I just finished a couple of games. First of all, congratulations : even in this early stage, the game is still enjoyable (I was expecting something much less polished). On specific aspects :
1) Small galaxies are not so small, I like that.
2) I love the idea of ideology trees.
3) I am dubious towards the improvement placement mini-game : I fear that it will lead to too much micromanagement with big empires.
4) You should be notified when a ship is built.
5) Ejected ships should be automatically selected.
6) I found the research screen difficult to navigate, and research texts not very understandable (especially for specializations).