I got sucked into GL right away with the well-thought out technologies and science. What I'd like to see is a more theatrical animated game, with the option to turn the animations off for players who've been through it and don't want to see the animations again -- perhaps a space bar skip feature.

A big animation at pivotal moments in the game -- when you first discover how to operate a magnetic deflector, when your ship becomes a Dreadnaught, when you learn how to Terraform a planet, when you blast an enemy especially hard...

The resource management angle is so well-covered already that I think just a few cinematic storytelling elements would be totally sweet.

it would be neat to see the planets spin. maybe the clouds on tera planets moving would be cool.

I was trying to talk a friend into playing GL; he was disappointed that there wasn't a graphic of the equipment going on to your ship, like a big ship paper doll.

This may be beyond a browser game, but I thought I'd mention it anyway, just in case.

...When you take down a TO Troop Carrier (a rare powerful NPC which has to be done by yourself).