To BattleView or not?

It depends. If I just designed a new ship or two I like to check them out in action even though it isn't that amazing of a sight. After I've been playing for a few hours however if it is just another uneventful encounter, I skip the battle view in favor of a quick decision. Same when invading, not that there is ever really much to see of interest on the planet invasion screen.

I wish these two things would be redone. The pilots of the ships appear drunk/high/perhaps both and just fly around randomly. This could be vastly inproved, as well as the camera angles for space battles. And the planetary invasion scenes are comically bad. I know these things aren't really the point of the game but it severely takes away from the experience.

The pilots of the ships appear drunk/high/perhaps both

Can u blame them flying on top of a blackhole erupter?  

Seeing the laughable mass driver weapons slowly float to their target was enough to make me shut it off for good.

Seeing the laughable mass driver weapons slowly float to their target was enough to make me shut it off for good.

I'm not sure but aren't the mass driver weapons actually discharging anti-matter of sorts? And if they are, then that would explain why you aren't getting breakneck speed projectiles flying through space. Anti matter can plod along taking it's good old time absorbing all kinds of unseen matter as it travels towards its target. Just my take on it.

I enjoy watching the battles, I like to see why I'm winning or getting slaughtered. It's useful information.

I am looking forward to DA though, there will be some graphical improvements in it although I dunno how extenstive. New textures are coming in, maybe some re-worked effects. Would be nice if the ship movement got a bit of a clean up but its all eye candy. I know this is the most 'action' feature that Stardock have ever done in a game, and considering the genre I think it's pretty good. I prefer the invasion screen to a bland list of casualties too.

It may not be a graphical masterpiece but it was designed to be used on as wide a range of computers as possible, alot of strategy fans need something that will work on a laptop or just on their older machines. I think it does the job it was meant to be and the movement/explosions help add a little variation to a slow paced game.

alot of strategy fans need something that will work on a laptop or just on their older machines

Indeed! I'm looking forward to a better video card sometime in the next several months, but the underlying engine mechanics (modeling) are what matter most to players like me. I'd much rather see Stardock shift some investment from eye candy to enriching the tech tree, adding some complex domestic politics, etc.