Interesting! Now why would they do that...?

Is that a behaviour we would want to mimic?

I think the sensible way is to build it using the tech of the level it is finished in. From what I see in the freestars source code, that is also how they do it.

So in your example, you spend 60 res on your scout, next turn it has remembered 60 resources, and you get it for free. We should check to make sure that you don't get free resources, ie cost is minimized to amount spent already.

I do not think is a good idea is passing (and storing) data within the engine using JSON.

• Saving the game files to the host hard disk - my initial thought is to use pickle. This is a standard python module for serializing object data to and from a byte stream.
  
• Storing data inside the game file - The diagram doesn't really show the connections so I will make some modifications. My thought was that a 'game object' was closely tied to the "Order of Events: Engine." They work hand-in-hand. The player(n) objects are held in a list; the planets are held in list/dictionary; and the fleet objects are held in a dictionary.
  
• Passing data inside the game file -
  
  
  
  • The Host will take the JSON file (the updated player.x file) and update the relevant lists/dictionaries.
    
  • The order of events/Engine will search the 'game object' where the various object lists are stored. When a relevant object is found, the object's methods or Engine's method could be used to change/update the game state.
    
    
    
    Most likely, there will be a mix of both. For example: movement of a space object (packet) would be defined in the space object class as a method. If it reaches its destination, the packet class information is in a packet class method. The engine or packet class may need to notify the relevant planet instance that it received a packet and update surface minerals or reduce population (which are methods in the planet class).
    
    
    
  
  

I am assuming that you don't care too much about how the game engine interacts with the data.

Your preference is to see the CSV in the "Client UI" side of things.

Saving the game files to the host hard disk - my initial thought is to use pickle.

My thought was that a 'game object' was closely tied to the "Order of Events: Engine." They work hand-in-hand. The player(n) objects are held in a list; the planets are held in list/dictionary; and the fleet objects are held in a dictionary.

The engine or packet class may need to notify the relevant planet instance that it received a packet and update surface minerals or reduce population (which are methods in the planet class).