Non linear tech tree! Am I reading the screenshot right?

Will do some more research tomorrow and probably pre-order. Thanx for the tip!! 

 What I mean is a tech tree with interconnections between different fields of knowledge, like in Alpha Centauri: things like new weaponry requiring breakthroughs in physics and so on. Because that's how it should be, logically. Does it work something like that?

[ That's one reason I stayed clear of Galactic Civilizations. I saw tech trees going something like Laser I -> Laser II -> Laser III and thought "eewww!". ]

Did anybody figure out where to put the DLC serial key?

Also how do I traverse the weird blurry phase lanes? I'm completely cut off from everybody else with one of these. I must say the standard phase lane density setting tends to generate quite a few one-phase-lane bottlenecks.

Awww, ok Thanx for the info. 

I don't know why they keep designing tech trees this way. It's not like you can develop a high tech auto-homing missile without researching electronics and miniaturization first: knowledge is not sectorial in reality. Seems like meaningful tech trees can only be found in Civ and Alpha Centauri, still.

Sorry, but its like i feel it. SotS 2 has indeed nice graphics, i mean from technical standpoint, especially the lightning and shadowing, the textures of planets, various material shaders and specular highlights, the skyboxes - it looks nice. I dare to say technically their engine is capable to produce the best looking visuals, as far as the space strategies are concerned. 

But the ship models, i simply dont like it... they are too complicated, too many various spikes and stingy things and oh, the COLORS! they are way, way too colorful... i would say all the good work they did on the graphical engine, which helps the graphics to look more realistic, is taken down by this overcolored, oversaturated mess... if there was a space opera with such a shitty spacecraft designs, i would probably not be interested, because if you want to see some epic space-battles, you want to see good looking ships, fire one at another.

Seriously, Sins with its ship designs shits all over the SotS, and i do not even like majority of the Advent designs and Homeworld was way better as well.    

Does anyone know what types of planets there are? I've seen quite a few rocky planets of different types, and an asteroid belt in one of the video's above, but what about gas giants?  Doesn't seem right if these are ignored, just because the can't be settled doesn't mean they aren't full of useful resources. Or moons?

Oh, and is combat only between capital ships? Or are there smaller ships, like fighters and shuttles?

As the game appears to be mod-friendly, I'm sure someone will add those things eventually, but I hope they'd be included in the vanilla game.

There are gas giants (methane types and hydrogen types that I've seen), although in the few games I've played they're not the norm and far down the line of planet colonizing. They do give you tons of cash though.

Each planet also has a chance of getting a moon, I'd say about ~33% of planets have them. They're special in the fact that once you research a somewhat low level technology you can do a "survey mission" and occasionally turn up a special bonus artifact/building from an ancient civilization, much like the Sins exploration. Even if you get the 'empty moon' there are technologies later in the game that allow you to turn them into farms or factories and stuff.

I've only seen combat between "capital ships" (from scouts on up) and haven't seen any technologies for any sort of support craft. Sad face.

Also, @Timmagh: To each his own I guess. I think that's the first time I've ever seen someone bag on ship designs for having too high a poly count though.

Yep, plus the research is scaled in a way that you generally have choices between advancing to the next level of a tree in ~5-10 turns or research all the other techs in the other branches in ~1-2 turns, making it unlikely that you'll be super far ahead in one area while really lagging in others. The research also carries over at the moment, so even if you so lag behind in one area you can research multiple technologies in the same tree in one turn if you have the research points.

OMG the UI is Beautiful! I haven't finished my first game but so far I am liking it. (will post more once I finish a game)

Also the cd keys on steam right now are bugged so you will have to wait probably till later today to enter it to give yourself a higher rating score when voting on features.

http://www.amplitude-studios.com/About-us2/G2G

go there sign in and click your account and when steam cd key crap is sorted out then use your cd key as your g2g redeem code.

Cool!  Aesthetically it looks like a cross between EVE and SoaSE and the galaxy screen looks like Star Wars, Empire at War

Very very interesting...

Somebody said "sprawling tech tree"? 

Actually, that is skill tree from Path of Exile.

I personally like the untabbed tech tree in Endless Space. It also offers quite some strategic possibilites. For example, I often find myself beelining for the tech which increases Fleet capacity by 2 for each researched ship class, even at expense of economic and weapons upgrades - it increases the capacity so much, that it easily alllows me to steamroll opponents with superior ships.

Thanks, good to see they aren't ignored. And their numbers might change, it's still an alpha after all. If not, I'm sure there'll be a modder with a realism fetish that might change them. Would be cool if there were one or two races that would like to live in gas giants rather than rocky planets though, makes them feel way more alien.

As for support craft and fighters, I just thought it would look cool if there was an option 'Launch Bombers' and 'Launch Interceptors' in short or medium range combat. But they might not be really viable, depending on the game's ingame technology. Automated flak systems might just shoot them down before they get close enough to do damage. And how would a fighter dodge laser weapons? (Real lasers, not those weird slow Star Wars lasers..)