I realize that the game just patched to a Beta version (er, oddly enough, that is somewhat akin to a constructed building being upgraded to a blueprint concept…), but there are a few details that I feel could stand a bit of attention:



Trade Routes. I have one, am allowed 5… but when I attempt a second, I get the ‘You already have the maximum allowed…’ bit. This has only happened since the game I began after the Beta patch.

Fleet movement. Not sure if this is a bug, but I’ve noticed that a fleet that travels to a stardock gets most of it’s movement back, where as a single ship does not.

Ship range. Sometimes, when starting a new game or loading a saved game, I cannot move my ships—even the ones right next to my starting world. It tells me I need to look into cryro-sleep (the out-of-range message). Keep in mind that *no* ship movement is allowed… even within controlled space.

Apollo 13. At times when loading the game, or playing the game, I am suddenly given the option to send Microsoft a nice little error report. The abends executed by the game have increased substantially since the latest patch… despite the fact that I have A) more than adequate hardware, Very recent drivers (i.e., Mobo, Video, Audio, network… including OS & DirectX updates), C) Nominal heat, D) no detectable spyware, adware, viruses, HDD errors, or non-system background apps and E) 14 years experience as a certified computer technician. True, I could set Autosave to have a go every turn… but the load time for a saved game gets to a point where I can go for coffee, scan through my latest TiVo recordings, check my voice mail, jot down a few ideas for the latest Visual Basic program I’m playing around with—and still have more than enough time to read the word ‘loading’ as if I were just learning the English language, and having extreme difficulty with vowels.

Also… though they are not ‘bugs’ per se, I would like to venture a few gameplay suggestions:

Ship design. A way to upgrade a ship design without starting from scratch would be nice. Perhaps, for example, when you select a ship and hit ‘Upgrade’, you can start with all of the existing components, and just remove and replace the item (s) you want to change. I mean, the only difference between the ‘Upgrade’ and ‘New’ options is that the former has the hull size and style already selected. This equates to wanting to add new missiles to an F-15 by pulling the engines, missiles, bombs, fuel tanks and structural components… then putting everything back exactly the same save for the new missiles.

Ship upgrades. Great idea, lousy execution. Well… to clarify, the current method works fine in early game, but becomes mind-numbing tedium once the feature becomes vital to strategy. Allow me an example: You research a new engine, and modified an existing design to incorporate the advancement. Now, you need to locate each one of your 35 existing ships, disband them from their fleets (or launch them into orbit), move them off to the side so each is alone in space… **then** you can upgrade them one at a time. Afterwards, you get to reverse the process, and re-form your fleets. A ‘Mass upgrade’ option would not be such a bad thing, which leads me to…

Mass commands. Under attack and need your shipyards to get some ships out? Lagging dangerously behind technologically? Social construction not keeping up with your tech upgrades? Why not have an option to set **all** planets to a ‘focus’ (or to remove the ‘focus’ from all planets).

Fleets. The only thing I would like added here is a troop count for fleets containing transports/colony ships.

Rally Points. Some method to set a planets’ rally destination without having to select the planet, open the build ship screen, then select the ‘Rally Point’ option. Being able to do this without burrowing down would save a good deal of head-slapping accompanied by the infamous Homer Simpson "Doh!!" (I.e., having your new ships wander off to the old battlefront because you got too caught up in your conquest to micro-manage can be a real proverbial cold shower on a hot date). I see in the manual that there is reference to keyboard shortcut commands pertaining to Rally Points (‘T’ and ‘X’)… but since pressing ‘T’ only accomplishes a quick game exit and an offer to send Microsoft an error report, I have been reluctant to see what the ‘X’ actually does.

Don’t get me wrong—I love the game. That, actually, is the motivation for my whining. Not since MOO 2 have I enjoyed a 4X game so much. I guess I’m just seeking further justification for the insane amount of time I sink into this game.