Re: Alien race information poll
All good points. The thing is, I think this is one of those situations where we just have to accept that doing it realistically would involve too much of an overhaul to the game.
Although I agree that you do learn too much on first contact, I personally think a lot more information should be made available about other races during the game. I really do think that systems you have visited but can't currently see should display the Last known population/ ship data about that system (with a date or something in the corner to remind you that it isn't current info) rather than going completely blank.
For example, if I have a trade alliance with someone for 10 years, you'd think all those traders and tourists would bring back some information about which planets were heavily populated, which ones were industrial/ agrarian etc. Also, space ports should be visible to traders. A research treaty might reveal some or all of the other race's research facilities, and I think a full partnership should show *all* facilities.
If another empire had a planet glassed by a third party on the other side of the galaxy, surely I'd have someone picking up their news broadcasts.
The trouble is, it would take a hell of a lot of code to do it right. There are so many variables to be taken into account, the best you can hope for is a simplified model. Maybe it will be improved for SEV, but I don't think we'll ever get perfection.
BTW, I don't think it's unreasonable that a high-tech ship would be able to determine what atmosphere another ship contained (and hence what the occupants breathed.) Even if only by blowing it up and analysing the explosion=-)
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