Great fun, but .....
I feel that the module is too short and that there is a little bit of a mismatch with pace of technology and improvements. There needs to be a lot more techs between building a shipyard and your first battleship, because it is the most powerful unit in the game. Not to mention the fact that once you reach this juncture, there isn't anywhere else to go other than a more powerful battleship. The problem is that victory is accomplished so soon after the achievement that the unit is more for bragging rights, than anything else.
Another feature that I feel is lacking, is the ability to determine which star system would be more advantageous to colonize. Giving a scout ship the ability to obtain vital information about a star system, such as hammer, health, happiness, and food potential should be one of the top priorities for future updates. Also, there needs be a management screen for each planet, rather than just one for the entire system.
The value system just doesn't work the way it is supposed to. All of the Value technologies are obtained by different civilizations at nearly the same time, which puts everyone at odds with each other. Consequently, there is never enough time to spread your values to rival star systems, which makes them pointless, unless the creator intended for everyone to be at war with each other. I believe, "Value" technologies need to be spaced out more in order to prevent universal conflict. Besides, if the player wanted "always war" they could just check that in the setup window.
In addition to the above, I feel that the Pirate Civilization is just an annoyance in the late game. All they ever send is destroyers and planetary defense ships, which to me is just like swatting flies. I feel that if the creator beefed them up a bit, the game would become much more challenging and rewarding in the late stage. Let them send battleships and carriers loaded up with fighter and bomber squadrons along with the destroyers! I feel it is a necessity, because the other civilizations are never able to send a real army, because the game is already won, before that happens. The victory conditions are met way too early to allow any kind of real military conflict, which is disappointing.
Another feature that I think would help the module, is creating a greater variety of weapons for your military ships, like missiles and plasma weapons for example. Of course, adding new animations for each weapon type would be required.
The trading game needs to be more than just swapping technologies with rival civilizations. I think some sort of Galactic Exchange would be a neat feature to include in the module. Civilizations could use freight ships to haul valuable resources to the exchange and sell them for a boost in economy. Allowing civilizations to purchase resources for a steep price would add a new element to the module that would allow everyone to compete on a new level. Civilizations that are caught in a sector of space that is resource poor, could still offer serious competition. With a Galactic Exchange feature, the trading game could open up a whole new element of play. Escort ships would need to be sent along each trade route in order to protect the investment, because pirates and rival civilizations would try to interrupt that part of your commerce.
There needs to be some sort of write-up on how to get things going for the newbie. A tutorial that walks the player through the crucial initial techs that are required to develop and sustain a viable economy, military, and espionage network would be a great help. I had to figure everything out on my own, which was a lot of fun, but not everyone will want to do that. Maybe someone could start a "Final Frontier Game" thread that includes screenshots, explanations, and strategy discussions. I, for one, would be interested in the information!
It is true that the module needs some work, but it is still a great deal of fun. In one session, I was the most powerful civ in the late game and I was building up a massive force to go for a conquest victory when I noticed they were all working on a doomsday weapon! I thought ok, they are going to nuke me, so I switched to researching and building the United Planets thinking that my friendly relations with other civs and my enormous population would seal a victory or at least allow me to pass a non-proliferation resolution. Not so! They all voted for the most competitive AI civ and he won the vote by a small margin! Ugghh, not good! So, I ended up having to go for the Ascension victory, while they were all building nukes. In the end, my superior production won the day, but it was an exciting finale to be sure. I am surprised, however, that they never called for a diplomatic victory resolution to be voted on. Strange!
In another game, I experimented with the world builder and put a resource rich asteroid field near my capital to see what would happen. I then built 8 Construction Ships and just let them go to work on their own and they went nuts! They covered my territory with an intricate web of warp/jump lanes that made it incredibly fast to traverse the vastness of space between my star systems. What I thought was hilarious, was in the late game a Pirate Ship would destroy part of the transportation network and after I blasted it out of the sky, all 8 workers would rush to fix the network! They charged into action with a battlecry, "Must be preteeey!" It was so funny!
Here's a Screenshot.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this module and it has a huge potential to be one of the best ever made for Civ4. If you haven't got around to trying it yet, you simply must check it out. It takes a while to develop a good strategy, because you have to learn a new way of doing things, but that's half the fun. Cheers!
***Begin Edit***
In the "World Builder", there are a great deal of icons and terrain options that should not be available in a space themed mod and some do not even work when they should.
Currently, there is no compelling reason to ally with anyone, but if the Pirates were truly a menace to be feared and respected, I feel diplomacy would become a greater factor in game-play. I think that if the tech tree was expanded upon, more units, buildings, and wonders were added, the AI was given an overhaul, and the Pirates were given more powerful ships, the module would be a smash hit.
