I first heard of SE4 when Malfador announced the plans for it on their web site.
I first heard of SE3 by finding it on a demo CD that came with Computer Games Strategy Plus (the title back then) magazine. Played it for a long while before actually ordering the game, as it worked great as its own standalone game. No silly turn limits, just tech limits and no ability to mod. Modding wasn't added in until patch 12 or 14 or whatever it was of SE3 anyways.