Hahahaha.  Exactly!   

How about mandatory random ship selection?

I didn't vote for them, but close second goes to Chmmr for me.  Love the backstory and the nobility of their parent races.  Also love the fact that the offspring are "imperfect" and unintended.  A hybrid race from crystalline and mechanical beings?  Wow.

Some things I'd like to see in a Star Control story:

Right from the get go, Fwiffo is leading a dangerous life.  In the early game he's often the ship's only defense against Sylandro probes, Ilwrath, etc...  That's a lot of pressure for a guy who, even by Spathi standards, is a coward.  I'd imagine Zelnick would have to practically threaten him with death to get him to captain his vessel at times.  But if he lasts, it's because he's also good.  Damn good.  He should be there in the final battle against the Sa-Matra, and I wouldn't mind seeing him save the day, and learning what it takes to be a hero.

I see the seeds for the Black Spathi Squadron rumor, especially if Zelnick retains Fwiffo and a handful of other Eluders. . .    Maybe the black and red paint camouflages or conceals their appearance (to look like harmless probes or something) when they invade slave-shielded worlds. 

Also:  Just read the first draft.  Very nice pace and set-up.  I had some pre-conceived ideas about how the mining operations took place so I was a little confused about your description.  I never read any of the manuals so I thought everything took place while inside the lander.  It does make sense that some people would die while others didn't if they actually got out of the lander.  How does the drill operate?  I don't think a totally new reader would have a problem, though.

I think you need to watch out for modern-day vernacular that people might not use in the future.  Do they know what a Swiss army knife is and do they use it in the future?  What do they eat?  Who knows what marshmallows are?  And there were some grammar errors, such as "whose" vs. "who's", but those are very minor and will be corrected later.

Re: the Pkunk battle.  I have only played the UQM port so I don't know what other insults the Pkunk guys said during battle.  Do they say all those things?  I thought it was just:  Jerk.  Moron.  Stupid.  Dodo.     I'm not sure what their place is in the very beginning of the story, either.  Did I miss something?

Great work!

I'd imagine the crew from the starbase are all seriously bored and restless and want to vent their energy.  Rough and tumble games like corridor football sound well-suited.  I'd also imagine a lot of pranks taking place, especially when new races join the crew (Fwiffo, Pkunk would be ideal candidates).  Who knows how disciplined these people are after spending years on a starbase or under the red Earth sky?  This is their first chance for some action and discipline might not be a priority.

Also, what's the policy on the Earth crew's re-population effort?  Is it encouraged?  Regulated?  Discouraged while on the ship?

Their past experience might also make them extremely cunning, manipulative, even ruthless.  I could see some with their own motives besides saving the galaxy -- a spy for the Hierarchy, a guy with a deal with the VUX to deliver the Captain to Zex, etc.  These people would influence how the Captain outfits the Vindicator, perhaps.  And I'm sure the crew who performs the module installations get weary of the Captain who continues to change his mind throughout the game.  Before the RU cost increases for the crew, I could see a temporary strike taking place.

I think the success of SC2 is that it's generally open-ended.  You can accomplish goals in any number of ways and still beat the game.  You can never beat the game but still enjoy the exploration.  The game doesn't channel you through different levels and challenges like other games.  It's all up to you. 

Also the balance of the characters.  Each race and starship has tactical considerations.  Again, it goes back to the power of your choice and decisions.

And supermelee is just plain fun.   I can always sit down to a 10-minute battle for a quick fix. 

wml, I said not to take the ships into account.
But anyway, there are plenty of reasons to vote Mycon, indeed.

Hehe, the ship is just an added bonus.     But it's not the ship that's interesting to me, it's the fact they have to take the good with the bad.  They can be their own worst enemy.

This is a brilliant idea.  I read through all the suggestions but not the drafts, yet.

It has so much potential for telling the psychological aspect of the adventure.  I haven't heard yet how the Captain selects which particular pilots to engage in a melee.  Not just the tactical aspect of what ship, but for instance if you have 3-4 Cruisers, which one do you send out first?

An Orz marine raid into an enemy ship would be interesting. . .

I think a big theme should be learning how to recover from your mistakes while always facing ambiguous choices.  I love the comment about missing the quasi-space wormhole and having to camp out for 2 weeks while fending off Slylandro probes (it sort of happened to me).  So you should recreate some of the mistakes that noobs routinely make, because we all can relate.

Can't wait!

I like the story and motivation of the Mycon.  None of the other non-Urquan races had as much determination to survive at the expense of other races as the Mycon.  Their regeneration ability makes them a perpetual threat, but their plasma blasts can also kill them.  What tragic irony!

Plus the idea of intelligent fungi kind of freaks me out because I could see it happening for some reason.