A nice evolution of an old formula. Excellent basic design, and pacing.

Really enjoyed it, but not sure if it has longevity.

My feelings and experience of playing the game:

Being frustrated by how my ships were getting destroyed before realizing that there are different ship types.

Being frustrated by losing all my ships to an asteroid field 

Feeling good about figuring out all the ship types

Being frustrated by the alien swarm thing.

Being underwhelmed by the defense station

The nukes feel really nice.

Losing to the destroyer because I didn't understand how it worked, and I played a fast offense and had no missiles to defend against the initial meteor burst.

Doing a lot of busywork, moving ships around.

Winning by accumulating 1000 ships on the central planet before defeating the swarm.

Suggestions:

Make asteroids less punishing, more more explicitly dangerous.

Let people choose if a planet builds a defense station or missile base. Alternatively, certain planets are "defense station planets" and certain planets are "missile base planets"

The final boss appearing even if the swarm is not eliminated, and absorbing the remaining swarm. The timing can be dynamic/

Hello andymakespasta, and thank you so much for your feedback.  

Here are some initial responses to the issues you encountered:  

- Learning curve: If I were to develop multiple levels/maps, I would take the time to introduce gameplay features through an interactive tutorial. Currently, despite the tutorial pop-ups at the start of the first game, the player is left to figure things out alone. I understand that the first game can feel quite harsh.  

- Defense station: I also think there’s an issue with the defense station. It was designed as a support tool at the front lines, but it struggles to be truly effective, even in groups. I’m considering increasing its effectiveness.  

- Alert phases and the destroyer battle: These are experimental. For this short demo, I thought it would be fun to create a false sense of victory before leading into a final fight. I don’t think I’ll keep this formula moving forward, but I do plan to keep final bosses. I enjoy the cathartic, chaotic element they can bring. That said, I’m not satisfied with the current implementation of these two phases, particularly the destroyer fight. It’s very messy, but the feeling is there. Your suggestion is an avenue worth exploring.  

- Repetitive tasks: I’ve also felt this issue. I’ve already tested an automatic resource transfer system between planets fully terraformed to the highest level. This allowed resources to be redirected closer to combat zones. However, it completely broke the game by making it far too easy and removing logistical challenges. I rolled back on this for now. I don’t yet have a satisfying idea to reduce the player’s workload while maintaining gameplay intensity.  

- Asteroids: Asteroids are indeed very punishing. I’ve added warning labels to alert players, but it doesn’t seem sufficient. Asteroids serve to balance out the overwhelming power of nuclear bombs. It’s always better to keep some bombs available to deal with asteroids.  

- Alien swarm: Could you tell me more about the frustration you experienced with the swarm, please?  

Thank you again for your feedback—it’s very important to me.