Hello everyone!
I've just wrapped up a major update to Poly Universe, including a bunch of advanced resources, new building types, and a story/campaign mode. So here's what's in the latest build, which I'm affectionately referring to by its nickname "Version 0.9.0.0":
* New advanced resources like Diamonds and Silicon can only be found on certain worlds. And no, it's never the world you start on. Sorry! These and other advanced resources are necessary for building new late-game structures.
* I've retooled the way research works. There's no longer an arbitrary tech tree, but rather it becomes possible to research things as you discover them by visiting new worlds. (E.g. you unlock the option to research silicon production when you first colonize a sandy planet). This means that how you develop tech is unique to each play-thru and determined by how you explored the universe.
* There's an actual story! Characters from your crashed ship talk to you now and several story-lines unfold in parallel, with each story-line detailing a different way in which the depths of outer space are trying to kill you.
* And if you don't like stories and just want to play a civ-building game in space, there's also Sandbox-mode which shoves the story to the side and gives you access to everything right at the beginning.
* Also, there's a raft of gameplay tweaks. Most notably: Your Peabs grow up faster, and learn faster from Schools, so the early game has less downtime. But, there are now stricter limits on what can be transported between worlds when doing Colonization and Trade missions, so these mid-game actions require more planning.
Enjoy!