I am a huge fan of MOO2. But sadly the games is not without its flaws and I have dreamed of the day a game new game would come along that MOO2 could pass the torch on to as the premier Space x4 games. But I am unaware of any game that can fill MOO2s shoes.

Galactic Civilizations came close but I feel like the game falls short in a lot of ways for me. The lack of tactical battles, a rather boring tech tree and a sluggish pace at times detracts from the games strengths. Don't get me wrong I think it is a great game but it just does not measure up to MOO2 in my opinion.

Are there any games out there that a MOO2 fan such as myself would consider a worthy successor.

STARS! is my personnal fave galaxy conqering game. I don't know how to get a copy of it anymore, might be able to download it.

Predestination is a game the recently got kickstarted that is being created by fans of MOO2 with the goal to fill its shoes. I don't know if they will, but I think they might have a good shot at it.

Played Armada 2526? Can't vouch for it (haven't played), but looks interesting.

http://starsautohost.org/

He even gives keys for like a 2 dollar donation.

Endless Space doesn't quite match up to MOO2, but it's still quite good and gets better with every minor content patch they put out.

It's on sale on GG too.