I've been playing 4X strategy games on the computer since 1988, starting with "Reach for the Stars" and Interstel's "Empire: Wargame of the Century" (on my 8088 system using 5.25" floppy disks). I remember being totally amazed by "Master of Orion" and put several thousand hours (literally) into that game. In the long journey from then to now I've tried most of the 4X titles in both the space and fantasy genres (Fantasy Empires, anyone?).

The above offered as proof that this ain't my first rodeo. And the thought that kept running through my mind as I explored Stars in Shadow was "Oh my gosh, this is MOO for 2019, except with better graphics)". It's been long time since I've had the "just one more turn" vibe and then realized the sun was coming up and I'd played all night. Now I don't think I'll continue to do that (especially since it's a lot harder to do it now than it was 30 years ago) but it did happen and I wanted to share that and thank you for providing the experience.

I must also tell you how hugely impressed I was with the UI. I lost track of the number of times I was "hmm, how do I...oh, like that (of course)." Many times it was as if you were reading my mind, anticipating what I would want to do and then using the most intuitive means to accomplish that. I don't know that I've ever seen a better UI. Give yourselves a round of applause.

So, thanks again. I'm having a blast and looking forward to playing other races. Gotta go, ad astra per aspera.

+10

Glad you've been enjoying it And good to hear that the UI has been playing well for you.

I've actually played very little MOO (the original) myself, and Ur-titles like "Empire" and "Reach for the Stars" are solidly before my time (though Arioch is a fellow veteran). That said, "Sword of the Stars" was a major point of influence for me, and I'm aware that a lot of what I liked about that title actually came from the original MOO. Speaking very generally though, a lot of what I was trying to do with SiS was to "simplify and refine" various MOO2 mechanics that struck me as cool yet tedious -- and I think it's natural that any such effort would tend to loop us around in the direction of a more MOO1-like experience. I once saw someone describe SiS as MOO1.5 -- which is probably pretty accurate from some perspectives, and not a bad place to land in the overall strategy game taxonomy, I think

Stumbled upon SiS recently, and after a few hours of play I'll sign under each OP's word. Except for my start line is MoO 2. Looks like the proper heir to the throne is here, finally! Unbelievable work for 2-men team.