The idea the devs have for making Galactic War very replayable through the use of random bonuses is interesting, but the current implementation has a few flaws. For one, gaining additional slots is extremely important, and your performance can vary wildly depending on how lucky you get in this regard. Also, having factory techs dependent on random chance means you could end up in a scenario where you lack the tech needed to kill an enemy comm. Here's my idea: have slot count be based on # of planets controlled (with smaller galaxies giving more slots a bit earlier), and set it so that after you kill certain numbers of enemy comms, you can unlock a new factory tech (i.e. orbital, basic bot, etc.) or upgrade an existing one (basic air to complete air, etc.). Meanwhile, all the other bonuses (econ efficiency, support commanders, etc.) remain random like they are right now. For that matter, Uber could probably add a few more of these bonus types, to make up for moving the factory unlocks elsewhere. The result? Non-factory bonus abilities would still make each game unique, but many of the current implementation problems disappear.
I agree. Too much of the Galactic War relies upon luck. Changes need to be made. I do like how each time it is different and we need to adapt and come up with new strategies, but right now it's very easy to be completely screwed over simply because you weren't lucky. My go-to example being my opponent spawning in the middle of a large lake while I have no air, naval units, or orbital units (excepting the Astraeus, which doesn't help in this instance).
Yeah, It would be nice if the basic factory's could be gotten without taking up a slot, leaving them for the cooler and less essential stuff.
I suggest implementing a simple skill tree for blueprints. Each x victories can grant a point to unlock one. Other bonuses will be found on planets. This combines randomness and replayability with some strategic decision and nice I'm-getting-better feelings
Another mechanic that would help this greatly would be a 'scout' ability. It would need to tell you what planets were in a system before you attack. That way if you do find a water world, but you have no naval capability you can avoid that conflict.