Improved Culture

1. I think this is a bad idea, especially on locked teams. I think the current system that your culture helps your ally's planets is good enough.

2. Yes, though I think everyone should get it, the advent just get it earlier (and thus cheapter).

3. Agreed (though maybe not factories and military structures, but civilian structures should be destroyed for sure).

If you overthrow a planet, the you should overthrow the structures too. When you colonize they should become yours,

I'm pretty sure that this is already the case.  I know that an ally's culture will at least raise your allegiance by 10% at affected planets.

perhaps on locked teams that the culture would be beneficial, but in unlocked team games, you should be able to convert ally planets (maybe with a -10% penalty)

Military structures should be destroyed, civilian structures should be left.

Eh I disagree. Just because the planet itself rebels doesnt mean everything in orbit around the planet has rebelled. Remember how the Vasari work afterall. They put their people on the orbiting structures and enslave the other natives on the planet to supplement their work force. The other factions do this as well. However I dont think the TEC nuke should 1 shot planets and the Vasari nuke takes 10 shots to nuke the orbital structures. Some balance needs to be done there because TEC are economic giants. Their super weapon is much more powerful and easy to obtain considering their economic might than the other races which take many shots/longer time to do the same thing.

Culture overthrowing should definately make the planet colonized by you but the orbital structures are "die hard" for their faction.

While true all it takes is 1 starbase upgrade to make the TEC superweapon almost useless. IMHO TEC got the shaft with their superweapon, the other races super weapons can help a fleet battle. Not the TEC.

That's still a starbase, upgrade, and required research you need to invest in to keep your worlds safe. And you need to place one at each planet. Meanwhile, you just need one Novalith to keep all of your enemy's worlds at risk. And, on top of that, a Novalith angled at a planet means that world isn't generating any tax income ever again.

That's besides the fact that the TEC don't even need to invest in a fleet for their weapon to work at its full potential. You just build one, turn it on autocast, and watch the fireworks. Or, if you're feeling mean, find a terran planet and check back every so often to make sure your Novalith's constantly firing on it.

So, in my opinion, the Novalith is just fine. It plays into the TEC's style like the other superweapons play into the other race's; it helps the player maintain economic dominance, just like the Deliverance maintains cultural dominance and the Kostura maintains superior maneuverability. Damaging planets is just a plus, like the Advent's damage bonus (I've never played Advent, so correct me if I'm wrong) and the damage the Kostura does to orbiting ships.

And it still makes one of the biggest and prettiest explosions in the game.

huh u kidding me? i always wonders y THE INSANELY DEVASTATING IMPACT from the novalith shot DOES NOT destroy or shatter the planet or make it like a donut with a hole at the center eh?

me too...maybe if you Novalith'd a planet enough times (dependent upon the type of planet), it should turn into an asteroid field