Also, more scalable options at startup, including pirate numbers - from 1/10th of the current to 10x, with the option to turn them off intact. All those slow/normal/fast bars extended with at least two more speeds, at least one of them higher than the current max. Starting techs and tech caps - a game without RA, e.g. The ability to turn off the AI's retreat capability.
Given that a Viturska Transport Lab - which immediately blows up, no less! - shows up as the very first scene in the intro, I'd say it's a good bet that the downfall of the Vasari had to do with experimental drive tech, whether phase or otherwise.
Personally, I'd go with ExtreDimensional Menace. Probably drawn into the galaxy by some kind of Vasari experiment gone terribly wrong. I hope it'll turn out to have been in the Vasari fleet all along, sadistically tormenting them by making them think they are being followed while also following their obligatory Hidden Villain Agenda.
I must say I'm fed up with some of the anti-piracy measures taken. Web connection required to play a single-player game offline, e.g. - Portal, anyone? I played that game for one day, finished the main mode, but never got around to the bonuses. And I won't. Because there's no way I'm letting Steam stay on my harddrive. I have better things to take up my disk space. So I uninstalled them both on the same day, and I'm taking it back to GameStop. Getting some of my money back, due to their buyback
I personally tend to build fleets consisting of ~20 Kodiaks, 2 Hoshikos, 1 Cielo, an Akkan and one other cap, depending on what I'm gonna use it for - I have a personal liking for Sovas, but the Marzas are good for bombardment, and the others caps have their own advantages. The good thing is, you can field 3 of them with 40% upkeep, allowing you to be everywhere at once (Almost). Bad thing is, they aren't that hard to destroy, though pooling them helps.
I would like to see starbases/space colonies. I would like to see the ability to claim neutral systems by sending in a deep space construction frigate and building a space station. This would make it possible to properly guard wormholes, stars, gas giants and other non-colonizables. They would, of course, only be a shadow of a 'proper' colony - maybe 5 population, max. 10 tactical and 4 logistics slots, 1 level of exploration. Taking a page from SE5's book, I'd like high-end options like bl
I want more races, even if some are just reskins of old ones with fancy new names and backstories. I want to play a 8-way match without duplicates.
