Which is best please people? One of the main things holding me back is that UI and the map look boring.... no pretty space scenes?

I've played Paradox games before and other 4x so learning curve shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for the reply. I guess I'll just wait for X4 for my space fix

I haven't played Distant Worlds either, but from what I've heard, it's still one of the best 4X games out there. Check the Slitherine or Matrix boards for info, or go watch some LPs on youtube to get an idea. There's still a few gamers that play games like Distant Worlds. DasTactic, Tortuga Power, Quill18, and Tokshen have all done DWU series. Watch a few of those, should give you an idea.

Eh, what?

I have the retail version of Distant Worlds Gold Edition (=base game + first expansion). While I liked some of the basic concepts (having a private sector within your empire that you cannot directly controll), the game was a bug ridden crash prone half translated mess with a horrible user interface and ultimately rather boring gameplay.

I finished it 3 times rather effortless by simply colonizing every planet I could reach. I sometimes started wars out of boredom, which I easily won without knowing much of the underlying game mechanics. The choice of species didn't really impact how the game played out.

I once voluntarily triggered a Shakturi Invasion (ancient evil overlords trying to reclaim the galaxy), which were a little harder to defeat but still...

The game probably got better with further expansions but i'm not the kind of guy who throws additional money at something that didn't impress me in the first place.