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Since we're talking about game changes, I'm going to throw in my own two cents:
>Hivers: I imagine it's that way because (almost) everyone can hire bugeyes with cash already past a certain point. The hivers' voodoo is also going to be much better thanks to that +5 VPWR and VSKL, and a singular sectoweed harvest can net you enough for, like, 4 of them? Not to mention an option to just buy sectoweed once you research Contacts: Reticulans.
>Plantations: It would be nice, but that's the way it's done due to engine limitations. The event checks look for whether you have
a plantation, not how many you have.
>Bounty Hunting: In the first few months you could easily maintain positive score without interceptions before, and you can still do it now. I actually quite like having it pushed back for two months, because it means I don't need to rush it in january.
>Ship Junkyard: Durathread is very common, but stapler can mess up with your plans indeed. That said, even without junkyard you have ways of getting more 14mm ammo, or even using different weapons altogether.
>Tiger and Raptor: I agree that there's a big gap between the two, and even bigger one between Tiger and next interceptor you'll actually be getting (Corsair), but giving Tiger missiles would do scarcely little to make it relevant; by the time something better than Spike and Seagull appears you'll be using better vessels anyway. It's already got enough firepower to dominate early-game ground and air traffic; the problem was always the speed not letting it catch up to anything better. So if I were propose anything it'd be another faster jet craft between Tiger and Corsair, at somewhere about 1400-1600 knots of speed; just enough to catch a freighter if a player is lucky to spot one, and an alternative if you can't or don't want to engage with ninjas too much.
>Gnome route: not really feeling this one myself, they have their niches, and that's perfectly fine. I actually like them more as a support unit, and in my opinion, they don't need more spotlight than they're already getting.
As for what I'd like to see: more ground vehicles past the first few months. Something to give the divebombs more reasons to be used beyond ninja APCs and crawlers and occasional necroplane. Maybe a convoy with a big tank, or a raider band accompanying a vehicle similar to the one we're facing in the Defend the Fort! mission.