Not sure if this is necroing or off topic.
There are some major issues with combat:
1. The interfaces are cluttered are fairly easy for new players to get lost in. They are also rather frustrating.
2. A single missile ship will grind the game to a halt.
3. The text information will all smash together, thus providing you with ugly clutter that tells you nothing.
4. Too much useless information is presented in the info dump.
5. The list of enemies becomes hard to look through and select.
6. The fire control systems are hard to set up and individually target.
7. The fleet management and the ability to handle advanced formations is hard to pull off at best, and broken at worst.
1. Having a CIC tab that has all combat information and control in one screen would help, perhaps similar to the economy screen (F2) and it's many tabs.
2. I have no idea how the game is set up to run sub-pulses, but maybe make it so that a successful intercept does not stop the time, or that armour damage won't interrupt.
3. Perhaps another map that, instead of text, would show generic symbols with contact numbers (Sierra-4, Vampire-2, or maybe a NATO symbol, etc), which could then be expanded if information is required by the player.
4. Stack the information. Instead of 20 lines of weapon recharges with show events ticked, it will show "20x weapons recharging this tick" in one line. Maybe even make it only show out of the ordinary messages or negative status.
5. Maybe make it so the list box is larger, or that the information is presented neatly, without requiring the extend button.
6. Make it so fire control can be set up from the design window? I got nothing else.
7. Fix task forces so that a task force is actually a task force. Make it so units will actively support other units in it's task force.
Note that all of ^these^ are problems with the game engine, layout or time pulses. Nothing here has anything to do with balance issues or AI. Also some issues that people (not necessarily me) that people like to talk about:
1. The whole missile issue (large missiles vs small missiles)
2. Electronic warfare
3. Large meson cannons late game
4. Large microwave weapons late game
5. Fighters and their formations and flights
6. Planning attacks using passive information, such as thermal or optics
7. Boarding, pirating, privateering
8. etc...