Starflight's a great suggestion; you should really play it if you haven't. It's always a surprise to me that that style of space game didn't become the dominant one.

For a "Starflight-like" that I love, that almost no one remembers and no one plays anymore, try Nomad (1993). Especially for your idea of having high-interactability NPCs. You could ask any NPC in the game about anything, and it had a few clever tricks to give the illusion that there was greater depth than the rudimentary chatbots actually had. (Like the characters would know about each other and could tell you things about other characters that they would reasonably know. If you asked about someone in their clan, or in their profession, they would probably be able to say something about them, and tell you their home base or their usual trading route. And while most characters were generic instances of their species differentiated only by a few variables, a few were actual individuals, adding to the illusion that maybe everyone's an individual and it's just that you haven't figured out what to ask to make them open up to you.)

I played Nomad way back then (our computers were Steam-Powered in those days .. even that joke is screwed up by 'Steam' existing now...) .

Anyway, I recall that the 'alien sitting in the bar' at each station had an expanding list of subjects it could define/explain which got bigger as you were exposed to new things in the game universe. You were able to ask again on those subjects (if you had forgotten) but were limited to only three (?) questions per station stop.

Anyway, I recall that the 'alien sitting in the bar' at each station had an expanding list of subjects it could define/explain which got bigger as you were exposed to new things in the game universe. You were able to ask again on those subjects (if you had forgotten) but were limited to only three (?) questions per station stop.

I think it may have depended on how much they like you, as evidenced by facial expression. I think I remember that each race had a few things you could do to make an individual open up, like "trading" a complementary fact or maybe gifting them some cheap and plentiful thing that they like.

To the OP: So Nomad got me thinking about Star Control II, and SCII got me thinking about how refreshing it is to have aliens be hostile for reasons other than (a) they're evil or (b) they're basically Klingons or (c) they're pirates or (d) some resource is scarce and we both want it. No two alien races have quite the same motivations.

My best advice is to remember that this is a hobby project. From what I'm reading, it may be best to keep it a hobby. I'm not saying don't make the game--it just sounds like your team, from the limited knowledge I have of your project, is missing some key points of this genre.

Someone mentioned fantasy. Immersion is the single most important element of this genre, and one of the core principles of game design in general.

Players of 4x games (not turn based empire builders--actual 4x like the X series or Escape Velocity) are usually the kind of people who also like reading sci-fi books. I LOVE sci-fi novels. I need the same level of immersion to enjoy these games. It's ultimately about the story.

Would someone enjoy reading your game as a book? Are there enough interesting and unique places and people and environments and things for the player to feel they are in a believable world? Do all of these things fit together to build an immersive story for the player?

I have played plenty of generic 4x space shooters. Almost none of them are memorable. Most were a downright waste of money. Someone on your team needs to be an excellent creative writer.

X- series I have a lot of fun with . But not Rebirth which is very different .
The problem with Egosoft is small budged complex game production . A production that don't fit within budged . Bad decision to try go for consoles . Where unfinished rushedout games are blocked .
So there 1.0 releases are Alfa sold as Release games . Where 2,x are Beta .
Depending on mod community to fix thing to finish gameplay mechanics and making it feature conpleet .
Because at that time there wasn't anything big in the genre . They where the only one I thank them for supporting the genre . Now the genre got mild revival .
They did some thing right compared to current big ones . And that staying away from MMO .

Biggest problem is A cumbersome GUI that not fully implented and a hog to handle the farious gameplay the game offer .
Yes they did have carriers but with no GUI and gameplay workt out for it . There where mod to ease the pain.

So because my interrest in game development
I get strong impression that these complex games depend highly on strong AI and GUI development .
As one person can not manage a whole nation doing work of milions and babysit milions .