I'm loving the new game! I was up til 3 a.m. playing. I really enjoy how you've put greater emphasis on large decisions and less emphasis on micromanagement. The new fleet system is a stroke of genius.
That said, I do have a gameplay request. I dimly recall that the original game allowed us to choose random AIs, and to choose not to know what AIs we'd be fighting. I remember finishing a game and then being told what type of AIs I'd been fighting. It was cool! Would you consider implementing such a feature here? It may not be a big deal, as often the AI's behavior is obvious pretty quickly, but I'm dumb enough that I might not figure it out. I enjoy that fog of war.
Speaking of fogginess, I also wouldn't mind not knowing what type of map I'd be facing, and more fog of war about the map layout once the game starts. E.g., let the game randomize whether I'm playing on Realistic, Grid, X, whatever. And maybe even hide from me more distant systems altogether, until I scout closer. In fact, I'd even be interested in a feature allowing me to randomize things like whether the AI takes back planets, what factions are involved, how they behave toward me, etc.
None of this is that big a deal, though -- the game is awesome as it is! And for all I know, adding random options is a huge programming job. But if it's a trivial thing, then I hope you might consider it. Thanks for making a great game!
