I saw few similar tickets, but none seems to grasp, what I have in mind, so...


Some don't like battles with no player control, but for me it's nice/interesting choice. But if so, let's go all the way and use whole potentail hidden in this approach, don't stay in half-way to true epicness. Changes are too conservative comparing with ES1 battles. Let's every battle be even more stunning cinematic-like experience similar to, say, BSG battles, also less mechanic/repetitive. Give more emotional, space opera soul to them. How?



1. Camera work tricks. 


Camera work is nice (appreciated htese small soft shakes!), but not always good, often doens't show, what's most interesting at a time. It could be much better. I'm not camera operator, but when I see great SF battles in TV, I can recognize, how they boost "epicness" using special camera shots, say along the turret's barrel, or from target's point of view wathich incoming fire, some linear, panoramic passages, more contextual shaking - at close hits or shots etc. etc. It's surprising, how much one can achieve working with camera alone. 



2. Maneuvers


Less repetitive, more rich and 3D battleships maneuvring, but keep it slow and majestic, also ship-of-the-line kind of static formation for massive, long range missile barrages (Honor Harrington universe like tactics). In general - more diverse maneuvers, as a side note, perhaps also dependent on commander's skills and personality with real impacto on battle course and result. 



3. Fighter ships & dogfigths 


See p. 1 - good for dynamic camera work here. 



4. Make it more personal


May be too ambitious for ES2, more for ES3, or some paid DLC, don't know, but for dramaturgy greatly helps, if there are some shots from ship's interior. Showing crews in fight, losses taken, hit explosions decimating them, facial emotion expression, commanders giving orders in the middle of mayhem... You get the picture. Not sure, if doable with static graphics, transitions between them and usual view may be awkward, not smooth enough. But even some good voice acting alone could do a lot, say some battle radio chatter reflecting the situation. 



5. More epic music for such battles. 


Usual battle energetic, exalted stuff or also with some melancholy counterpoint. 



6. Feel free to add more points along this line, as they come to mind. 


I'm not a programmer, but I know about algortitms and stuff enough to say, some of the above may look hard to do in procedural way, but I feel, these things are decently doable with proper thought and work investment. Worth of try to me definitelly, maybe as yet another view mode. Let's prove, so "no player control battles" could give more thrill, and be more interesting, than those, where you have actual control over ships.