First: My planets get invaded and taken over with no warning or dialog box. I might not know a planet has been taken over until I happen to scroll past it.
Second: The length of time it takes to produce anything. And I mean anything. Playing on a medium sized map, I went almost 300 turns and maybe had 10 ships. Increasing planetary production helped marginally, but adding a planetary sponsor showed a dramatic difference. This was true even when adding a large amount of production to the first sponsor (larger than total production on second).
I also don't quite understand what red numbers mean for ship production. I know red=bad, but I can't figure out a consistent metric for how many factories I'll need in order to make a planet a viable sponsor.
The AI, seems to be able to produce research and ships faster than myself even when I use console commands. My latest try used the command to complete all research, this led to immediate upgrading of all facilities. The normal AI players were able to keep up with my fleet. I had more ships soon after and was able to deter most attacks by the AI, but even with 5 active shipyards and 10ish sponsors, I still feel I was just pressing 'turn' and watching progress bars more than anything.
If I've given myself maxed out production facilities, why does it feel like nothing is happening?\
Edit: I know that more robust ground combat mechanics are in the works, but there isn't even a confirm battle screen or confirm planet lost button.