I see great changes here. I have been more so concerned with gameplay than map changes though. I have been hoping the idea to make planets minable for resources from orbit would float around for this mod. It would help solve some problems like useless systems and dead end systems. There would be a little more opportunity for activity in far out places if not just the fields but planetary bodies themselves were worth fight for, or gave some tactical advantage by keeping in your territory.
Having said that I think the alpha-tau-37 break up will be good overall for diffusing the heat in the area by putting some more flying time between Java and Malta.
I'm also a fan of more systems, but big is only so good when most of the places you go you can't do much in.
Also, the ability to steal real live data (ie info dump, data theft) from a base by a hacking ability would be sweet, would make info dealing possible, and actually be useful by telling the datathief who has been/is docked at a station over a period of time such as a week or month...and cargo being sold there. Imagine getting in close to an enemy station while cloaked and running a data hack for real info! Just some suggestions, i realize its probably too late at this stage. Either way, it still looks great, and look forward to seeing it! Keep up the good work!