The screen edge placement is the interesting constraint here, because the player is mostly not looking at it. That makes the glance the unit of play rather than the session.
One thing that might follow from it: try to guarantee something is visibly different every time they look back. A ship that has clearly moved along a route, or a shelf of beverages that gained one, reads as progress instantly. A number that went up does not, because you have to remember the old number first.
Asking what would make it more interesting before adding more systems is the right order.
Thanks a lot for your feedback, it really means a lot to me.
This is actually something I've already spent some time thinking about, so feedback on that is especially valuable. I'm trying to find the right balance between catching the player's attention and not sending too many signals that could distract them from whatever else they're doing.
Right now, the only mechanic that actively tries to grab attention is the text in the bottom-left corner, which changes color when the player finishes mining an asteroid.
For the beverage collection, I went for a more passive form of communication. The screen in the middle of the bar changes every two minutes, quite discreetly, so the player can glance at it whenever they want and should hopefully find something interesting there.
That said, I think this second part could definitely be improved. I'm still trying to figure out how, but I really like the idea of making new progress much more visually obvious when the player looks back at the game.
Thanks again for the feedback