Sins of a Solar Empire

This game is probably one of the best RTS 4X games out there (explore, expand, exploit, or exterminate to win) out there.  "Probably" because I just don't get these games.  The way I play - 4X is exxxxterminate and RTS ends up becoming a long drawn out ordeal.  I can't help but build the maximum number of ships and slow march across the map, leaving a wake of either supporters or corpses.
 
The learning curve was steep, the tutorial could have used a  few "applied knowledge" missions to get novices like myself going.  I was building and upgrading with no clue as to any benefits or limits or requirements - oftentimes looking through multiple trees of potential upgrades for things like how to colonize hostile planetary types.  The ship research trees were even more complicated, between ship designs, additional weaponry and enhancements.  Thankfully, research is based on time/resources rather than having an escalated cost like a leveling system.

I ended up becoming a master of rapid expansion, and claimed huge amounts of resources early on.  Even if the enemy attacked one of my controlled planets, oftentimes I could distract them long enough to extract a huge toll or bring in support from each of the neighboring planets.  Meanwhile my expansion crew has claimed half of the galaxy.  Cue music, begin slow march.

I've seen the beautiful screenshots for this game, but I think that's more fan service being able to zoom in that close - that's just now how it plays out in the game.  I never drifted much closer than 50,000 feet above them looking straight down the flat plane of the galaxy.

Here is the view I typically had.

Now that I've committed the required hours to the game, and even though I only played as TEC Rebels, I'm pretty sure I won't play this again without a smack-talking rival.  Solo matches end up being a 2 - 4 hour ordeal, not a quick fix.