OK so iv played 4 or 5 games ranging from 150 turns to 400 turns on the two larger maps and the major issue i found revolves around the Ancient race trait and how it effects relics. as of beta 6.1 ascension crystals give 1 base point per level and 5 for 5th level (max 9 points) and any relic taken gives 10% research per level and 50% on 5th level (max 90%). Initially this might not sound so bad, so ill give you some more numbers:

turn 171 i have 58 planets and these relics:

4 culture relics lvl 4: (160%)

3 economy relics lvl 4: (120%)

1 manufacturing relic lvl 4: (40%)

4 Ascension Crystals lvl 4: 16 base points.

that's +270%( - 50% from slow research rate) bonus or a (simplified) 3.7 modifier. 16 (base point bonus) x 58 (planets) = 928 x 3.7 (modifier) = 3433.6 research points generated without any buildings or any spending. now since i cant account for planet bonuses/buildings and galactic research rate i simply took a screen shot showing 3927 with no spending (though that does mean my buildings/planet bonuses are only accounting for 12.5% of my research rate lol):

http://puu.sh/hHKbE/fb72ddf5ac.jpg 

Now lets add those buildings and spending:

http://puu.sh/hHIst/9358277e26.jpg

10625 research points per turn on tun 171!!! that's at the slowest research rate. it takes 2 turns for the highest level tech i have available to get done. sounds awesome right? wrong, here is what it does to the game:

http://puu.sh/hHJVi/0e8d712d58.jpg 

my power rating is 971 and the next highest is 174. that power gap is just to large. Now how do i know its the trait and not something else like my own awesomeness? (eheheheh)

i went and decommissioned all my relic star bases that weren't research (which was all of them sadly) and this is what my research rate was afterwards:

http://puu.sh/hHIBS/59b70151df.jpg

1783 was my research rate at max spending without the relic bonuses. now... thinking logically i cant keep my science up at max spending forever, i need to build buildings and ships to expand and keep my territory. not to mention avoid going bankrupt. i imagine(which means this part is hypothetical) the AI keeps it in the center about 33% all sections. so

1783 x .33 = 588  so if in my example game there was a faction as large and developed as mine (there isnt) their research rate should be an average of 588 per turn. MY races research with NO SPENDING was 3927. 3927/588 = 6.68. which means i can maintain max production and expansion and still outpace everyone else in research at 6.68 times the rate. and as i expanded that gap would only grow, which is why i concluded this trait is a major issue.

So... because it would be douche like to throw so many numbers around and not offer a solution i spent a while trying to work out a solution that isn't so overpowered but still makes the ancient trait worth getting and here it is:

Ascension crystal bonus: reduce from 1 to .5 base research point per level.

all relic bonus: change 10% research per level to .2 base research point per level.

research relic bonus: keep 10% research per level in addition to .2 base research point per level.

seems small right? lets add those numbers up using my previous example:

4 culture relics lvl 4 = .2(4x4) = 3.2

3 economy relics lvl 4 = .2(4x3) = 2.4

1 manufacturing relic lvl 4 = .2(4x1) = .8

4 ascension crystals lvl 4 = .5(4x4) = 8

over all = 14.4 and with my current set up, no % boosts from research relics. so with no spending or buildings thats 14.4 x 58 = 835.2 so with no spending in research thats still slightly above what the average AI would have. with spending would raise your research rate to noticeably higher levels. and research designated planets would be more effective to get those % boosts from buildings. this keeps it at a significant advantage without it being the game breaking advantage it was before. however i have only played on the 2 largest maps where i can go 250 turns before i'm even close enough to another race for combat, so even small numbers like this make a huge difference. smaller maps may need further testing/theoretical number crunching.

OK! that's all i have for relics... ready for the next issue? of course not, but here it is anyway.

Sensors... i have noticed this pop in the forums as SONAR ships. they can get pretty ridiculous... how ridiculous? i'm glad you asked.

http://puu.sh/hHMjV/20ad1fe4de.jpg

484.8 sensor range... i'm on the largest map size, and i can see ALL of it. just one of them...hiding in some nondescript star base anywhere i want and i can see every move you make and plan several turns in advance to counter it. information is what wins wars so having good sensor range is an essential thing but THAT much is a "bit" much. so, how can this issue be resolved? There are a few ways iv thought of, but ill admit their half baked compared the relic issue. 

my first idea was to add to reduction effect to stacking sensors. 

1- 100%

2 - 95%

3- 90%

4- 85%

ect ect or 75.61 with no sensor bonus max research (i always have mass reduction)  75 moves is 80 capacity (max tech/max mass reduction) or not much. or i can get 488 moves with max tech on a huge vessel (no armaments though) so... if you cap sensors you have to cap movement or your enemies can simply outmaneuver your vision. (though it is awesome they are so close to each other in max numbers) so i would say something like... each additional engine added past the first reduces the ships max hp by 5%. which if you think about it... a ship filled to the brim with highly combustible/explosion inducing material should be weaker than one with less. with sublight engines its balanced by the fact that higher speeds increases evasion (though it may need tweaking with change) and with FTL engines its balanced by zerg rush ships being weaker in hp, this goes with the all offensive strategy it should come with. (note: carrier hp bonus/negatives should apply to its fighters in this case to avoid abuse)

alternatively you could have mass increase by 5% (maybe 10%) for each additional engine. this makes sense scientifically because the added force would add more strain on the structure of the ship, so the more force your outputting the more space you would need to take to reinforce the hull so it didn't rip into pieces when you engaged FTL

or...we could skip all the headache giving madness and just cap sensor range and movement lol but in this kind of game i'm against walls, id much rather have a cause and effect, this bonus gives this negative.

Well that's all iv got, hope people enjoyed the nice read (actually your eyes are probably bleeding, i'm a terrible person).