Keep the combat 2D, it feels right.
 I would like to see an open ended RPG that takes place in the post war, post occupation SC universe. The ability to choose your path and which 'faction' to be part of. ..soldier, spy, merchant, bounty hunter (every name used in Super Melee coud be a war criminal to some one and have a price on there head) and combinations of these.
 The chance to expand your governments sphere of influence or just your own.
 Earth with a balanced fleet! The ability for an Earthling character to command and build their ships so they need not rely on the other races as much.
 The Black Spathi as a place for a Spathi character to gain access to.
 Some special 'gimmik' for each species that is represented as a PC.
 Modable so the friendly programmers out there can share their adventures and make it a living RPG environment.
 The only multi-player option it should have isship to ship combat in an arena type setting as a seperate program. I have never seen an MMORPG that was not dominated by socialy inept people.

 I thought Firefly as well but then realized that it would have to be an alternate 'verse becaus J. Whedon insists on 'no aliens, at no time'.
 Ofcourse a game that alows one to play at that 'socio-economic' level would be fun. There are some but in the SC 'verse...that would be cool.

 I am guessing you need the keys to control the ship. Arrow up=forward thrust. Arrow left or right ROTATES your ship (the number pad 8,4 and 6 work work as the arrows do) Enter fires main weapon, shift fires secondary weapon. If you get a sticky keys message just tell the message to not appear again.
 F1= pause, F10=quit?
 There are sites with more stuff about the ships but they are not in front of me (I am 200 miles from my own computer...no SC... waaa). Wiki site was not much help for the keys...guess I will update it.

 I had the same problem...mine was using the ship correctly. Don't use the vindicator...and remember to let up on the forward thrust when you turn, and the 'enter' and 'fire' key fire your two weapons... I put that in for dopes like me that had no directions on how to work the derned ships.  The Earth cruiser steers like a cow but two shots on the Ilwrath should do it.
 I like to practice manuvers with an Earth ship against an Ilwrath in normal cyborg in Super Melee.
 If you are facing a probe then maybe one of the outer planets will provide the rescources you may need to help.

  Maybe it should be SC3 Rebang! Drop the epic plot and come up with a way to make it an RPG that lets the player take on whatever mission comes their way. Many missions (jobs, bounty hunts, archeological stuff) in the main game and let people do mods for it. If I complete all the missions then I can down load more from you clever programmer types.
 It then foucuses on life in tne SC universe after the war.

 I have no idea what the plot line is for Timewarp...I am hoping that there is no time warping in it. Time travel is a cheat.
 Also never scene SC3, but I hear it is pretty bad.
 My idea would focus the effort on post occupation Earth. I have no programming skill so someone can take this and run so long as you don't get rich and refuse to cut me in on the deal.
 After the incidents in SC2 Earth wants to avoid any future problems so they decide to beef up their fleet. The original cruiser is suplemented with a Space Control Ship (SCS) that is equal to an Ur-Quan DN in power and crew. The player can however outfit it with any weapons combination from the ships of SC2...each ship could be unique.
 Earth needs rescources so mining planets is still in the game but colonizing to make support bases is as well.
 The other species do not like the looks of this so they begin scavanging for Precurssor artifacts to build threir fleet. Earth too wants to gain artifacts so the race and conflict is on...sort of an unofficial war.
 In the depths of space an ancient enemy of the Precurssors is awakened and sets out to finish off the users of precurssor tech...it powers itself by eating planets.
 Now the player must convince the other species to work together once again and combine their artifacts into one of 3 or 4 weapons that might defeat the 'enemy'.

 How about mini-campaigns. Several linked scenarios that have different missions...some non-combat but they would test your piloting skills to get through and rescue/retrieve a person/thing that would help in the next mission.

 Why wonder. Back in BCE (Befor Computer Era) we played these fantastic games on paper with pecils and books.
 Ok...you all know what I am talking about...RPG. There are several Sci-Fi RPG out there that we can use to create the living SC universe we all crave. We have the source material on our computer... it just needs to be translated to a paper RPG system. MAybe I will invent my own...but it may detract from my current game.

 Not so much a crossover as some use of concepts. The bad are guys defeated and records surface about many hunan colonys that were established and went silent during the war...now the player gets to find them. And of course a bad guy species wants them as well..yummy!!
 Or...after the conflict a new species wants to move in...the player must find a way to beat them or make a peace with them.
 Unicron (Transformers the Movie). There is a crossover. New technologies and aliens and a really BAD bad guy. Eater of worlds...watch the universe get taken apart!!. (Ok...Unicron was just the planet kill from original Trek, their aint nothing new...just updated).
 What you are really undertaking is a new game that starts at the end of the original...a great idea that I do not have the skills to undertake.

 Ok...I am still new at this game so it is still hard for me...the dang probes keep showing up. I found some clues to help with that. The time limit is something I will want to change as well.
 Seems to me that the universe in this game could be better modified by some ambitious programmer extending the game out, maybe give a second chance to the player if they fail.
 A lost Human colony that lets the player start rebuilding to assault the bad guys yet again.
 Or maybe just more missions and stuff that are always there and change the ending so that win or loose the game continues. A mission to find other humans lost after the war would be interesting.
 As I said I am still new to this game so if things like that are out there then let me know.

 I just stumbled across this game and I am going...WOW..just what I have been looking for. I like the openness of the game...it is not a 'lead you by the nose' story. The combat is fun...those darn probes!!!.
 Funny without trying to point out its gags, good depth,playable,challanging.
 I takes some time to remember to NOT use the mouse and learn the key commands.
 A good game that I missed out on in the past. I have played new games with spectacular graphics and got bored quickly.
 

"Basically, the difference between science and religion is that science is about finding explanations for observed facts that can be used to predict other stuff, while religion accepts explanations that essentially allow anything to happen,"

  I disagree.
  Science is about what things are made of and how they work...religon is about how we treat each other and why we are here.
 "Any signifiicantly advanced technology is indistiguishable from magic"- Arthur C. Clark