It seems kind of odd that I don't bother researching the Translator and I can still elect myself as head of the UP and then host the UP HQ. I believe there's an option to turn off the UP, but the general idea and formation of the UP is all kind of bogus from what I can tell.  Even if I wasn't in control of the UP, when did I decide to become part of it and/or allow them to tax/control me. If I'm in control of the UP, I want an option to propose NOTHING and perhaps even make up my own proposals based on whatever kind of rules you want to configure in the game.  I'm just not seeing much useful added to the game by the UP (for me)--presumably incomplete implementation. As long as there's an option to turn the UP off...

Not sure when balance issues should be mentioned, but I haven't yet lost a game and all I do is play the Terrans with more or less default settings. I don't even bother to research weapons until really late in the game. And setting up a precursor research lab near a research or manufacturing artifact pretty much lets you run away with the game. 

Speaking of this precursor artifact thing--there seems to be a hard limit of only being able to build one starship per turn--if my manufacturing is really boosted as much as it seems to be by the precursor artifact research than I should be pumping multiple ships per turn at the one dock.

--David