Well, I've already commented on MOO3 in another thread, but suffice it to say that I agree...it has NOTHING on SE4. It is a nightmare of fighting the AI and UI to try and get what you want done. In the end, I think the touted 'macromanagement' is every bit as tedious as 'micromanagement', with the added complication of needing to learn a completely different way to fight the UI.
By contrast, SE4 feels very clean. Everything is laid out intelligently and clearly. There are obviously things I would change, but SE4 feels 'done', unlike MOO3 which feels very much like its still in Beta, even after all of the delays.
SE4 keeps me coming back because, through modding, it can be the game *I* want it to be. I've taken Proportions as a base, and tweaked it to feel the way I like it. This is such a HUGE feather in SE4's cap. I would have stopped playing with the default data long ago...it just left me feeling a little bland. But with modding, its a game and a mad scientist's workshop all in one!
I'm not sure if I have more fun modding or playing, but its all coming from the same product.
My biggest gripes about SE4 are the AI and dipomacy. The AI is fair, but has a lot of holes. The diplomacy just feels 'off'. There are tons of options, but most of them just dont seem to do much. I receive threat after threat with no follow-through. I ask for things that are agreed to, but I never see the result...(ie, "Break your treaty with the 'X'"..."ok"...and it never does it).
But, in the realm of multiplayer, SE4 really shines. Since Gold, I've been able to play TCP/IP and that is where the game is really at. All the AI and diplomacy faults fall away when playing with other folks, leaving us to enjoy what is probably the best 4x game ever made.
Long, rambling...but its my story and I'm sticking too it!
Talenn