First of all, we're most probably removing the one planet limit. That is, we're expanding and populating the starry sky with other planets to visit. I've already implemented the open world part, so the base for that is down. Regarding the rest we're really in the stage of throwing each other ideas for further design changes, but some very probable considerations include some sort of travel between planets, storyline complexity, puzzle elements. We are leaning towards making a more exploration and story driven experience, moving the local discovery factor to a more global scale. That being said, we need to decide on the main game mechanic (or if it will have one?). The evolution system from the ludum dare version (link below) stays, but heavily modified to match further game design decisions. We're also adding more creature factions (besides the four already existing)
I'm also including a link to ludum dare version, and a very flawed evolution graph. Enjoy!
Red arrow means affects positively, blue negative. Ignore green :)
Sadly, I can't run this, as my graphics card does not support HiDef. If you could upload a copy with the properties set to Reach, I could try it. But, if you don't wanna bother, I understand.