Good game, but with some work to be done.
I played the hell out of SoaSE: R, so I can say there are a lot of nice improvements over that game. Besides the improved graphics/performance, I like the way that combat has changed from the first, with actual turrets and PD guns. It's nice that many ships have a variety of weapons, which I think allows you to build fleets with more variety. The designs of the ships are cool, both the new ones and the remakes (recreations?) of the old ones. The armor/piercing system is good, and I like the upgrade system for planets/capital ships, though I think there is are meta choices when it comes to the modules on ships. The orbital mechanics are a nice touch for strategy, and I like how they have made the factions feel more different compared to the older games.
There are some strange choices, like the heavy use of AI artwork, while the previous games had wonderful, beautiful artwork. I hope these are simply placeholders until the game fully releases.
The rare resource system is strange, because early game, there are a limited number of them throughout the map, but then you can research a factory for them, and it's no longer a concern. To me it seems half-done. Either have it be more or less limited, not in-between. The superweapons are majorly nerfed, and I can sort of see why. Now that their range is limited, they are not as oppressive, but if you played the first game, you'll miss setting up 10 Novalith Cannons and bombarding your enemies from a different galaxy.
Obviously the mods aren't as good, but they just need more time, I think.
