ThePinkPhantom

The problem of sameness is not just a space 4x game issue. It's a symptom of the games industry in general. How many of the big premieres of 2012 were simply flat out sequals? Mass Effect 3, Diablo 3, Borderlands 2, Planetside 2, a remake of X-COM, etc. Most genres have a sameness about them: how much difference is there between military FPSs? How many RTSs are a blatant attempt to "not" copy Starcraft? When innovation is attempted, whether within a franchise or a genre, if the differences are not executed perfectly the backlash can be astounding. Among major developers where is the incentive to explore (Unless you're Valve)? It's the indy realms and modders that brought us roguelikes and Lords Managements, changes to existing genres so prfound they created new ones. At least there are still some deveopers trying to mine the space 4x genre. The real world/historical one has been abandoned entirely to Civ. It may be that it follows historical turn based wargaming into the realm where only specialized devs (Matrix Games) create them anymore. Or someone pulls a Paradox and creates an engine that appeals to just enough of the space 4x audience that they mine it over and over, gradually simplifying in one line, gradually adding complexity in another, emphasizing diffrent aspects in another. Or it falls into the same hole as Wing Commander/X-Wing space sims. Or maybe someone will reinvigorate the genre (possibly with an existing entertainment IP) and other devs will copycat and gradually innovate like what happened after Doom, Warcraft/C&C, and Diablo.