Good ideas but most people quit after a while... Or leave the thing half done...

Well basically, the idea behind this is that the player would feel like its not just a preconstructed world that he/she is playing in, But one that they have a hand in building and it's outcome. Sci-Fi game, with a squad based element, ill explain more below.

Backstory
Basically the setting is in the future a few milennia on Earth, the year 4051 A.P. (Age of Peace) .  For the last 900 years, the people of Earth have experienced global unity.  There hasn't been a war or major violent conflict amogn humans in over a millenia, though the develoment of inter-stellar travel ahs led to more than a few with other planets.  All of humanity has merged into one co-existing community.  Poverty, crime, and most sickness has ended.  Earth had become a Utopia.  But as they say, "All good things must come to an end....."

Fifty years ago, contact with a new planet was made.  People everywhere were excited with the contact, but things went bad.  In a sign of good faith, the aliens traded with us technology that allowed us to manipulate genes.  While some people embraced the technology, others shunend it, claiming it was playing God. Earth was divided.  Now, 50 years later, the war is still raging.  Because of the long period of peace, both sides were so evenly matched that niether side is capable of winning the war.  The only way for either side to gain the upperhand is to hire mercenaries, a by product of the 50 years of fighting.  The civil war has spread to several other Human inhabited worlds like mars and the moons of Saturn.

Enter the Player
You are a mercenary.  Choose which side you fight for, or play both to gain wealth.  Buy genetic enhancements to become more powerful.  Your actions will decide the war. Choose wisely.

Some missions will pit players against players, depending on which side they work for.

In order to complete missions, players must band together and form a mercenary band.  Mercenary bands can contsruct their own towns and run a local economy.

Features
-Permanent landscape damage: whatever you do will stay there.
-Triumph or fail: either side can lose the war on any one planet.
-join in huge open battles with thousands of other people all at once.

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I'm sure theres more in my head somewhere, tell me what you think.

what do you mean, are you talking about development team members or players?