We can spot a growing number of players who want more. Question is which direction to follow.

Currently, we have a great influx of new players but low retention rates. Why you think this happens and how can we help it?

Eye candy is always nice. But, not the be all and end all. The new Elite Recs would be good asap. The newbs, tutorials are all there, perhaps make them easier to find? Perhaps making and building of certain ships available with no research, enable newbs to start to raid as soon as they start, also perhaps more resources to start with. 1 million metal, 500k crystal, 250k deut. If the ability to perhaps build for instance Small cargo ships, battleships, light fighters is available for no research and minimal shipyard, the start of the game will be quicker for newbs. The ability to raid almost instantly is there. Once they start and have a beginners package of resources, their attention span will be increased, an instant result without having to wait?

^

even when i start out as a relatively active player, it takes a good long time to get a fleet going. yes, i know, i probably shouldn't start out with a super raiding fleet, but if a new player has to wait a long time before they can do very much... they may not stick around

tbh i think elite recyclers would be cool, but like the elite cargoes, not entirely needed. they would just make it easier for people to avoid doing math (not that i like doing math lol). hopefully if implemented, the launch cost and speed are not way better than the recyclers

im not sure battleships are necessary, cruisers are not too bad for initial production

i heavily agree with your last statement though oz, lots of other games (with higher retention rates i think) have a tutorial in which pretty much everything is free. while that does not have to be the case here, something closer to that would still help like you suggested

It was really hard for me to choose.

I went with tutorials for new players though.

But I really like elite recycler...

I think you should do a mixture. Put some type of Universe that is a beta universe for anyone who uses a certain reference code given by zorg. This new universe will be a fast growing universe only to test the new stuff and for you guys to get the best out of it. You throw together some sort of Elite Recycler just to test, add in a tutorial that everyone has to do in order to continue the beta, maybe if you want, add some better graphics even if just slightly, and just make sure it is slightly presentable. Then you figure the pluses and minuses of everything and at the end of the beta, everyone votes one last time. How can you vote on something that you have no clue of what it includes. Give people a taste before making them vote

mix and match!

this test server might need a reset every once in a while. if only so you can test stuff out better.

something else that might add some spice and activity to the game would be "npc" style stuff. so its kinda like free resources, if you have the skill to defeat it. npcs sometimes have resources on their planets, and sometimes send waves out at players, always altered at the time of strength to suit their current strength (so if one of these attacks sprog just after he got crashed, he won't have a massive fleet meant for a 20 million+ fleeter sent at him)

I suspect this might be a large change though, coding wise, though it probably depends on the implementation

actually, if you had something like this integrated into a new tutorial, players could be directed to attack a "weak" npc for resources, and later defend against an attack from said npc.

I can't speak for everyone, but if you're interested in retaining my own level of interest, here is what I think should be added:

1. A box in the Empire menu titled "Species" which would allow players to write down their species' distinctive characteristics and description, perhaps with a few sub-boxes for lifespan, social and reproductive habits, personality traits, physiology, metabolic processes, and so on. The option to upload a thumbnail image would also be a nice touch. Although this wouldn't need to have any effect on the game itself, with additional time and programming, these facts could be made available to other players after a successful espionage mission.

2. Another box in the Empire menu titled "Culture" which would allow players to enter the history, culture, language, hated enemies from other planetary systems, and the laws which govern their people. Again, a thumbail image of the capital, empire's flag, or planetary wilderness could be a lot of fun. This information would not be likely to become obvious to other empires after simple espionage attempts; instead, it could be automatically transmitted along with private messages between players so as to enliven their communications with color and sociological interest.

3. A wide variety of expedition outcomes (as you've hinted at already).

All of this would go a long way to creating a more immersive atmosphere for the game.

Mark you are a genius !

mark, mark, mark. i heavily disagree. there ARE a lot of expedition outcomes, they just all look alike!