Alright so I finished my third game last night and decided it was time to post some suggestions. Take it for what its worth!

(1) Game incredibly too easy. I played with 8 hard computer AIs setup into teams of 2. I went on offensive immediately. Once I got to capital ships, it was all over. For some reason, the AIs refused to operate more then 2 capital ships at any one time. I know its beta, so I hope to see some tweaking to make them more of a challenge.

(2) Pirates, while easy to kill, require you to heavily defend every planet in the late game. The heavy defense is required because the pirates skip the defenses and go straight for planetary bombardment, often wiping out the colony before you can destroy their ships. Would it not be more realistic, and less aggravating, to have the pirates loot you for cash rather then annihilate the population? This seems more realistic - maybe they take credits and steal some of your population for the slave trade?

(3) Fighter behavior seems bugged. I have a hard time getting my fighters to protect my ships from enemy bombers; instead, the fighters want to fly across the map and attempt to engage enemy defensive structures. Shouldn't the fighter's default role be interception of enemy bombers?

(4) Flak frigates seem hard to control. Is that just me?

(5) Cruisers not powerful enough. They don't seem that much more powerful then frigates.

(6) More defensive structure options - I have a feeling that's already on their list.

That's it so far. Fun game with great potential, hope they see it through to the logical, fun conclusion.