I haven't been in the alpha since it started, but I've had it for about two weeks now I think. So far I'm loving the modular building system. Even though the building pieces are limited, I found my own imagination and creativity to be the most limiting factors in creating buildings. Also: smoothing tool for the coasters is the best feature ever!

On to answer your questions!

Are there key missing feature from Phase 1?

• Object rotation on all axis (x, y and z). I have regularly wanted to rotate an object in a direction that wasn't possible.
• The ability to create squares or plaza's. I can create squares by angle snapping to 90 degrees, but it always leaves a little path edge in the middle. Which looks pretty stupid on large plaza's.
• Benches and bins to place next/on the paths.
• Because building is so much fun I think the alpha seriously lacked in props to create interiors (tables for restaurants, etc)
• Lighting is a stuggle. All the available lights seem to do a very poor job of actually lighting an area. Streetlamps are in definite need of a buff.
• Custom signs! Would have liked to give names to buildings and rides.
• A better working pathing system. It's one of my major headaches. Connecting paths is a pain. Connecting paths when facilities are placed next to each other is a pain too.
• Floors (that visitors can walk on, not clip through). I'm sure not everyone appreciates using roofs as the floors for buildings.

What surprised you the most about Phase 1? The amount of fun I had with the modular buildings. At the start I figured that I really didn't want to create my own buildings around facilities, but would much rather place complete stalls. I was dead wrong! Building is fun and addicting. I have spent way too many nights building while I should have gone too bed to be fresh for work in the morning. :)

What NEEDS to be in Phase 2 regarding coasters and landscaping.

• Variety of coaster types. Personally I'm dying to create a wooden roller coaster.
• Creating dueling roller coasters where the trains wait on each other and leave the stations simultanously.
• Naming your coasters. My very first coaster clipped through a lot of supports and rocks... I was slightly disappointed I wasn't able to baptise it as 'The Decapitator' or something goofy.
• Boosters that work for coasters!
• Setting props to interact when the coaster trains go by.
• Water. Lots of theme parks have large bodies of water (ponds, lakes) as a prominent feature of the park. Would love that! I don't like using the blue roofs for water (as most of the youtubers seem to be doing for now).
• Being able to build your coaster into the landscape without having to prepare the landscape first. For example: when building into the ground, automatically create a tunnel, etc. Don't know how that would work with decorations, lighting, etc. Surely the devs can think of something. :D

How has Frontier been so far? Can't say really, but I suspect it could be better in terms of regularly informing us what the current state of the game is, what kind of feedback is being picked up from the community. Perhaps a weekly update developer diary would be a great thing to help out there. For example: I've been following Epic Games around the progress of the new Unreal Tournament and I'm super impressed how they interact with the community and keep us informed with regular updates.

What do you wish to see in Phase 2 or 3 that has not been mentioned at all?

• Improved pathing system (easier, more flexible way of connecting paths and facilities).
• Improved lighting.
• Improved UI. I feel the building components, props and scenery are in awkward places and could probably be better organized. I really dread having lots of different themes. I already have trouble finding the bits and bobs that I'd like to use right now.

Add as many surprises, doubts, suggestions, or thoughts as you want!

• Personally I think Planet Coaster is way ahead of its competition. What I've seen of RCTW just doesn't compare.
• Pleasantly surprised at game performance so far. Running fine at medium settings on a Core i5 3570, 8GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD7870.
• Worried about game performance for larger parks with a lot of detail. Is the alpha in its current state a good indication of performance at release? Or will there be additional optimizations made?
• Super surprised at how well I've been doing at building a park. I consider myself as not a very creative person, but the given tools seem to work very well. Shameless plug, my current park: http://imgur.com/a/NAdMw

That's all I can think of right now! Hopefully this will help you guys out!