Ok. Now that that’s out of the way. What’s your favorite expected feature so far?
Mine’s probably the strategy with weapons and shields such as their level types.
Second 
Damn you mrstarware! 
My greatest concern is how the design and then hands off approach will work (ok so this is my least favourite expected feature but anyway!)
I hope Cliff allows at least “some” control during a battle… maybe like Majesty used to… For example you could prioritise targets for the AI… Just a thought.
The reason that you don’t have control during the battles is due to a very specific feature that I haven’t announced yet. However, it would actually be quite easy to add limited control at some point, although the sheer workload of the base game means that’s unlikely to happen until after it’s been released.
You will see what i mean when I talk about it at some stage 
Are you going to allow players to choose different tactical formations prior to the battle beginning, and will this affect the outcome of the battle.
absolutely. There is a whole section of the game dedicated to tactical positioning of ships and setting up their rules of engagement. It should be a big part of the game, positioning ships based on the ranges of their main weapons, and placing ships at the front who will shoot down incoming bombers aimed at blasting your big capital ships etc…
I admit I’m a little nervous about two aspects of the game.
I mean the player-specified initial placement, and then the AI captains trying to fulfill my orders while not doing stupid things that shred my battle plan ( as well as my bloody ships). I’m not nervous about the concept; the concept is hella cool and I applaud it. Let’s just say I’ve seen some…errr…“less than robust” implementations of this concept before. (Please don’t skimp on the AI for our captains, I implore you.)
OTOH, I must likewise admit that this is potentially one of the best aspects of GSB. I will reserve judgement until thoroughly playing the game. I can’t wait to sample it for myself!