I came back to this over the weekend and put more hours than I'd like to admit running through a new conventional start. I still say this is the ultimate 4x game, and if only it had just a little more graphical and some appropriate audible "flair", it would be unrivaled. It's so good and detailed that it wouldn't even need that much in the way of production value to push it over the top. It is simply the ultimate sci-fi strategy game sandbox where you can almost do anything that you can imagine and nothing else comes even remotely close. I guess Distant Worlds may be a very...very "distant" second (see what I did there?).
Of course, the draw back is that with so much detail and breadth, it can be exhausting. There is limited automation and when you have discovered multiple systems that you've begun to colonize, managing the colonies and fleets and responding to new crisis, such as overcrowding, political instability, raw material shortages, vessel distress, and don't forget, alien incursion, can quickly become overwhelming.
I still have not found myself involved in an interstellar war, but the herculean effort that must be involved to build, supply, and operate a vast space-faring fleet and army is truly daunting when considering how complex it is to simply manage science, exploration and logistical fleets across systems. I'm very comfortable with early development, research, economy, mining and exploration. This really leaves conflict as the final frontier for me. It is only a matter of time before I'll have to roll up my sleeves and get nasty. Like high yield nuclear implosion warhead nasty.
Anyway, game is at 1.12 now and I'm hoping for 1.13 at some point over the next few weeks. I'll start a new game when it is released.
