How to fix the "getting your shit wrecked when you're offline" problem. Make it so there are safe areas where your can settle and your bases can not be attacked or destroyed. Additionally, make the central area of the map a free for all, anyone who settles there is vulnerable to attacks, but the upside is that areas has the best materials/rewards for settling/mining there. This will encourage people to team up and form alliances to protect their operations there, so everything won't depend on one player.
I really hope this is going to be something like a Master of Orion 2 mmo. The part about customizing your own ships and conquering oponents planets sure does sound promising.
Comments
This makes me think of mankind not to be confused with face of mankind.
www.Mankind.net
I translated it as "New Eternity"
Now, it makes me wonder what they intended.
Notice: The views expressed in this post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of MMORPG.com or its management.