To start off I just want to say the game is very fun and I'm glad I bought an early access copy (something I almost never do after getting burnt from other games). Based on the good design choices, I believe the team working on this do care about strategy games and it shows. After around 20 or so hours of playing I have a lot of thoughts about the current state of the game (version 1.17.11). Keep in mind while reading this that I don't follow the discord so I'm not sure if any points I bring up have already been addressed or not.

The things I like are as follows:

• The new item system adds a lot of customization and depth for Titans, Capital ships and Starbases. The customization is very nice and I find that I use different items depending on the situation.
• The Vasari not using credits is a really interesting change and makes them feel unique. It also adds an interesting dynamic with the market. The Vasari not starting with a planet is thematically pretty cool. I really appreciate the game leaning towards more asymmetric faction design in general. The new Tosurak Raider is a fun early game raider or mid late game structure cleanup unit. I had a few fun games of harassing the AI with them.
• All of the titans are fun to play and I'm pleased the Ragnarov is still a powerhouse. When my friend grabs the game he will be very pleased that his fave titan is still fun as hell.
• The orbiting system is really cool and makes planning colonies much more interesting. The future orbit button is also very helpful, but also just fun to watch (brain go brrrrr).
• UI is visually very nice and layed out very well. The search function on the research screen is very helpful.
• The derelict loot system makes planning out the early game expansion interesting where I can plan if I want to b-line straight to grab as much land as fast as I can or take the loot earlier to get a stronger fleet or more tech.
• The updated models and shield effects look really nice. I love looking at all of the ships, especially the titans and starbases. My girlfriend who doesn’t know anything about the game also likes looking at the ship models and appreciates the art.
• Missiles being objects that can be shot down or that can collide with objects while on route adds a bit of strategy with fleet composition and with placement of buildings. Overall, I have felt it more necessary to pay attention to fleet composition than I did in Sins 1, it feels very rock paper scissors-y which I like and has gotten me to try out a lot of ships and strategies instead of just building the big ships or a generic fleet all the time.

My dislikes are as follows:

• The time it takes to initiate a phase jump is too small. The techs to speed it up feel unnecessary and a waste of resources. I haven't lost much or if any fleet while retreating from a bad engagement. Personally I would probably double how long it takes.
• Very minor but I think build time should be shown by default without having to hold alt. Build time is too important to hide it by default in my opinion.
• In the games i've played the AI doesn't chase after  fleeing almost destroyed capital ships. This is even on harder difficulties (unfair and up). I did a 1v1 impossible AI., because of how the map generated the AI would have to push through a pirate base to get to me (orbits turned off). I tested it to see if it would, after about two and a half hours: it never pushed.
• Impossible AI is too easy. Probably a bit easier than unfair ai from sins 1 currently. On the game I mentioned above, I killed the AI with a 1000 supply fleet. With the bonuses I assume it has due to difficulty level, I was expecting a 2000 supply wall, but whatever it was doing - I slaughtered it pretty easily. I’ve also played a few 3v3 games all on impossible and haven't felt outmatched unless 2 gang up on me at a time, or if I do something stupid.
• Auctions are too easy to cheese right now on low player counts. For example, I’ve crippled a hard AI with a very early pirate raid. Without really doing much or trying, they were basically dead in the water. Also winning 4000 credits with 100 metal because the other player doesn't bid.
• When ships blow up visually, I feel like it needs more boom.

My hopes/wants for future updates:

• A small touch that would add some flair to the game would be adding faction specific ui.
• I like mines - I like it when they go boom. I hope they get added at some point.
• I like artifacts. They were pretty cool in the first Sins. Even if they show up in a different way, I'd still like them.
• The new engine is great on the Twin Giants map with 6 players. After hours of play, even on 10x speed, it still runs smoothly. I want to test it out with a map editor and have several stars and hundreds of planets.
• I want the Advent to keep up the trend and continue to lean into asymmetric faction design.

Conclusion:

The game is turning out great so far and obviously I'm very happy considering my dislikes are all minor things that are generally balance related. Very excited for the Advent reveal whenever it happens, they are my fav faction from the first game.