I recently posted my Gamespot review, giving SoaSE a "9.0", here: HERE

That review was based on an initial learning game, then two goes at a 3-player, FFA, Normal AI game on the Centrifuge map.  I have now completed 3 games of the Gateway map, first in a 6-player FFA (both games lost) then just now on a 6-player 2v2v2 (with a win). 

THOUGHTS on v1.02

Diplomacy:

My initial review didn't really see Diplomacy in action in a negative sense.  However, the 6-player FFA almost routinely ended up in an AI dogpile on me.  The problem is that the AI is asking virtually impossible things (at times), like do severe damage to another civ far, far, away.  In no time, the other civs hate you...and dogpile.  It doesn't help that they start at HATE and work upward.  They should start neutral and ask reasonable things early on -- like "Could you spare 100 metal?"  Those appear some times, but they don't balance the other problems.

Thus, Diplomacy is fairly well busted in 1.02.  I "fixed" this by locking teams.  I was also surprised in my last game just now when me and my team eliminated everybody...but then we were forced to fight each other?!  Looking at these things, one senses that Diplomacy wasn't fully developled or tested.  The good news, of course, is Stardock is legendary for taking gamer feedback, so I'd say that Diplomacy should be given some patch priority.

AI and Neutral Resources:

This have been mentioned elsewhere, but I'm just registering my hope that the AI will treat neutral resources as very important -- or at least take them away from another player who claims them! 

Conclusion:

I am very late to the game and to the discussion, so I won't go on.  1.03 is likely on its way soon, so I'll put the game on hold until it's out, ready to play some more!  I've greatly enjoyed my MANY hours of play so far, and feel like if I never launched the game again, I would have paid about $.75/hour for what I've gotten to this point.  The rest (and I know there will be plenty) will just be bonus. 

I will say, however, that there are still some very loose ends with the game, though I don't see that any of them are fundamental flaws beyond fixing.