Played SE IV long ago, and considering SE V.

[Fyron]

Even the biggest SEIV PBW games I played never took hours per turn to play..

I'd also appreciate perspectives on game balance. I remember with some of the earlier games, where you started had a heck of a lot to do with your success in the game.

This is the same for every single strategy game ever made, unless you use custom maps that are explicitly set up to be as even (and bland) as possible.

In terms of general game balance (techs, components, etc.), I would highly recommend getting the Balance Mod right off the bat, and not bothering with the stock game.

Additionally, BM includes an earlier version of FQM, which has several benefits for map-related balance. If you play with the "Paradise" quadrant type, you can eliminate all of the uninhabitable and dangerous system types, thus ensuring that no player can have a Tesco Start.

In SE5, the planet types and atmospheres are kept rather balanced on the map overall, but there will still be instances of clustering of certain types in certain areas due to the random generation. In FQM, individual solar systems have more uniform distributions of planet types. The planet types are based on the orbitals, with rocks in the inside, gas in the middle, and ice on the outside. This doesn't change the overall balance of planet types on the quadrant level that is in the stock game, but it does insure that individual systems are a little more balanced.

Finally, what are best parts of the game? Is it an improvement or a step backward from SE IV?

It's mostly an improvement. The UI is more clicky than SE4, but you do get used to it. The orders button panel is a mess, but you should be using hotkeys anyways in strategy games. Construction point spillover in queues is a great addition. No more need for hte obsessive-compulsive types to build Mineral Miner IIs, then upgrade them all to Mineral Miner IIIs once the planet is full. Customizable layouts in nearly every report screen are quite handy. Sadly, the construction queues window no longer lists the next 2 items in build queues. Component slot layouts are a rather dubious feature, especially since damage is only directional on a "sectional" basis (and outer hull slots are a magic wall protecting inner hull slots). The lack of percentage/slider based racial characteristics makes race design far more boring; the best solution would have been to simply balance the costs rather than nuking the setup altogether. Alas... Bases no longer have magic quantum reactors built-in, units and facilites now require maintenance, etc.

Really, the best bet is to just download the demo and see the differences for yourself. It is many versions out of date and will have some bugs that are fixed in the latest version, but its a risk-free way to see the game for yourself.

Also, you can control ground combat. Is that a really cool part of the game, or just a distraction?

It's no more or less a distraction than tactical space combat is. Since both are in pauseable real time instead of turn-based, it takes a lot less time to go through them in tactical mode.