couple ideas for a patch down the road

[lnielsen]

On the CD version, (I don't think you can patch this) the autorun file always asks to install the game if you do not install in the default location. I wish you did not need the CD in to play the game but since you do, I know some games have a checkbox on the main autorun screen to disable autorun from then on.

The music always gets louder and louder. I set it fairly low but after a while I realize how loud it is and have to lower it again. Is this a subliminal thing?

It took forever to find out how to influence unrest. No where in the manual does it say to click on the words to reverse the command although it seems somewhat standard throughout your UI.

I mentioned in another thread assigning duties like anti-pirate to fleets and not ships. That way I can tell a pair of newbe ships to work together until they gain experience. Mutual protection is good. When paired like this the fleet should act as one ship. If one needs repair the other waits or patrols the home system until they are both ready.

Add a 10x or 20x speed for times when nothing is going on.

Often I tell a spy to steal money and I never get a message back about success or failure. I go back and look at the spy and he has no mission at all. I would also think a spy should gain experience like the ships. The longer between missions the better the chance for success (per spy) and the more successful missions completed the more types of missions available.

I know you are supposed to be able to run the game from the star map but I don't think there is a way to see ship status (integrity of each component) from the star map You could also add symbols by each home world to show if they are building, researching, or idle.

With all this said, it is a very good game. Please keep working on it.