The features are there but they are barely tested.
For instance, the AI will now surrender if it is totally hopeless (I HATE mopping up) for them. But does it actually work or will it crash in some circumstnaces? Don't know yet, haven't hda a chance to test it. It should work in theory.
The star bases are in and it is very cool the way they grow as they build up but we haven't done any playability testing on it. How much should constructors cost? What technology do you need to have to build them?
One thing that is making playing more fun is that camera handling is much improved. The camera will move, show an enemy ship move and then attack, show the explosion and then move to the next attack (rather than moving when it's already been attacked).
Beta 2 is going to be REALLY REALLY rough.
I hope everyone understands that while beta 2 will have a LOT of new features, it may be LESS fun initially while we do the play balancing. It only takes a few bad decisions to make a game non fun. Imagine if Colony Sihps took 500 turns to create. One little setting and the game becomes unplayable. And here we have a gazillion new things that haven't been balanced.
What we'll want to do is get a beta 2 out and then that Friday get a beta 2A out with some balancing based on your feedback.
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