Ah, the visuals behind the tiles are just a background.
Adding some algorithm linking usable tiles to the randomized background would again use some additional resources (RAM, CPU) and all those bells and whistles would in the end bog down the game. There are some more instances where it was decided to keep the design more simple, allowing to reserve most of the resources for the AI and its strategy.

So were stuck with this absurd placement? With there only being so many maps, can't they assign each one specific areas that will be usable? I hardly believe this would be a drag on many computers, but if so, can we have a choice to enable a more process using placement? (Like the advanced AI. It can be a drag on comps, but we still have the choice to use it.) If thats too much to ask for, can you ATLEAST fix the homeworlds? Oh, and I don't think the planet quality bonus is working.. besides that random piece of Antarctic real estate, I haven't noticed bonuses anywhere, or when colonizing planets. (Like how with the bonus, if you colonize a 7, you should get a 9. But I don't even go up a tile.) Unless this was severly nerfed, and if thats the case, they should REALLY lower the cost of that bonus, cause it's not worth whats asked for anymore.

Maudlin, do we not have Space RAID?

it's a minor inconvenience that could be easily fixed

It's more than "minor", imo. They shouldn't have boasted "The new planet surfaces are vastly improved", if all they did was draw some new maps, and let the computer place tiles stupidly. Any modder with time and skill can make new ones, so I hardly see any improvement, if it's still randomized. I don't mean to complain..but considering what they can do, I don't see why this isn't "vastly improved", like they claimed it to be. :/

I was going to say that. Think about Earth and its 6 billion citizens, now put 2 to 7 extra billion in there; theres no where in our planet filled entirely with one kind of "industry"; theres farmlands on all continents, factories everywhere, cities all over, etc... In my mind, useable tiles show only the economical potential of one planet. A planet sized 10 has much more minerals and a nicer weather compared to a size 6 planet, thats why theres extra 'slots' for factories and marketplaces. The world map is just nice to look at. You can even add extra maps for more variety. I think its a 512x256 picture.

Yeah, but building a xeno farm underwater still doesnt make sense
Unless your peeps are aquatic, but then it doesnt make sense that their capital is on land

Whatever. Its just a minor thing Doesnt bother me.

If someone's biggest complaint is the tile placement on the planets then I think the game would be about perfect . Unfortunately there are some actual bugs to be worked on that make minor graphical inaccuracies seem frivolous by comparison.

No, no... read, my friend. I object to his 'easily fixed' statement, not the suggesting of the idea. I would love if it were fixed... but... easily fixed?

And for the record, the solution is simple, it's just a matter of people having the time to do it. I have the time, so i will try to get them done and see if boogie can get them in the next update as i said. No promises though.

I always think of the 'improvements' as massive arcologies, hence why you can only have one factory on an entire continent. The resources it takes to build even a corvette-sized ship in a few weeks requires a massive industry infrastructure, hence enormous building dedicated to it.

For reference - it takes eight months to build an F-15.

Well by 2223 Antartica will be mostly green fields accordng to Gore. A perfect place to put your farm.

As for Australia, well, i just can't bring myself to tell you what happens to it by 2223....

I always think of the 'improvements' as massive arcologies, hence why you can only have one factory on an entire continent. The resources it takes to build even a corvette-sized ship in a few weeks requires a massive industry infrastructure, hence enormous building dedicated to it.

For reference - it takes eight months to build an F-15.

I think the whole time scale of this game is rediculous. Why have each turn represent only one week? In my current game I've gone from my starting 8 billion person empire to an Empire of 1.5 TRILLION people in a matter of 5 or six years. And like you said a starship can't be built in a metter of 3 or 4 weeks. Yet this is hard coded into the game....you can't even switch it to simple turn numbers or alter the time between turns in any way shape or form. I think it ruins some of the epic feel of the game and it was a strange decision to hard code it so it is one of the few things you cannot mod. Do what you want with the game, but darnit you will build a vast galactic empire from nothing in ten years max. lol

That's a good idea, using the imagination....which is why generic turn numbers would be nice. They can stand for whatever you want them to. Imagination is good for filling in gaps or missing details(some games get worse when the graphics get better and when they get more in depth) but if you're going to use it to pretend game features that are there aren't there, or pretend the screen isn't showing what it is showing, you might as well just play solitaire and pretend you're playing GalCiv3. Save yourself some money!