I know the game is in it's very early stages and I am sure things will change dramatically as time goes on. With that said, the planetary view window is great and all but it is very reminiscent of GalCiv2 (feels like I am in the old GalCiv2 tremendously - too much). Even though the move to hex tiles is great - I myself was hoping that this aspect of the game would evolve past GalvCiv2.
Has the development team considered a geodesic sphere format for the planetary view screen? Granted some of the tiles are pentagons rather than just simply hexagons but it would be very cool (and aesthetically compatible with the space view) to have a rotatable planet with little 3d improvements on the given tiles. Perhaps you could even switch back and forth between a 2D and 3D view.
This may be an over the top (and for all I know impractical) suggestion but I think it would help elevate GalCiv3 visually and give it a fresh feel to further distinguish itself from it predecessor while keeping true to the 'feel' of the franchise. Plus the odd Pentagon tiles could add to the gameplay/strategy of the planet overall.
Just a thought.