*lights a cigar*

No, Star Control 2 is a 4X Adventure game with limited digital logistic records. Partially becuase they thought you didnt need more than the present being an "adventure" game and in the time it was published with an excellent hand drawn map. You give the same team a year or two more of working time and they would have made other areas of the game outside of the adventure part more complex and stimulating. In Star Control 2, you live an adventure but you also play a limited 4X game with elements of roleplaying mixed with an arcade game like combat. You are making strategic decisions regarding fuel and upgrades along with a partial economy model for which they didnt even need to make so many different resources. You conquer other races at your own free will and even make them attack certain areas of the map. You exploit every Christ you find, even looting home systems of every single material possible or simply destroy others ships for RU. You even upgrade your ship as if it was a roleplaying game, from combat to strategic wise options in the main map as being able to call for trading help when short of fuel. It is an unfinished game as every game ever published. An unfinished 4X adventure/roleplaying game in space. Thats what it is. Thats why people compare it to Mass Efect. It isnt as simple as an adventure game and it isnt as complex as a strategy roleplaying game but its somewhere around all of this. However, it lacks the UI in need for every single one of its essences.

I affirm again after a heavy meal with a great amount of wine that updates to the logistic records of the adventure must be worked on as to bring it to stand with other strategy/roleplaying and 4X games for the new generation of players and for mobile devices which dont multitask with ease.

As for the programming of the battle scenes, while its minor its not as hard as you think but, I might be wrong. Im just a mathematician without even looking at the code. Besides, all of that is already done. It would be a question of copy and paste with the original code the computer does the rest of calculations for you and the game does seem to support two layers but... maybe it doesnt and hyperspace is actually just one layer. The AI is also in place, you would just have to copy that and see how it works with more than one ship and if it doesnt, add a few lines.

Yes, I can play in window mode and have a text editor at the side but if it isnt working fine with a PC its not working at all with a mobile.

Thats alright if you have the option to do so but, for one. A computer game should have you using the computer and nothing else and multitasking with this game active has strange results either way. You can hand draw the maps but, so can the computer as you explore them for you, thats its meaning for being a computer. Computational power is not a problem and it wasnt back then when this form showed up. Its a question of combining this method with the present code if possible.

Personally, I think its fun to do so yourself but that just limits the game in certain enviroments, including mobile devices and a post nuclear world with electricity but no paper or lead. Equally, there are small changes that must be made to system exploration logistics ingame and alike as you mentioned for the new class of people playing this, especially on mobile markets. The game is great, more so with a few projects I have seen around this sight with updated graphics based on the original artwork but the most important is getting it to todays stand in terms of 4X games digital logistic review as to make the game more accesible within the game itself.

This is just a conjecture but I think that the program alone can handle the extra sprites in the combat scene, bet it on the same layer or under it. Another question would be the AI but it might only be a few lines of code making use of the original. If not it doesnt matter because there is more MHZ today and if the main program accepts it; why not?

I see it in two forms. The first would have the combat take place in the second layer of the screen, each ship with its independent AI and shooting or moving according to other ships, except the players ship. The players ship would be on the first layer with its current target alone with the planets and asteroids. The combat in the background would not have any effect, it would just be for visual purpose. Even recorded events would serve in this case. No AI at all and just a desicion based on data. Either way, when the player finishes off an enemy he gets to target another enemy of this battle taking place in the second layer and begins the normal combat mode of 1vs1.

The second form is having the battle occure in the second layer with results based on AI and statistics and when the control is passed to the player keep those results ingame but not disturbing the overall player 1vs1 battle, or simply having all of them on the same layer. Which would be chaos but it might be more fun. Besides, you can crank a lot of ships from that terran starbase.

Both ways are interesting, the first is better and cost effective if you consider doing a few patterns for the battles without AI to then strictly apply statistics.

No, I will not do this because Im playing the game and the rest of time Im editing videos or cleaning the damned house or simply getting drunk while I feast at a bar nextdoor. The first about UI has to be done if this game is going to live today for new players and more so if its going to survive in the mobile market. In fact, you could even sell it as the best of versions for mobile devices. People would buy it and a deal based on shares could be made with the owners of the trademarks, giving place to RU for this site and team.

I have been playing this remake for some time, as my first experience with the star control games. I must say that its an addicting game and with the current updates in terms of scalers and resolution it looks great, along with the mixed PC/3D0 options for the audio and gameplay is great.

But having the source code, there are a few primal things that must be done to this game to actually make it playable and, most of it with the UI. You either play with a piece of paper on your side and found writing numbers, rogue words, planet and system names or solving riddles which may or may not lead you to death. The game keeps track of nothing for you. This has to change, you cant expect people to be playing this on mobile devices; which is the future for this game. It has to have ingame records, ingame notepad, mission follower and alike. A track of planets visited and looted would be nice along with stars.

There is another thing I would have but its not as important, it has to do with battles. I would get the whole fleet in the background, either duking it out without relevence untill the player passed the primary control or in the same plane and with direct results. That would either make the battles more fun to watch and play without breaking the game or give it a complete rebirth.

Star Control 3, more "star control"? Base building, ground combat, invasions and a lot more AI for moving races within their personas on the map without you getting involved. Master of Magic style of strategy or of Orion. All of that with the same amount of adventure. Darklands/Star Control 2 kind of thing. I would also keep the graphics 2D for a lot of systems including mobiles, but with higher resolution of course. Maybe a few isometric parts for ground combat or 2D directly as well.  2D isometric combat between a lot of forces being a soldier ala MSV arcades with decent ai and action could get pretty addicting and easy or directly as a general in line, more so on mobile devices. Multiplayer, even for the main game. Ease of modification. All of this could give the game a lot of replay value and many games without victory and zero frustration if done well. Its not easy to mix adventure with strategy and roleplaying but it could work on a higher level with a procedural program.