yoshyusmc

[quote] Every game, I rush out early trying to expand, and I'm getting reasonably good at it. On a large map, I'm usually capturing the surrounding 6 or so planets, which is about what I need to stabilize myself with a foothold in the galaxy. The problem comes right around the end of my expansion phase, when I have to pay for colony maintainence, but don't yet have the population or trade to support it. I lose money hand over fist, and I'm forced

What about making more variety than just adding different special abilities, and textures and models. Look at each race and what would be their design philosophy. The Star Wars universe does this well, where the Rebellion has great fighters, and the Empire has powerful cap ships. Or have a race like that in X3 where their ships break apart into many more smaller pieces. Or something like the Borg where they cripple you and assimilate. There are a hundred different ways to go but the current