I think it makes sense, when updating the game, to focus not only on making it easier for newcomers but also on adding depth for more advanced players. Right now, with almost all the starting planets clustered around a single gas giant and all the starting zones tuned to a kindergarten level, starting the game is boring everywhere—except for Contact Point and the space start. I’d love to see more challenging starting scenarios in future updates, or perhaps a fully customizable start—choosing any planet type and any location in the universe. And, of course, the game’s weak point: the quests. I realize that not everyone has a gift for storytelling, but even without that talent—which seems to be the case for the developers handling the quest design here—it is entirely possible to implement an automated quest generator. That alone would make the quests smarter and more interesting than they currently are. Stories with contrived, shallow plots—where the entire point boils down to "go there, pull a lever after killing a hundred mobs, then navigate an artificial maze and pull ten more levers"—are no better than narratives where an auto-generator produces the same result, albeit in different locations and with different items. Finally, if you lack the talent to come up with a plot yourself, simply take and incorporate storylines from existing science fiction books—and let the player guess which book they are from. An improvement to the AI of mobs and factions would be a fantastic update. The world shouldn't be static—with factions just sitting around waiting for a lone "Rambo" to dismantle their stations and fortresses for scrap. Instead, it should be dynamic: the AI should respond appropriately to player actions—counter-attacking, calling in reinforcements proportional to the threat, or raising the alarm—rather than just sitting in rooms waiting to die. It would be great to see the AI capturing planets and building new defensive systems on its own. I’d also like the Points of Interest (POIs) to make more sense logically. They shouldn't just be mazes filled with stockpiled resources; they should be genuine defensive structures where the goal is protection, not simply handing over loot to the player. For multiplayer, it makes sense to boost POI defenses so that a solo assault on a fortress becomes futile; this would give players a reason to team up and play cooperatively—which is the whole point of multiplayer. Right now, the value of multiplayer is questionable: there are hardly any enemies worth fighting alongside friends, and the ones that do exist are far too weak. I’d also like to remind the developers of a key principle: don't just multiply the number of bots when you can improve their quality instead. It’s far more engaging to play against ten strong, smart bots than a hundred dumb, weak ones. I invite everyone to a constructive discussion: what would you like to see in the updates?
I agree with what you're saying. One of the things I've suggested in the past was a bit more of a Player vs. Critters early-game content. I.e. they try to actively hunt the player, and break into their base. The player having a non-technological foe has great potential in my view, no Drones attacking the player, but perhaps nightly swarms of Bugs or Raptors. Easy to kill individually, but Sentry Turrets finally have a solid use case. As a total aside: There was a bug once where Critter spawning became broken. You know those large, acid-spitting bugs with the huge butt (abdomen technically lol)? Well, those guys spawned in somewhat excessively. Think a couple of dozen spawning in where you'd usually expect one. Another aspect of the bug was that they'd re-spawn moments (a few seconds) after death. They'd still only spawn in assigned spawn locations, but there were LOADS of them and they were never-ending. When I encountered this bug, I built a little fort near the spawn area, and was under constant assault from these bugs. My Sentries started running dry and I needed a dedicated Constructor on ammo duty. It was crazy and things weren't working as intended of course, but it was FUN. So, imagine building - either unknowingly, or deliberately - near such a location, where the game would send waves of bugs against the player. Perhaps there's a "hive" or "den" the player can ultimately destroy to stop things, or they can test their defences, and harvest an entire play-through's worth of meat and other critter parts lol.
