New player here.  I've got about 15 hours of gameplay under my belt now, and I am really enjoying the game. 

Years ago I used to play a Mac game (later ported to the PC) called Spaceward Ho! and I can't help but think of SoaSE as a spiritual successor to that game.  Dunno if anyone else drew that parallel, but I thought I'd mention it.  Ok, back to lurking..