Congratulations to Tynan on that dramatically successful Kickstarter. Like, wow.
I bought my way in on the 30$ level through the paypal buttons on the site (thanks to Scott Manley on youtube for showing the game). I literally can't wait. I mean, I can, but, you know.
There seem to be a lot of questions about the endgame, but honestly I'm more interested in how a colony will begin than how it will end. In case you're still answering questions here:
1. Will there be variable starting conditions that affect what kind of technologies can be accessed and what buildings can be constructed during the game, i.e. a "tech level" for the colonists? (As a suggestion, I think that an escape shuttle, rather than individual escape pods, would go a long way towards explaining why the colonists would know a solar flare is coming or an eclipse is happening, and why they can fabricate things like gun turrets.)
2. Are you looking at building in personality traits for the initial colonists/survivors that might dramatically alter a player's options and style, like xenophobia, anti-slavery sentiments, suspicion of technology, etc.?
3. How far "down" will the survival aspect go? It doesn't seem like the colonists are terribly concerned about water or extremes of temperature at this point.
4. What considerations go into the size of the colony map? Will the planet's surface be explorable?