Ive seen little communication from players to stardock on tech-tree/customization suggestions. We all have our favorite race; we all have some definate ideas about what we would like to see. While it might be a bit late for Stardock to use customer ideas as a driving force for race customization, balancing issues will remain and the game will continue to be updated frequently. So...who is your favorite race and what touches would you LIKE to see to individualize them?
My favorite race are the Korx. I invision them driven by trade first, economy second.
Possible Disadvantages:
-Limited to Federalist or Mercantile political parties.
-Weak production (ideally Korx commanders will have the cash to buy their ships from the private sector).
-Fewer points to customize, but they would begin with higher trade and economics bonuses.
-Cannot align with weak economy civilizations.
-Lower Taxes/ higher morale penalties associated with taxes (We are talking about capitalists here, people).
Ideas for unique techs:
-Subdivision--would allow the purchase (or sale) of planets tile by tile.
-Desire Scanners--psionic devices that would measure any sentient beings intent to aquire--result--a numeric score indicating exactly how much opposing races value each technology (and possibly ship, planet, etc).
-Tariff regulations- perhaps a whole branch that would gradually increase the amounts Korx would receive from foreign trade routes.
-Insider trading--automatic notification of when races were willing/desiring to commit to economic treaty.
-Piracy--pirate ships capable making prey of of lucrative foreign trade routes...light on weaponry/heavy on stealth technology.--Related tech: Mutiny--would make enemy ships in home terriotory susceptible to defections in Korx space, becoming Korx pirate vessels. Alternatively, mutiny could occur as a result of bribery.--Related tech. Mercenaries--purchase specific foreign ships for cash for a few turns (cant flip enemy ships). Pirates could operate WITHOUT declaration of war. Note- the game could have piracy as an active hunt and attack part of the game, or set up pirate "routes" like parasitic trade routes that automatically suck money off of trade routes.
-Tourism--a whole line that would boost tourist income and provide extra cash making buildings (galactic casino) etc. Tourism capital, anyone?
-Sanctions- the ability to enforce sanctions or manipulate trade (threaten) for diplomatic persuasion purposes (make war, make peace, trade tech, etc.) For example, at level one, Korx could use sanctions linked to their own own trade (embargo), level two they could control sanctions on their own trade and the trade of allied races, level three all races with like alignment, etc. Related idea: allowing research of multiple tech treaties (ideally all diplomacy benefits available to the Korx would be tied to money or trade somehow).
-Slave Trade- the ability to capture slaves from conquered worlds and sell them as a commodity or use them to populate planets. This would have the potential to be a whole new kind of trade.
-Drug trade-freighters would earn less cash, but they would undermine a planet with INFLUENCE, linking cultural rebellion to drug trade
-Smugglers- would allow the continuance of trade with nations with whom the Korx were at war. The idea of smugglers, incidently, REALLY appeals much more than galactic "just in time technology" associated with the Galactic Privateer achievment.
-Mercantile Might-Computer opponents would index Korx economy and react to it (in diplomacy) like military power.
-Starbase modularization-interchangable modules (economy modules on a starbase, etc). I would like this because I tend to use a lot of starbases with Korx.
These are just some ideas about how I imagine my favorite race. Im sure I will never see them all, if any, but it kind of gets the brain going. So...who is your favorite race and how do you imagine their individualization?
Just a sidenote :Yor are my second fav. and I am thrilled with how they have been done in TA

Cheers,
Boogly