I was just getting used to the interface and the turn based game play - not getting too involved with the warfare aspect, but looking at how much income could be generated during just peacetime research and trade - giving me an estimate of how much of a fleet could be afforded and the production scale of vessels and such when I saw a galactic breakthrough from the Terran Alliance (the one I have been reviewing)...

...and saw 'Nano Recorders' and seeing the research aspect bonuses I thought it was a hardware tool to assist in development, recording printed circuits on flexible materials to make wearable CPU's and flexible motherboards that would fit into a patch to wear a communications device for example...   ...when I read the description I was dismayed to see that it was in fact an endorsement for theft and espionage and not really regarded as a research development tool at all, but a lie about science - saying that stealing someone else's work is science - NOT!! Nano recorders being sound recording devices or 'bugs' is not what I would say would be a real breakthrough.

Miniturization and redundant circuits that repair each other is a breakthrough.

(It's bad enough I keep seeing the option to slaughter an entire species of non-aggresive giant rubbery jellyfish over and over - could you just make the science part about science, and not stealing someone else's work?)

Great game so far...