***End Edit***
I feel that the module is too short and that there is a little bit of a mismatch with pace of technology and improvements. There needs to be a lot more techs between building a shipyard and your first battleship, because it is the most powerful unit in the game. Not to mention the fact that once you reach this juncture, there isn't anywhere else to go other than a more powerful battleship. The problem is that victory is accomplished so soon after the achievement that the unit is more for bragging rights, than anything else.
Another feature that I feel is lacking, is the ability to determine which star system would be more advantageous to colonize. Giving a scout ship the ability to obtain vital information about a star system, such as hammer, health, happiness, and food potential should be one of the top priorities for future updates. Also, there needs be a management screen for each planet, rather than just one for the entire system.
The value system just doesn't work the way it is supposed to. All of the Value technologies are obtained by different civilizations at nearly the same time, which puts everyone at odds with each other. Consequently, there is never enough time to spread your values to rival star systems, which makes them pointless, unless the creator intended for everyone to be at war with each other. I believe, "Value" technologies need to be spaced out more in order to prevent universal conflict. Besides, if the player wanted "always war" they could just check that in the setup window.
In addition to the above, I feel that the Pirate Civilization is just an annoyance in the late game. All they ever send is destroyers and planetary defense ships, which to me is just like swatting flies. I feel that if the creator beefed them up a bit, the game would become much more challenging and rewarding in the late stage. Let them send battleships and carriers loaded up with fighter and bomber squadrons along with the destroyers! I feel it is a necessity, because the other civilizations are never able to send a real army, because the game is already won, before that happens. The victory conditions are met way too early to allow any kind of real military conflict, which is disappointing.
Another feature that I think would help the module, is creating a greater variety of weapons for your military ships, like missiles and plasma weapons for example. Of course, adding new animations for each weapon type would be required.
The trading game needs to be more than just swapping technologies with rival civilizations. I think some sort of Galactic Exchange would be a neat feature to include in the module. Civilizations could use freight ships to haul valuable resources to the exchange and sell them for a boost in economy. Allowing civilizations to purchase resources for a steep price would add a new element to the module that would allow everyone to compete on a new level. Civilizations that are caught in a sector of space that is resource poor, could still offer serious competition. With a Galactic Exchange feature, the trading game could open up a whole new element of play. Escort ships would need to be sent along each trade route in order to protect the investment, because pirates and rival civilizations would try to interrupt that part of your commerce.
There needs to be some sort of write-up on how to get things going for the newbie. A tutorial that walks the player through the crucial initial techs that are required to develop and sustain a viable economy, military, and espionage network would be a great help. I had to figure everything out on my own, which was a lot of fun, but not everyone will want to do that. Maybe someone could start a "Final Frontier Game" thread that includes screenshots, explanations, and strategy discussions. I, for one, would be interested in the information!
It is true that the module needs some work, but it is still a great deal of fun. In one session, I was the most powerful civ in the late game and I was building up a massive force to go for a conquest victory when I noticed they were all working on a doomsday weapon! I thought ok, they are going to nuke me, so I switched to researching and building the United Planets thinking that my friendly relations with other civs and my enormous population would seal a victory or at least allow me to pass a non-proliferation resolution. Not so! They all voted for the most competitive AI civ and he won the vote by a small margin! Ugghh, not good! So, I ended up having to go for the Ascension victory, while they were all building nukes. In the end, my superior production won the day, but it was an exciting finale to be sure. I am surprised, however, that they never called for a diplomatic victory resolution to be voted on. Strange!
In another game, I experimented with the world builder and put a resource rich asteroid field near my capital to see what would happen. I then built 8 Construction Ships and just let them go to work on their own and they went nuts! They covered my territory with an intricate web of warp/jump lanes that made it incredibly fast to traverse the vastness of space between my star systems. What I thought was hilarious, was in the late game a Pirate Ship would destroy part of the transportation network and after I blasted it out of the sky, all 8 workers would rush to fix the network! They charged into action with a battlecry, "Must be preteeey!" It was so funny!
Here's a Screenshot.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this module and it has a huge potential to be one of the best ever made for Civ4. If you haven't got around to trying it yet, you simply must check it out. It takes a while to develop a good strategy, because you have to learn a new way of doing things, but that's half the fun. Cheers!
***Begin Edit***
In the "World Builder", there are a great deal of icons and terrain options that should not be available in a space themed mod and some do not even work when they should.
Currently, there is no compelling reason to ally with anyone, but if the Pirates were truly a menace to be feared and respected, I feel diplomacy would become a greater factor in game-play. I think that if the tech tree was expanded upon, more units, buildings, and wonders were added, the AI was given an overhaul, and the Pirates were given more powerful ships, the module would be a smash hit.
***End Edit***
I have to hand it to those guys, that's for sure! 
and +1
in addition to its normal output. This will be the planet that is worked first by default when the star system is colonised. Note that if a colony is created using worldbuilder this bonus does not get applied.
