Right now we have the option to select the age of the galaxy we're entering when we start a new game. It alters the game play, but only very slightly.
This option would heavily alter the way a player would interact with the core Starsector worlds by changing the availability of weapons, ships, missions, bounties, and the strength/pervasiveness of the major factions. The more the sector has decayed, the closer to collapse civilization as a whole is.
Options
Mild: The core factions are strong, their fleets are massive and well supplied, massive battles rage between fleets filled with capital ships and those not aligned with the major factions are footnotes at best. Missions are plentiful, but most of them are trade missions. A good, relatively safe environment for a new player to learn the game due to pirates being heavily suppressed, salvage being plentiful, and missions being common.
Moderate: The game as it is now.
Severe: High tech ships are more scarce, more d-mod ships see use, even in the fleets of the major factions. Weapons of a military caliber are uncommon, and even finding them on the black market is iffy. Trade missions are less common, but there are plenty of bounties and tech mining missions from factions struggling not to fall into anarchy. Much more dangerous than the regular game due to rampant pirate activity and weakened major factions.
Crippling: Civilization is near collapse. High tech ships are practically non-existent outside of the Tri-Tac corporations limited sphere of influence. Even their military market rarely sees high tech ships for sale. High grade military weapons are insanely rare, and finding them for sale is a miracle. Some times a player may find themselves trapped in a populated system for a length of time, due to the difficulty of finding even the most basic resources such as fuel. D-mod ships are the norm, and even the major factions struggle to scrounge enough supplies to field capital ships, or even more than a couple cruisers in their fleets.
I'd really enjoy seeing different descriptions for different things in these as well. Seeing the way the lore changes based on how far technology and civilization have slipped would be fascinating.