I was watching the dev stream and one of the things talked about was the edge of the galaxy and it's hex shape. I had a few ideas of how it could be changed/improved and I wanted feedback on my ideas and to see what other ideas people have.
Paul was saying that he liked the hex shaped galaxy and it fit with the hexes that were in map. I agree, but you can organize those hexes into a square shape, or any rough shape for that matter. I feel that being able to manipulate the exact shape of the galaxy would lead to interesting games.
Another idea I had that came from the stream was multiple galaxies. Sins of a Solar Empire was mentioned and I think having a mechanic from that game would enhance GC3. If you put the galaxies in GC3 as planets in SOSE and have the ability to "jump" from one galaxy to the other (with an advanced research of course) you could expand the game in leaps and bounds. Other galaxies could be radically different and add a new factor to games. How travel occurs between these galaxies would be difficult to balance. If one civ gets that research much sooner than the others, they could use it to a great advantage. They could jump behind the enemy, on the other side of the galaxy, and this could be an unfair advantage. Perhaps the "hypergates" could be used here? You have to drag one to the other galaxy and build one at a specific spot in your own in order to travel.
I would also like to put a plug in here for changing the ship movement lines. They look ridiculous and cheesy.
If anyone has any ideas or refinements to mine, please comment!