I am completely WITH Charon on this. That is exactly what I want as well. As i stated in another post about hexes, I have played GCII for many years. It is one of the best 4x space games ever made (in my opinion). I have always wanted GCII redone in native 64bit, better graphics, more AI players and MEGA maps. The rock/paper/scissors move was genius and works well in a game like this. Furthermore many folks always wanted a multi player game where you could play each other or Co Op against the AI. 

I would rather sacrifice 'innovation' for the sake of better game play any day of the week. This formula really works and I am happy to see the game is on track as next step in the series. 

There is a lot of subtle changes. When I play GalCiv 3, I think this is Gal Civ 2 with better graphics. But then I play Gal Civ 2 and go... well why can't I do this... why doesn't this work... and the differences start to become apparent.

1. The adjacency bonuses on the planet tiles are a big difference. Where you build your buildings makes a difference.

2. The updated shipyard designer is not just a prettier version, there is a lot more capability than the last one.

3. There are star ports on the actual gameplay map. In Gal Civ 2, you built ships and structures on a planet. This now has moved to building ships in space and structures on planets. Where different planets sponsor the starport to add to the starports production capabilities.

4. In order to build some ships you need particular resources like Durantium.

5. Ideology tree is new and can give your civilization major bonuses depending, if you are Malicious or Benevolent (or somewhere in the middle)

6. Multiplayer

There are other things, but you can find lists of these things around. I don't know if these changes are just called tweaks. But there are some definite core changes here that you know are not from Gal Civ 2, but they integrate nicely with the game. Also, since Gal Civ 2 was a good game, it would follow that the next iteration should model itself after that game and only add things that worked and remove very little, if anything at all.

I'm not sure what you would consider tweaks here and there. We'll see what new things are being added, but the initial alpha release was a close copy of Gal Civ 2, then they add new things and it's becoming a little more substantial as we continue down the path of development. I can't wait to see what the combat system will bring to the game.

Personally i am more worried whether they are going to reach their goal of feature complete or close to it by the time beta comes around. Seeing the size of the previous content patches compared to the feature list on the store page, that's a lot of stuff they still got to get in. 

4 races

black holes, possibly galactic resources

4 victory conditions

fleet design (distinctly mentioned as different from ship design)

combat (technically this is in tho but presumably they mean a bit more fleshed out version)

diplomacy

Quite a lot for 1 content patch. 

Yeah but wasn't the whole reason to delay the beta to be close to feature complete?

Sins was a 2D game.  The ships moved a little up and down off of the 2D plane, but that's all.  It was still played in 2D.  I can't think of an "innovation" that would destroy GC more than a 3D map.

Alap, you are certainly entitled to your opinion and I am glad you are investigating the game. However, to generalize that everyone will be put off by the look is a bit of an overstatement. Currently (I feel) the graphics are amazing. The ship detail is far better than anything I have seen so far. I had endless space and it was 'meh'. GCII was amazing but was limited in 32 bit. 

As for features, somethings will change. This is after all a 4x game. The basic mechanics are in play and anyone who knows of this type of game will (in my opinion) find this iteration well worth looking at.

I also happen know of 6 personal friends who are waiting on Beta to pick up the game. They are nerds like me who happen to be in the gaming industry. One friend is a CS guy for EVGA, and another is Network guy who goes to business to install OS and get the net running. Both of them are really excited about GCIII and they have friends looking at it. 

I personally think we will see a surge in purchases when we go to the first beta. 

here you go

https://forums.galciv3.com/456257/page/1/#3481732

Its worth it.

and what's up with the 3D again?

Absolutely this.  All I want is Galciv2+1.

An example of innovation that I like very much is adjacency bonuses.  That's a great idea that adds to the gameplay.  A bad idea, would have been 3D maps or tactical battles.  That's too far away from core GC.

This is another person looking for a GalCiv 2.5 more than a brand new game.  I don't want something that "feels" significantly different.  The word "feels" is obviously subjective.  Some examples from my subjective point of view.   Tactical battles would make it a different game for me.  Different in a bad way since I do not like tactical space battles at all.  The adjacency bonus is a good example of something that looks intriguing yet simple and will add to my desired level of micromanagement.  That "desired" level is tricky for a widespread crowd like us.   Some folk would love micromanagement down to the level of creating a name list for each ship crew roster.  (to exaggerate a little)  Someone like me is happy to just throw neat looking ships at each other and see who wins.  To me, the first option would break the "feel" beyond my ability to accept.  I can see adding a little to the space battles, but I am very concerned that it will want me to acquire the twitch fingers reflexes I just do not have.

I don't have any definitive answers.  I don't think there are any.  It is a balancing act the devs and game publishers go through.  The fan base demands are very diverse, almost schizophrenic.  I have nothing but sympathy for the developers of any game, let alone my precious GalCiv, which they had better not mess up.    (Looking great so far!)