These suggestions are based on beta version 0.16.0. Latest updates in red.
Interface:
- Add a scoreboard that can be enabled/disabled.
- Add buttons for changing map filters like yield and enabling the hex grid on the mini-map or somewhere on the UI.
- The mini-map should be altered to display borders/faction influence. Right now it's a bit confusing since you can see your cities, but not the area you control.
- Demographics should be available during gameplay (preferably with graphs).
- Add the ability to draw on the map to plan expansion.
- Add the ability to automate city production with emphasis on production, science, food etc.
- The notifications on the right side are a bit hard to read, especially on snow/ice backgrounds. Add a background, increase the size or changed the text color.
- Morale tool tip should be changed. Positive effect from overpopulation can be misunderstood. If possible, have different texts for positive and negative modifiers.
- Change the tool tip on colonist assignment to "Colonists are currently being assigned automatically to this task."
- Add a pop up when you enter a new era. I saw notifications for it, but it would be nice to have a pop up and some quote when I enter a new era. (Added in 0.16.0)
- Instead of a generic image on the unit techs, show the model of the unit type you just unlocked, would be a lot more interesting that seeing the same image over and over.
- Make the tiles currently worked by a city more visually distinctive. I had to squint to see a little man next to the yields.
- Add a restart map button to the main menu on the first turn of a game.
- Allow the production queue to be rearranged.
- Research should be able to be queued.
- Allow units to be moved with the numpad.
- Allow hotkeys to be reassigned.
- Add the ability to assign units to auto-explore.
- Allow unit stacks to be grouped.
- A hint should be added that explains about morale and the Tax Rate slider. (Added in 0.15.2)
- Tax Rate slider should have a tool tip that explains what you are currently getting out of it (+money -morale etc). (Added in 0.15.2)
- Add an icon on the left side of the city status bar that show if it has positive or negative morale. Just make it the pink man if it's positive and red if it's negative. This enables the player to see if a city is in trouble at a glance instead of looking through the economy screen all the time (which is also easy to forget).
- The extra command options on the Former should be open by default. (Easy to miss otherwise.) (Added in 0.15.2)
- Add a combat outcome estimation when you hover over hostile targets. Currently it shows +/- power effects, but I'd like to see also an estimation of the outcome of the battle. E.g. will my unit get slaughtered, barely make it or completely destroy the target. (Added in 0.15.0)
- Add a sentry button. Wait, but wake on hostile unit sighted. (Added in 0.15.2)
- Mini-map should center itself as you explore.
- Allow unit paths to be set into unexplored territory.
- New unit types being automatically added to the workshop is great, but only do it for when you unlock each type. I find myself having to delete new designs of advanced unit types (tier 2&3) when they get researched.
- When you update unit designs in the workshop, units currently queued for production should also update to reflect the changes. Having to delete and re-add them to the queue is tedious.
- Orbital deployment should have the same message at the top of the screen about which buttons to use like the other operations.
- Drop Pods shouldn't have grey text in the operations list. It's confusing.
- Building types could be grouped together in the production menu to make it easier to find what you are looking for in newly founded cities at later stages of the game. Perhaps group buildings together based on function (production, science, mining etc) or group them together by research tier. This isn't a big problem, but would make the city screen more organized.
- As an alternative to above suggestion, make the previous tier of building required to build the next one. It would reduce clutter and it makes sense in the first place to build the cheaper basic version before you upgrade to the next tier.
- Add terraforming to Former automated tasks.
- Upgraded units should not retain their old name. E.g. upgrading an unit designated as "Artillery" to "Tank" should change name after upgrade. Having a tank driving around called "Artillery" is weird. Also tedious to manually change it.
- Add city wall graphics to cities that progressively get more beefier as you build the better versions so you can see from the map what kind of defense a city has.
- Add more diplomatic options.Stuff like tech trading, city trading, conspire to declare war against others etc.
- Allow adding flame throwers to ATV's and tanks.
- Tanks should have two movement points.
- Add the ability to raze cities. (Added in 0.15.0)
- Production queues should be wiped clean when you capture a city. (Added in 0.15.2)
- If a unit kills the last defending unit in a city, it should capture the city immediately and not have to wait a turn to move in.
- Mountains should be impassable to form a natural defense barrier.
- Units should heal faster while in friendly territory and heal slower while in hostile territory.
- Add some form of World/Planetary Wonders that give unique benefits. Costly, but rewarding.
- Give each faction some unique building, tech or unit to diversify them even more. Focused on their traits obviously.
- Add more diversity to hive rewards. E.g. rescuing civilians gives you a colonizer or former, rescuing military gives you a a trooper or ATV. Maybe you can find rare resources and a unique resource appears in its place.
- Add some type of planetary council that can enact resolutions like banning WMD etc.
- Improve pathing so that units don't pick whatever is the straightest line. Make units stop when they encounter hostile units in their path and not move around them and waste their movement points. (Added in 0.15.0)
- Add the ability for cities to produce science. If I have nothing to build and I'm rolling in cash, but struggling to catch up in the tech race then I want to set my cities to convert production to science.
- Miners and Farmers should be combined into one colonist type.
- Add an alien taming research chain
- Add a decision point after you first encounter aliens to either embrace or eradicate them. Provide unique technologies to both paths and make them mutually exclusive. Add diplomatic modifiers based on this decision.
- Add unique water based resources along coastlines.
- Add new buildings that increase yields from water tiles.
- Air units should not be affected by damage from fungi squares. Makes no sense as they are flying above them.
- Add new research that adds new Former and Colonizer only devices such as increased initial population when founding new city, some basic buildings auto constructed when founding new city and reduced improvement build time.
- Give cities a baseline defensive strength so they are harder to capture.
- Refitting is prohibitively expensive and should be cut by at least 50%.
- Mineral production should be buffed. You can handle it by microing, but it should be increased so people (like me) who prefer a more macro playstyle can do that without worrying about being behind on minerals.
- Air units are overpowered and need to be altered. Add a fuel or range limit (base them in cities) and add a carrier type of ship to base them on. Remove the ability to explore ruins, capture cities and pillage improvements. Currently they make water units pointless and essentially all other units are redundant since air units move faster and can do everything. AA defense can easily be dealt with by Orbital Bombardment and some Artillery units. As a compensation for the reduced mobility they can have longer range and have the range increased by new techs.
- Expansion needs to be slowed down. Right now you can spread without consequence, in fact spamming new cities has no negatives (That I've noticed). Spreading too quickly should tank your economy somehow or make the aliens around you extremely aggressive if you spread out too fast. E.g. if you don't take the time to exterminate the hives before putting down new cities it should increase the spawn rate at hives in close proximity to cities and make it target the city and attack.
- AI needs to realize when another AI or human player is getting close to a victory and immediately take steps to stop them.
- AI is too passive, needs to be more aggressive in warfare. Even on Hard the AI's were content to just sit around and do research instead of attacking me or each other.
- Morale should have serious consequences if you dip really low. It should stop production and growth in a city and it should cause unrest and even rebellion if you let it go on long enough.
- Economic victory should be changed. Currently it's very boring. Amass a pile of money? Make it so that an economic victory is gained by having production/farming/mining/income higher than all other factions by quite some margin. An economy victory should be the combined output of your faction/nation aka GDP being really high, not having a giant pile of money.
