What is the hardest thing to due when building a game like this? Is it the code? or just the time constrictions?

Getting the time to learn by doing.

Hardest parts are finding the time and designing a game that's actually fun to play (it's harder than most people think). Writing the code is pretty straightforward.

I concur with Mike. To make the game fun to play, it has to provide a variable degree of challenge, to suit all different kinds of players. Also, the game dynamics have to be vast, without being too vast. In addition, The AI has to provide a variable degree of challenge, without acting too straightforward.

What I can see coming are a lot of changes to things like shield strength and beam weapon strength and other scalable things once people start playing the game. We are going to find out that such and such is too strong or too weak and so makes something too easy or two hard. One example already exists in the game where it takes a hundred turns to build a space station. This is where making it fun to play will require finesse. At least with Supremacy, we already have the example of the original game in terms of whether it is fun or not. This is where I always feel a sense of caution in how much we improve it or add things to it. We liked BOTF 1. At what point is it a better upgrade verses not the same game anymore? I think everyone is doing a good job so far.

Captain Bashir