The new aspects are great. Really great. First impressions here (Version beta 1 build 1 last updated on: Wed Nov 15 18:42:55 2006):




USER INTERFACE:
Down-left side, there is a vertical bar with horizontal color stripes on it... I hoovered on it, but no clear info. Haven't looked further yet.

We can get "+10% other's economy/research", and he loses nothing. But maybe the explanation could be written otherwise for feather heads like me who only understood clearly by looking the effect after.

Asteroids? Great. I tried to install "outposts" like I would with SBs. Took some test/fail to do it, so maybe it could be streamlined to work the same way.

Radioactive, water planets, etc: I clicked on planets but no tags. And I researched heavy and radioactive to level 1.

I clicked on the red agent and on a planet to place it. It worked before, but this time I could only click "done" and not "place agent". Yet... it was still written "Click on the improvement and click place agent". I dunno why I couldn't, but it could have been written (for example) "You cannot place an agent for the moment, because Brad Wardell has no time to put it there."




Top 5 changes + comment:
- Spies. I'd like it less "your one-guy-team does it all" and more "your cells/spy-masters do it", but it's a major plus. Maybe special events/else could give a feel of it (ie. agents: "funded independence movement, "contacted wealthy people", "hinted non-sense to radicals against sounder factions", "influenced elite litterature", "smuggled opium"...) Could agents affect the "elite capital" (like pro-Marx/Soviet in US universities: writing stuff, getting tech points...) or starport (agents in opposite armies)?
- Asteroids: Nice, the miners switch allegiances. Still too expensive and controlled for private trade? Smugglers / free-traders another day.
- Planet types. Their graphics are a very nice immersive addition too.
- Economic/research treaties: Neato! No mess, just clear one-sided arrows I can clearly feel "imperialist" (kinda). Not evil enough though: "control-of-treaties'-terms treaty" could be Versailles/looting-style "contract terms" (+15/13 instead of 10, they lose 5). Minors would stay on the map... until they break treaties and are taken.
- Clicking on an enemy ship nicely gives info... and a graphic Yum. There maybe should be less (potential) enemy info.


Other: You don't have an evil smiley. Drengin games' forums should have evil smileys.