I dissagree on the exploration aspect. I like to explore, but I don't like seeing the whole map and only finding out what is in them. I would much prefer that I start off only knowing the systems I own. and as I explore the new systems get added to the map. I'd go so far as to say that I shouldn't know the mineral content of a planet until I sent a ship in orbit and made a full scan of the surface. I think the reason exploration is a tad dull in se4 is that the 'fun' aspect has been stripped away for simplicitie's sake. I want to scan things, to probe things, I don't want to know what all the planets in-system have revealed to me as soon as I enter a system. Not that it will ever happen in the SE games, but I loved the planet exploration aspect of Starflight, and another game called Alien Legacy.
IMHO exploration when done right is worth 1.5 points on your scale. Expand? well, that is actually a part of exploration and not really a 100% separate entity. It scoores .5 Exploit, is another gray-area X-factor, do they mean exploit the enemy? exploit the mineral rich planets? I give this a 0.0 And for Exterminate, Well, all I can say is "There can be only one!"
definately worth 2.0 points.
My total is 4.0x but with the interest balanced to my liking.
Another fun part of SE is the research and dev. Which 'X' is that tied to? Exploit? if so then it might merrit a full point for technology exploitation. which would make the Ideal 4x game actually 5x
Just some thoughts, Cheers!
