GC2

I should have listed Gal Civ II as well. I played and played and now I am doing the Civ V thing.

Oh and yes, I too played one game of gc2 last weekend. I enjoyed it very much even though I did win by ascension in few hundred turns. I didnt have time to see a single planet invansion and took part only one space battle

GC2

Civ 5

Eador: Masters of blah blah blah

I considered Distant Worlds but it's costly to get it plus all xpacs for something that one hasn't tried and isn't sure one will like (not a big fan of real time) and many recommend or say that you really want all xpacs for it.  I ended up playing some GC2 instead of throwing down.

I mean, yeah, I threw down $100 for GC3 without even thinking, but throwing 100 at stardock who has always treated us like gold is a bit different than throwing 100 at some company I've never heard of for a game that doesn't have a demo and that doesn't sell any kind of package combining the whole game...meh..that's risky even when many say it's a game that measures up to GC2.  So you'd basically have to pay 30 for the base game to demo something that's incomplete (missing lots of stuff from xpacs).

What I'm actually playing these days, with unhealthy obsession is...finally got into Terrraria recently when it was on sale for 2.50 on steam and my brother and I have played 120 hours, mostly on the same map, since we got it.  It's an incredible game - I can't believe how many times I've said "wow" or "this game is insane" and the like while playing it.  There is so much goodness packed into Terraria that I feel bad only paying 2.50 for it, since even at the usual 10 it would be an absolute steal.  I had put off buying Terraria forever because I thought it looked weak in screenshots and such, but when you play it, kind of like with minecraft, all of that goes out the window and you're just enjoying an amazing game and the way it looks is perfect.

I do pen and Paper D & D but with rules via Pathfinder which is WAY better than the new 4.0 rules.

When I play GC2 I disable all vic conditions except conquest and influence..

Distant Worlds with all the Expansions is excellent. It was terribad on release but like most games with the updates and expansions it is actually very good. As a stopgap to Gal Civ III I would highly recommend it. 

It is pausable real time. I slow down the time passage and pause and give out orders to fleets and then unpause and sit back and watch the empire. 

I do not want to get into a cross discussion of whats better. I am a very hard core die hard fan of the Gal Civ series. However, I did look for other games and Distant Worlds does do the trick when you get into its mechanix. It is a very good game and I do recommend it.

GC2

Civ V

FE:LH

Birth of the Federation

Distant Worlds: Shadows

Armada 2526 Supernova

Oh, and Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes. 

My group tried 4.0, briefly, then went back to 3.5 with some Pathfinder rules patched in, and some of our own modifications.

SotS2

SEV

GalCiv 2, using my fix mod, Autumn Twilight.

SotS 1, playing the Hivers currently.

E:FE:LH, I finally redeemed the Steam-key I got from Stardock, because I pre-ordered E:WoM.

SMAX, alternating between the Gaians and the Consciousness.

Tried FE:LH today. Probably shortest game I have ever played. I managed to lose in the first turn