Just pre-ordered and installing the beta as we speak. Will definitely check out the sound issue you speak of.

While waiting for my download to finish I'm checking the first Youtube stream of the Fleet Battles. I see that you can no longer fly past the edge of one side of the screen and come out of the opposite. This is good. I always found that feature in the old games a bit confusing.

I also see the asteroids close in on the planet as the match goes on. I'm not so sure about that. I used to chip away at an Ur-Quan Dreadnought's health using my Shofixti Scout even if it took forever. I guess that strategy will no longer work here.

My god, I am getting really pumped. So excited to try this out.

I suggested elsewhere that there should perhaps be different battle areas....A lot of people do not like the artificial asteroid wall, this thread is the first where someone said they like it, but also this person has not actually played at time of their opinion.

Gotta agree right there. They said they're gonna add arena options however, so I hope one of them is the original arena. They've changed up the way ship movement works and now I can strafe using space gravity and shoot ships again. so that's cool

The gravity stuff is coming along nicely.  

I have a strategy with the Mowlings where I go into orbit of the planet and just wreak havoc.

Unfortunately, my horrible coworkers agreed that beam weapons shouldn't be able to shoot through the planets anymore and changed it.

They're dead now.