I left GC3 for a while feeling a bit despondent with it after buying it on Steam (I buy almost no game on Steam)... Then you allowed it be released on GOG which i love- Excellent!
Then later you released Crusade.
This pretty much does almost everything I thought was missing from the main game (I actually asked about adding people to the game a year or so ago). Adding faces to the game really helps add a Humanity (if you play Humans and whatever else if you play alien) to the game and stops it feeling so sterile.
Now you`re a little more invested in that citizen you placed into governing some part of an empire, especially if you place a face from your own chosen pics. Adding Generals really makes my ship fleets more important for me. I sent A General of a fleet to attack an enemy - It was a dangerous attack and I felt a little sorry for the handsome General I`d sent on his first job... but by the time we got their we had made peace. But I was still angry with the Faction for starting war and destroying one of my stations, so I had my General become a Privateer to harass the former enemy out of revenge; A kind of Sir Francis Drake!
Oh and I absolutely love the extensive customise options. Made my own Steampunk-type faction with myself in it and my own Victorian steampunk custom people for my citizens. Really love how I can customise the very words of the factions.
Then I made a couple of AI custom Factions with my own custom pics (im an artist), one of which is a rather distasteful militant feminaz1 Faction that I`m battling with right now! They will lose!
There are a few strange bugs, but I`m sure they will be ironed out.
I haven`t bought the Mercenary pack yet, but will very soon. Great work, Devs.