This game has such great system with the heroes and the heroes in the game are all great with their own little story. I wish we were able to add our own heroes to it though that could fit into the universe and be recruited.

If not any custom new hero, I atleast wish you could create a starting hero of your own, especially for a custom faction. This would allow for much more customization and replayability!

What would you customize? Mainly it would be give them a name, their own portrait (able to import your own images into the game or use existing ones that are animated), choose whether they're militarist, pacifist, etc, choose what ship they have and the race, either choosing from the main factions or make your own, which allows you to pick from different skills to slot into.

Now the latter would require more work, make sure things are balanced probably, like the traits, add points, restrict them to which tier and so on. But in the end, it would more be for fun since you can already gimp out custom factions.

Mainly the idea is just for you to create your own personal hero that you'll feel more connected to, as you have them lead your fleet against your enemies, representing yourself in the conflicts.