[rdouglass]

I too was a longtime player of SE3 and miss many of the features. However some of the comments mentioned below I don't entirely agree with IIRC.

****
-Basic indutry and research facilities took .5 years to build EACH.
****

Thats not entirely true IIRC. I remember fully populated large planets only taking 1 turn (to produce Ind / Res facilities). When you only have a few (pop) it took 5 turns.

****
..well I'm another person who likes the starting tech levels. Though maybe there should be a cost so people won't do the obvious and go for the colonization techs and planet utilization techs immediately.
****

I also liked the starting tech levels, but I like the Racial Techs idea even better. If MM implemented it (the tech levels), I agree people would tend to get the Atmos techs, but they could NOT get to the planet util techs. If they implemented it (tech levels) like SE3, it would not allow selection of hidden techs which planet util is one.

I personally would rather steal / beg / "borrow" atmospheric techs - its more fun that way and a hell of a lot less expensive (in research points).

I did like the "put the basic hull in orbit and repair the components" way of building ships. You could save a planet from attack by buying a coupla' bases, change the repair priorities to Sensors, then Weapons, then Shields and within 1 or 2 turns you had a base or two that was not completely built but could still deal a formidible blow to the attacking enemy.

One thing I liked a lot that has been mentioned in other threads but not here is the separation of building ships and facilities. Shipyards built ships - period. You could build ships and facilities at the same time. I would not mind it at all that we don't have multiple shipyards on bases if we could build facilities on a planet the same time we're building a ship. Why can't I build a mine on my planet at the same time my shipyard is building fighters (or ships or sats, etc.) Do they really use the same stuff?