Distant Worlds

Distant Worlds is a vast, pausable real-time, 4X space strategy game. Experience the full depth and detail of large turn-based strategy games, but with the simplicity and ease of real-time, and on the scale of a massively-multiplayer online game.

Vast galaxies are made to order: up to 1400 star systems, with up to 50,000 planets, moons and asteroids. Galaxies are so deep, fun and immersive that you won’t want to finish the game... Build, expand and improve your empire endlessly. The galaxy is packed with life and activity. Encounter other empires, independent alien colonies, traders, pirates and space monsters. Explore star systems, asteroid fields, gas clouds, supernovae, galactic storms and black holes. Discover evidence of civilizations long since past, uncovering secrets about the galaxy's troubled history...

Enough of the sales pitch, Distant Worlds is a 4x game that innovates by using a macromanagment system allowing the AI to take control of as much of the game as the player wishes. It has two expansions (Return of the Shakturi and Legends), each which improve the game so much that playing without them is like night and day.

Needs More Love.

Distant Worlds provides examples of:

 * All Planets Are Earthlike - Averted. Many Planets can't ever be inhabited.
 * A Million Is a Statistic - Most actions from, fleet combat to invasions, will result in many deaths, not that you'll notice...
 * Artificial Brilliance - Distance Worlds is rather unique in the fact that you can have AI take over the entire game if you wish, and they tend to do pretty well.
 * Artificial Stupidity - That being said they tend to make quite a few dumb choices when it come to high level strategy.
 * Asteroid Miners - Lots of mining stations will be built game and can easily become a source of conflict.
 * Barbarian Tribe - Space Pirates will appear if turned on. They can be bribed for information and protection among other things.
 * Beam Spam - A large variety of beam weapons will insure this.
 * Big Bad - The Shakturi in the 1st expansion
 * Big Good - The AI in the 1st expansion.
 * Character Alignment: Your reputation affects diplomacy a lot (ranges from diabolical to heroic)
 * Civil Warcraft - Can happen to you or to computer players when a revolt occurs.
 * Comically Small Bribe - Can occur in diplomacy quite often due to the fact that AI limits their bribes to 20,000 max.
 * Conflict Ball - The tensions between the races which hate each other (bugs vs humans) can seem like this
 * Deflector Shields - Every ship has a shield.
 * Design It Yourself Equipment - Leads to a Lensman Arms Race.
 * Easy Logistics - Their is no unit limit to anything, except being able to pay for them
 * Enemy Civil War - Can occur for a number of reasons, or directly caused by espionage.
 * Four X - But of course.
 * Galactic Conqueror - Naturally how to win a military victory
 * Glass Cannon - Very easy to do in the designer, just load up on things that go boom, and leave no room for shields.
 * Gunboat Diplomacy - Other races will send you bribes even if they hate you, if your army is large enough.
 * Humans Are Diplomats - Humans get nice boost to espionage, diplomacy, and research.
 * Humanoid Aliens - Some races fall into this.
 * Imported Alien Phlebotinum - Lots of ships and other goodies can be found while exploring.
 * I Surrender, Suckers - Very easy to pull off with enough money or resources.
 * La Résistance - Planets revolt if unhappy.
 * Lensman Arms Race
 * Lost Technology - Precursor artifacts and temples.
 * Non-Entity General - Your leader is now appears as character who you can view in the new expansion Distant Worlds: Legends.
 * Pacifist Run: Can be done depending on the goals, in fact some races goals nearly require it.
 * Random Event - Many from exploring or just from normal play.
 * Tech Tree - Three of them researching at the same time.
 * Two D Space
 * Universal Translator - Oddly enough everyone seems to start with them.
 * Worker Unit - Colony ships, freighters, constructors, and miners.