I relish strategy games that find a way to simplify their nuances without losing flavor. GalCiv had me after the first minute as do most games with a similar point-and-click design.
That doesn’t mean I don’t long for the deep SciFi games, planet busting and star crushing like what you see in Distant Worlds or Space Empires.
SpaceCom leans fully closer to GalCiv in nature and design while deviating slightly. You’re presented with a node map of stars/planets you will want to invade for inhabitation or obliterate to limit possible conquest. Each planet has only a few options for build and the game is built on a rock/paper/scissor approach. You have a customary short list of Battle Station, Kinetic shields and troops. Then you have the fleets: Battle Fleets counter other space-born ships, Invasion fleets conquer planets and Siege fleets destroy planets/structures.
Games vary in length and I’ve been able to clear some of the campaign levels in 15-20 minutes and I can see where other games might take hours as you vie for control of key systems.
Delightfully, it’s up for relatively cheap at $15 via Steam. It’s worth checking out a couple of videos, there’s nothing going on you can’t see in the first few minutes.
http://spacecom-game.com/