Building a new rail line can be tedious: long straights are OK, but corners are fiddly, especially when you have to keep switching between straight and curved rails and rotating each rail to join up with the previous one. Over 99% of the time, when you place a rail you want it to connect to the rail...

Currently it is rather fiddly to run around picking up the alien artifacts after destroying a nest. On the principle that any fiddly job should be automatable ;) how about a type of capsule (or robot) which picks them up for you? A capsule is better than a robot, since is avoids the need to place an...

I agree with using a special key to force-place everything that can be placed. Blueprints are used in two applications which have differing priorities: 1 Building a factory or train station etc. where every item is needed and must be placed; 2 Building a wall or an area of solar panels and/or accumu...

A note about alien intelligence: I think that the aliens are a kind of "Hive Mind" where there is a single intelligence covering the whole planet (or at least, a fairly large area). See the discussion about the "intelligent ant colony" in Hofstadter's "Godel Escher Bach"...

I love the idea of being able to develop in two different directions: war with the aliens or peace and co-operation. For the peaceful direction some suggested additions: New buildings for "soaking up" pollution: in the initial stages you inevitably create pollution, but later get the techn...

This is a fantastic game: "Game of the Year" for me! I love the open world nature of the game: here is a world with a few rules, do what you want! I love the way that, instead of getting "grindy" (collect 200 whatevers, one at a time), everything can be automated. Even refilling ...