Someone may have mentioned this before - I didn't go through all ten pages to read others suggestions - but I would like to see a change to research where the left-over research from your last researched project is applied to your next project instead of being discarded. I think it's here more than anywhere that the micromanaging becomes more of a chore than fun. If the leftover research would be applied to the next item, we wouldn't be trying to move the research slider to the "sweet spot" to avoid over researching every time we change research projects.
Also, when I have a project on a particular world (say my others have nothing to build) I still have to move the global slider up to build on that one world. I'm not sure of the mechanics involved, but I feel that somehow, some way, I'm loosing alot of production. Am I loosing production on all the other worlds or is all of the production being focused on the one world actually building something? I feel it would be better to focus all production (be it military or social) on any planets actually building rather than spread it out equally. For example, if I have 11 planets but only 5 are actually producing, I think that if I have set a slider to 50%, then those 5 planets should get 100% of the aggregate global production generated (you could make an argument that any planets not producing only export 50-80% due to inefficiencies in production being exported - maybe create new technologies that affect exported production).
A thought to expand on the above would be to provide one or three governers at our disposal that handles the sliders (as an option). We could set broad goals (keep morale at >80% or higher, research as quickly as possible without bankrupting, etc...) and just let the governers control the sliders. The gov would be able to micromanage the sliders so that excess research wouldn't be lost (or better yet, even if there is some leftover, it would be applied to the next project). This would be of immense help on a maso level where this is what the computers are doing and instead of outstrategizing them you have to outmicromanage them. Again, maybe introduce new technologies that affect the efficiency of the governors.
I did read before about zooming the play area - that would also be a welcome change. I'd love to be able to see more play area.
I know this rambled a bit, but I believe all of the salient points are there.
Exarch
~SDC~
[Message Edited]