I agree. The world has plenty of strategy games. It only has one Star Control.
Agreed. My initial inclination about strategy elements is a conditional maybe. If we're talking very basic limited strategy like building an outpost or a mining facility to get resources and then guarding it with a fortification like in SC1, the answer is yes. If we're talking 4X GalCiv strategy, of course not. Like Frogboy says, the world has plenty of that already.
I think it would be cool to have at least a modicum of that empire macro strategy as an homage to SC1. Sort of like territory control as in Risk. The premise of the game's title is, after all, controlling stars! If this new title takes place during the initial development of Earth's alliances, then it stands to reason there would be some vying for control of resources on planets and holding territories or spheres of influence.
I love SC2 to bits but it isn't without its flaws. It was nonlinear in scope and that was pretty amazing in 1993, but the galaxy sort of waited on you; things only happened when you gave the right item to this alien or had certain dialog with that alien, etc. I think that dynamic should be expanded on. It would be a refreshing to have the feeling that the galaxy is going about its motions despite your intents.
That happened to a degree in SC2, but you were the catalyst in most of what happened. It would be interesting to have more unexpected surprises for the player, like having the enemy take the fight to you when you least expect. Something that gives the feeling you aren't the only force of change in the galaxy and that things can unfold in unexpected ways even without your intervention or involvement.
In SC2, the galaxy was in a state of internment imposed by the Ur-Quan Hierarchy and their civil war, so nobody really moved around on the map much. You were a rogue entity running around the galaxy without permission. I know that the details of the story aren't set in stone at this point but based on what we know, it doesn't seem like that story condition will be the case with this new title.
If it's totally out of the question to add even basic strategy elements to the gameplay, then I for one think it would be really kickass to have a separate "strategic melee" mini game; something that emulates SC1 which itself was a direct homage to Archon, one of Paul Reiche's earlier titles. For those unfamiliar, it was a lot like chess, except unlike chess you got to fight "melee style" for control of a space on the board. Taking a piece as you do in chess did not automatically secure victory for you. You had to fight for it, and depending on the abilities of the pieces involved, you could either be at an advantage or disadvantage. It was entirely possible for a piece being attacked to still hold the square if it won in combat. Very similar to SC1!
That is how Star Control actually got its name: you fought for control of stars! I've always felt that standard melee gets rather stale after awhile and that uniqueness of SC1's strategy element made it unique, much like Archon, and I'm frequently disappointed that it is overlooked or casually ignored even by fans, mostly just because it wasn't SC2.
