One thing I'd like to see in the diplomacy screen is an overview of all diplomatic relations. Like the one you get in GalCiv 2, where you get the symbol for every faction and lines between them to indicate alliances, trade agreements, etc.

Unit Cap Increases!

Custom Map Additions:
-Ability to turn off rogues, rebels, and neutrals completely in custom maps
-Fixed starting system and start planet setting
-Custom start fleet and orbitals on homeworld
-Custom credits/metal/crystal
-Tweak settings for orbital defense platforms, number/strength of fighter/bomber squadrons (including ability to up numbers loaded on carriers... general bias slider), research time in game, jump movement speeds.

Gameplay:
-Alternate jump system/mechanic... no jump lines, just jump speed/range outside of gravity well and inhibitors.
-Increase jump inhibitor range signficantly.
-Variety of gravity well sizes beyond large and small, especially for a sun.

Other Ideas:
Indicator of AI (and player) alliances in diplomacy screen that is definitive

Long term:
- New orbital structures including the following
---- comm relay (economy/social/moral boost in connected systems)
---- long range sensor (allows you to scan other near by planets and what not at X range, see ships moving in jump space)
---- more types of orbital defense platforms (such as energy/beam, repuslor, tractor, missile, etc)
---- reserve ship yard (to put ships into when not in use... needs to be tied to an economy mechanic). When destroyed ships are lost too.
---- mines (fixed fields of damage to all but fighters, depletes with use)
---- stealth field (hides planet info from long range detection/sensors)
---- jump gate (nearly instant jump. coupled with the ability for players to remove lanes in custom maps as mentioned above for next patch, maybe an auto rebadging of non-gate jumps to FTL drive or some such... a lot of flexibility to gamers and modders)
- Split repair dock into size ability types... big one repairs large ships, small ones small ships.
- More ships... destroyers (heavy frigates basically), more cruiser class ships, more capital ships, new class of super capital ship (a couple per race), more fighter types.
- Long range construction ship. Then turn off existing mines that are captured and instead sned out a ship to build them. Same ship can also build a space stations.
- Space station. For in-between space areas like asteroids, junk fields, wormholes, and perhaps a new class of 'empty space' or 'gravity anomaly space' where jump travel isn't allowed. Stations are big super structures built by new class of long range construction ship. Operate similarly to asteroid base, huge cost, limited orbital ability, can repair ships and launch fighters directly as well as act as a trade post as well.
- switch for game style and underlying mechanic to put more focus on fighter ops. impliment 'ranges' or use duration for fighters, variable speeds, more fighter slots on capable ships as relevant (Carrier classes, hangars, stations. Only stations, hangars, and super capitals should be capable of building fighters, fighters can be assigned to any ship with a click mechanic so you can transfer from building structures/ships to non-building but hangar equiped ones.

erm... Pretty sure the TEC calls those Broadcast Towers. Intel reports indicate the Advent and Vasari have similar tech as well.

Remove phase lanes. They are unnecessary, they create the pretense that they are doing something when they aren't, and it would suit the current gameplay dynamic better if they simply weren't there. Any time ships are outside of the grav well, they are in "phase space" and can move around (anywhere) at phase speed.

battle movement for those who have add or think that standing still when being shot at is kinda dumb.

All I have to say is "Pigs in Space!!"

Change the Vasari phase gate so that the Ships fly through and it's faster. As it is, the most useful thing about it is the Returning armada ability. (At least in singleplayer)

Revamp DIPLOMACY! Please! See the post about how diplomacy kills. There are some pretty good ideas for changing it.

Maybe more of a penalty for losing your capital planet. Such as all planets get a 30% loyalty penalty if the capital planet is lost. This might make the battles for home systems more rewarding for the attacker and more important to defend for the owner.

Well I for one would really like more ships and research. Maybe even some ways of being able to customize ships so you can actually (to some extent) build a fleet that supports your playing style. Maybe even the need to get ships back to a facility to refit if you want em equipped with the newest tech.
Yes I know, I am a huge fan of MoO and to be honest think this game have a potential to rival it love the UI and that its real time.

1. Let us be able to reset the ESC key to bring up the menu if nothing is selected anymore like it did before the last patch, just make it a remappable key and let players choose if they want to use f10/esc.

2. Ability for AI to take over for players in MP/For players to join a game and take over AI if another player leaves.

3. More backrounds, variety is always nice and I would love to see more varied backrounds to the game. To my count there is only the Red, Green, Deep space, The deep space one with the light in the middle, then the bright/cloudy looking one. I would love to see more emphasis on nebula and other things in the system in more detail/variety.

Well, I'd like if there was a system of transferring planets to other people. That way I could buy/sell them or use them a bargaining chips.

Minelayer, with minefields able to be placed within a grav well. Each empire could have mine types specific to that empire.

With regard to the controversy about Phase Jump Inhibitors and their apparent "nerf":

Give the Phase Jump Inhibitor a toggle feature at the begining of the game. With the toggle "off", it simply continues to exist as it is now, simply slowing down enemy ships, and not costing too much in terms of research, etc. With the toggle "on" however, the following occurs:

(1) PJI's completely stop traffic through a phase lane. All traffic, friendly or otherwise, cannot escape a so-equipped gravity well. It does set up a "choke point".

(2) Such powerful PJI's would be more expensive to research (be placed higher on the military research tree), and would take up a large number of a planet's available tactical slots for it to be put into operation in the grav well.

(3) A PJI of this type would cost the owning empire in terms of trade money, since it would disrupt trade routes (ships can go in but not leave).

(4) The equipped system would suffer a drop in allegiance to the Capital world, with its negative effects as iinteraction with the Capital ceases.

(5) The PJI could cause a drop in the attack or defense stats of a friendly fleet present in the gravity well over time, as supplies from various sources would be slowed. (Supply ships can come in, but not leave).

(6) PJI's of this type can be so expensive that only one or two could be afforded at any one time by any but the richest of empires. Once activated, it can not be de-activated short of scrapping it, at a huge loss.

In effect, a Phase Jump Inhibitor that completely bottlenecks a system can cause as many problems for the owner as for an attacker, and the owning player would have to think long and hard about whether to field such a defensive measure. Such "turtlers" could find that the diminished allegiance of the PJI-isolated system could actually lose them the planet!

I agree with midnightjoker.

TEC Defensive turrets are very weak and could really use some buffing up. I mean look at the thing! It has 2 cannons the size of a frigate! You should be able to do some pretty hefty damage with those things. Maybe in exchange for a significant damage increase you could slow the firing rate. The ordinance of those things would be pretty massive and I would find it reasonable that the mechanisms to load them would be pretty slow.

So to sum up: Significant Boost to TEC Turret damage in exchange for longer reload times.

P.S. Love the game so far!!!

Sounds like a good idea to me. When playing, I was thinking the same thing.