A few suggestions (and concerns) that I have mentioned in various threads, but wanted to get them sorted out clearly in a suggestion thread. Colonies Being able to have a home planet is really cool but I wonder if in an ever expanding universe it might start feeling very very small and insignificant over time? So my proposal would be to allow the creation of colonies, unlike your home planet you would not have as much power when it comes to terraforming. (perhaps you are still able to change the actual shape, but not the quality of the atmosphere) Perhaps also there would be special structures or services that would be unique to your home planet. So it comes to a situation where instead of the planets bending to your will, you have to go "house hunting" for the perfect candidate for a colony. When you have decided on a planet to colonize you need to select a group of npcs from your home planet (or existing colony) to send on the "colonization shuttle" to start their new lives. I just like the idea of spreading my influence across the universe, like in games like Spore. I found that to be a very satisfying experience. Universe Politics / Galactic Community I would love if there was the possibility to come across the home planets of other established aliens. Get that sense that you're not alone in your civilization building efforts. Have a galactic community appear around you, gain allies and enemies as you explore the universe. So if you come across an established alien race you have to formally introduce yourself rather than just landing on the planet and doing whatever you want without consequences. (After all they haven't a clue who we are, so there should be some distrust at first) Again I would have to bring up Spore and how different alien races had different personalities or ways of life and that effected how they treated you. You could create trade routes with them or start a war with them depending on what way you liked to play. Glorified world select screen.... Probably my biggest concern for the game, is that the universe will just be a glorified "World Select Screen". So you just pick a planet, land on planet, bring home the loot/npcs, pick another planet, land on planet, bring home the loot/npcs, pick a planet, land on planet, bring home the loot/npcs and so on. So the universe itself doesn't really have a drive or identity. I may be expecting way too much with this but really it does feel like somewhat of a deal breaker for me. I don't want a world select screen. I want a universe. I keep bringing up Spore because it did so many things right and had so much potential. In the end though Spore was just too repetitive. There wasn't enough to keep you guessing and it soon turned into a "rinse and repeat" cycle.
These are great. I totally agree with all of them, but I don't quite know how any of these will play out in the long run. The colonization idea sounds so darn cool. The idea of slowly gaining more control over surrounding planets and solar systems is awesome. The galactic community sounds a little complicated, but it'd add much immersion to the game. Like, what's the point of ruling several planets if there's no other planets to interact with and brag to? You could form alliances and further intensify your power. And I very much agree with your last point. You need to be able to feel the sense of discovery when finding a new celestial body. That's important.
