I am sure we all remember the great Space Empires Deluxe IV, the king of the 4x strategy games in space. That game had everything you could think of and thensome. With Paradox's release they are trying to capture what was lost in updated versions of SED V. It tries to give a more updated feel in the management of your space empire. Stellaris doesn't feel like every menu option is running at a slower speed or ancient dos like responses. The base game gives you all you need to start playing this game and learning the basic rules. As with any Paradox game some features are missing or are not fully fleshed out.

The reason for the game lacking some features you might have got with SEIV Deluxe is because Paradox likes to supply you essentially the base game and then add new features as DLC or to help fill in features the base game doesn't really explore fully.

If you have like games like Master of Orion or Space Empires Deluxe (before Strategy First took over the license) you will love this game and the future it holds. While I dislike Paradox's method of completing their games, you can bet there will be more civilizations and of course rules that are expanded upon and added to the game over the next 2-4 years before Stellaris II will be announced. So I can't recommend the game without that warning, other than the numerous DLC content that will be coming, the game without new additions is a really great way to relive the past 4x games.