I understand all the concerns with race balance for an RTS, but it just seems a little pointless -- at least thematically -- to be having diplomatic relations with carbon copies of the same 3 races. It hurts the epic vibe of the whole thing.
If they want to add the title 4x along with the RTS moniker, then they better understand all the baggage that comes with that. One of theses bags is definitely more races. 4x games in the past: GalCivII: 10 races and 8 minor races. SEV: 15 races and minor races as well. SOTS: 6 races. So ideally, I'd like to see minor races as well. The Rogues and the Pirates help with that, but they could easily take it further.
Sure, I could roleplay and pretend that TEC version 2 is some sort of human offshoot, but I would rather the devs do that for me. I hope they take a risk -- and I know it's a risk -- and attempt to balance way more than only 3 races.
But I also look forward to the Star Trek and Last Stand mod to fill this gap in the meantime. I'm not trying to beat a dead horse, but think this was a perfect time to voice my opinion considering the topic.