First of all, I would just like to state that I love Sins and I really like what Entrenchment has done for the game. I feel it is definitely much better now than at original release. That being said, I have a lot of ideas for things I would like to see added or improved in this game. These are simply my opinions, other people might not agree, or they might find one of my ideas really good and expand on it.

Let me start with some basic features:

More Planet types:

-- Oceanic / Aquatic: There could be research options available to be able to construct under-sea cities. Extra tech would increase population of these planets.

-- Forest / Jungle: Treetop dwelling and primitive hunting could make these planets an interesting part of an empire. Perhaps add some tech to be able to harness the power of these planets in unique or interesting ways.

-- Toxic Atmosphere: Perhaps with a bit of technology, a planet with a pure nitrogen atmosphere could become hospitable. Or other types of toxic environments.

Diplomacy Overhaul:

-- Right now, the "missions" that the AI give you are pretty bad. Especially in team games. They always ask for far too much and they are always asking for something. I think the mission thing needs to be scrapped and/or completely overhauled to make more sense.

-- One idea I had is this: Add new "Luxury Resources" that can be obtained from different planet types. Allow players of different factions to trade these "Luxury Resources" around or sell them for gold. Let me expand upon this idea a bit below:

Luxury Resources

Each planet type (Terran, Desert, Ice, Volanic (or other -- see my suggestions above) would be capable of producing one or more semi-unique resources. For example, perhaps the Terran planets could produce Ivory or Silk or some other good that would be worth trading to other worlds that don't have it.

The whole planetary trade thing could be greatly expanded and each planet could be randomly assigned (from a set of criteria) a chief export and chief import. In the example above, the Terran planet might export lots of silk, and the people that live on this planet might really covet something like diamonds, which are plentiful on desert worlds. When a player creates a trade hub or star-base with trade capabilities, that planet should begin exporting its Luxury Resources to other planets.

Pricing for these Luxury Resources would work as follows:

-- Low Demand: Only 50% of the price is paid by planets that do need or want this good

-- Normal price: Planets with no restrictions will pay normal prices, or 100% for the Luxury Resources

-- High Demand: Planets that are extremely interested in a specific Luxury resource will pay 200% the normal price when a trade vessel brings this resource to the trade station.

As another example, lets say Aquatic Planets are added from my suggestions above. The primary export of the Aquatic Planet is Purified Water. Desert planets might consider Purified Water to be a High Demand resource, and whenever a trade ship from the Aquatic world docks at a Desert world, they receive 200% of the normal price of their goods. However, if the trade ship with Purified Water cargo were to dock at another Aquatic world, the demand would be very low so the ship would only make 50% profit.

This would tie into Diplomacy, because it would encourage the various factions to open trade routes with other factions who might have a specific Luxury Resource that they want.

New Races:

I would like to see at lest 2 new races added, with their own starships and technology trees.

-- Aquatic Race - to go along with the Aquatic planets suggestion

-- Forest/Jungle Race - to go along with the Forest/Jungle suggestion above

New Starships:

I would like to see more starships added to all races

-- More Frigates

-- More cruisers

-- More capital ships

Another idea I had is for a new ship type, the Titan Class.. The Titan Class ships would perhaps be a one-at-a-time huge ship that requires a large amount of tech and resources to build. This would be designed as a late-game ship to help keep the momentum of an offensive push going. These Titan class ships would be extremely powerful and very costly. Building one would give a huge offensive advantage to the race that builds it. Perhaps to balance this, whenever a Titan Class ship is built, a game-wide alert is made so that all other factions are aware that a Titan is on the field.

Culture Improvements:

-- I would like to see a greater benefit added to spreading your faction's culture. Perhaps culture could provide extra trade benefits.

-- One idea I had is that the neutral factions that act as planetary defenses could be enhanced a bit. Maybe if you spread your culture to a neutral planet, they would be less likely to attack you when you move through their airspace. Or perhaps even with a great enough amount of cultural influence, the neutral ships would convert to your faction and you would have an easier time at inhabiting the planet.