Had no trouble loading or getting into Tribble.
New interface/ graphical representation of sector space looks good.
A little rubber-banding, but not bad (few folks on Tribble most likely, don't know what it will look like live).
The redistribution of systems is a nice change, still easy to find (maybe easier) those areas you already know, though you'll have to adjust to minor differences in location and relationship to other locations... Usually only by a sector or so in one direction or another.
Individual systems look cool with planets, stations, etc in orbit. Some systems are clearly not done, Sol for example, has some of the larger gas-giants repeated and others missing, while the smaller terrestrial worlds are apparently MIA at the moment. Except Earth of course, it's big and bold and pretty looking. Qo'noS, on the other hand, well, let's just say I hope they are not done with it yet.
Also, strangely, the Sol system appears within the Beta Quadrant instead of the Alpha, which I am not a fan of. It should be on the border, which it is, but it really should be just inside Alpha not Beta. I gather from the Dev blog, that this was a design choice error in favor of the existing Mission layout rather than trying to be accurate. It's a quibble, but there you have it. Likely, there are other fairly minor problems as well.
The only really frustrating item, (from a FASA fan perspective), is the placement of the Nimbus system. The "Planet of Galactic Peace" was supposed to be a backwater planet that hosted offices for the Klingon, Federation, and Romulan consulates. Therefore, the logical location, especially during the "Cold War" would have been within the so called "Triangle", a somewhat lawless section of space where the territorial borders of the three superpowers mentioned above, converged. Instead it's way out on the northwest quarter of the map, an area that the Klingons would likely not have had easy access to in the mid 2260s.
Recall, that Nimbus III was directly connected (in ST: V) to the delicate political situation in the aftermath of the first Klingon-Federation war. It is specifically mentioned as being located within the "Neutral Zone". There are essentially three "Neutral Zones", each sharing a boarder with the opposite two factions... With a triangular no-mans land in the middle. In other words, "The Triangle". It is my assertion that this is where Nimbus "Should" be.
*Rant off*
The Sector Grids look nifty. Though the math is convenient rather than Gregorian in terms of distribution of light days, weeks, and months to the year.
So:
1 LY = 12 LM
1 LM = 4 LW
1 LW = 7 LD
Thus,
1 LY = 336 LD
These changes look and feel more "Functional", however I will miss the distinctive faction-themed Sector Grids, especially considering that no one will spend a lot time counting light days between plot points in the maps... But I suppose one could now.
Space does feel bigger, but as noted by others actual travel time does not seem much greater, just tons smoother. Of course, routine use of QSD will benefit more than ever from reduced cool-downs and improved turn rates.
Some new...
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Deep Space Enemy Contacts (possibly random?) in addition to the old Enemy Contacts. The new ones appear to be like mini patrols and have minor but solid rewards for time and difficulty). Basically instead of just going into an enemy group, you get a little flavor text explaining why the enemy is there and what they are doing, why you are dealing with them, etc... The Flavor text actually adds a bit of welcome fluff.They do have some practice with that already with the Battlezones, so hopefully it will be smooth.
Overall, this is a nice quality of life improvement, or at least a less immersion-breaking one.
maj!
