Aside from tactical combat most everything is far more in depth and complex than in SoaSE.
Which means the primary focus of gameplay is on empire management - exploration, expansion, economy, planetary development, research, politics, diplomacy (weakest part of the game right now), warfare, etc. Combat plays more-or-less automatically with no user control.Īside from combat - well, Stellaris is made and marketed as a '4X/Grand Strategy fusion'. Only control you have on combat in Stellaris is ship design, fleet composition, ship movements outside of combat, and the emergency retreat button. Stellaris is much more of a 'grand picture', definitely closer to 4X's like GalCiv (though I've only played II, not III). Essentially it's a RTS with some planet/nation-building elements.
SoaSE is a very tactical, combat-oriented game, where exact movements and micromanagement of ships in combat is important.
