if the nation is essentially self-sufficient. I'd like to see something like that implemented in the game. I don't, for the life of me, know how, but I know I'd like to see it.
I'd like to see the scoring system fixed. Right now there are several ways to get an amazingly high score while being exceptionaly weak. For example, the scoring system counts numbers of ships and bases, not what's on them. So a baseship with a master computer and nothing else, sitting in orbit mothballed has about 4 times the effect on your score as a cruiser decked out with weapons and actively crushing your enemies.
Morale bonuses and penalties for battle need to extend beyong the system where the battle is fought. They need to have empire-wide effects. If I send a few hundred ships to their deaths in a far off corner of the galaxy, this should make my people unhappy. But it doesn't. Similarly, if I am victorious in battle capturing a new system from my enemy, this should make my people happy, but it doesn't. Battles only effect the morale of the planets in the same system as they occur. Blech!
I despreately want to see planet conditions get the same treatment that Atmosphere got. There is no reason to even delude yourself into thinking that a race from ice worlds with no atmosphere would use a Climate Improvement Facility to make a planet more hospitable to a race who lives on methane-based Gas Giants. My optimal conditions should be deadly to someone else, and mild to a third party. Just implement "Conditions types 1-5" or go with the Star Trek Class-system, but do something!
Low populations need to have severe production penalties, and the best way to do this would be as a formula, not as a list of population sizes and bonuses/penalties.
Ruins could have interesting things like a neutral race, an advanced ship, resources, or even something dangerous. Limiting it to tech is a little dull.
I'll back the people who want to see fighters as starting tech. I don't understand why I can build interstellar craft, but not interplanetary ones. However, I'd much prefer the idea for variable starting tech. Not necessarily totally random, but it would be nice if different races had differnt starting techs.
A race from a Gas Giant shouldn't be terribly happy living on an Ice World. Sure they can learn how, but it's just not the right environment for them. Same with people from Rock worlds on Gas Giants. right now there's a 1:5 ratio for population and facilities on domed:not colonies. I'd like to see a 1:3:5 with the 3 for not domed wrong planet type.
Domed planets, wrong world type, and conditions should all LIMIT, not modify, LIMIT happiness levels. It's too easy to get lots of modifications to happiness and overcome any penalty. But limiting the total happiness makes those worlds much more likely to get upset, and makes choosing your targets in war much more important.
Someone recently posted something about wanting plagues to spread, and I really liked that idea. Who ever posted it pat yourself on the back for me.
I'd like to see environmental resistance effect maximum population.
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