Sure, there are some things that I don't like, as I'll mention in a moment, but I'm actually pleased with the new expansion. I love that there are now six factions with unique strengths, ships, and abilities. However, I'm a little biased, because I love the concept - expanding to other planets, creating defenses, building a strong economy, conducting research, and forging alliances, but I also love the variety of research, diplomatic pacts, and artifacts in the game. Don't get me wrong - as much as I love the concept, quality is also important to me, but I still see excellent quality. Ironclad continues to deliver beautiful graphics, enjoyable music, and more.
My friends and I have played many LAN games and, based on those experiences, I can tell you that we would not have had as much fun playing Trinity or earlier. We would have had fun, but less fun.
I've chosen to adapt to the things that I don't like, such as the ship orientation (being nose to nose sometimes), and the inability to define where human and AI players will start from the pre-game screen (for those who don't have time or interest in Forge) - defining player positions for a random map would be difficult as it's being generated on the fly, but if there was a way to at least give each player a number (similar to the team number), telling it which system to put that human or AI in. I'm digressing, but anyway, there are things I don't like, and I'll adapt.
If Ironclad implements any of my suggestions on the forum in Rebellion or a future game, awesome, but if they don't, it won't destroy my experience of Sins.
Bottom line: My loyalty to Ironclad's work remains because they continue to deliver a concept I love with rich quality and beautiful complexity.