Looking for a Good Open-ended Strategy game....

[Radtgaeb]

My title says it all. I'm just looking for a good Open-Ended strategy game. Something Like the TW series. I've gotten a little bored with Rome and Medieval 2...

I originally wanted an Open-ended Napoleonic strategy game, but can't find one that people seem to be crazy about. I tried out both Cossacks 2 and Imperial Glory. I don't want a scripted campaign, I want something I can shape into my own...is there such a game? Is there a naval game that is like this? I looked at Pacific Storm, but once again, I'm thrown in between people that say it rocks and people that say it sucks. I've also looked at distant guns, but I'm in the dark as to how it actually is. I dug out my old Age of Sail 2, and quickly realised why I put it up (very fun, but the water rendering hurts my eyes)...so yeah, any suggestions?

[Chock]

You could try the Battle of Britain 2 flight sim, as even though it's a flight sim, it can also be played as a Non-flying campaign where you are a controller, so you can direct the Battle of Britain RAF defence, or the Luftwaffe's attack. And it's fairly cheap to get hold of. Not exactly what you are looking for, but cheap, so maybe worth a look.

Also not quite along the exact lines of what you want, but still great fun in a manner similar to the battles part of TW, is Combat Mission, which if you've never tried it is a turn-based WW2 battle scenario game very much like traditional military wargaming in effect, but with computer graphics. There are lots of scenarios for it available and it's great on multiplayer if you know someone with similar interests who can fight you as a human opponent online. Kind of like a great game of chess with high explosives!

If you can find a copy, the old Fighting Steel is also a similar thing to Combat Mission with WW2 battleships fighting it out, although not turn based. Graphics are somewhat dated now, so if eye candy is a must, you won't like it, but it's still a good game and it does run on XP.

Anyway, just some suggestions

:D Chock

[PeriscopeDepth]

Distant Guns is good. If you can live without tactical combat and just pure strategy, AGEOD's Birth of America and American Civil War is about as good as it gets.

PD

[tedhealy]

I second Birth of America and the Civil War game by AGEOD. Both are fantastic and well supported by the devs at the official forums. Their patches aren't just bug fixes, but they actually add content costantly.

I'll also throw out Take Command 2: Second Manassas and Galactic Civilzations II, both great games that involve strategy...but they don't exactly fit what you described :damn:

[CCIP]

The Paradox Games grand strategy series is probably something you would really want to look into!
These are Crusader Kings (medieval), Europa Universalis (early modern europe), Victoria (19th century), Hearts of Iron (WWII), and their various remakes and expansions. These are high-level strategy games; think along the lines of Total War's strategic map, but with about 50 times more detail. The games are also not turn-based but continuous-time (you can pause and accellerate it). No tactical battles however; you only position large forces (divisions, armies, sair wings), give them missions and they do their work.

Highly suggested; I've only played HoI 2 (with expansions) so far, but the others should be quite as good. One cool thing is that I know of apps that would allow you to transfer your save games from one game to the next, meaning you could play through almost the entire millenium and come out with a totally different course of history.

http://www.paradoxplaza.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=50&Itemid=138

[Egan]

I found Victoria quite diffcult to get to grips with but very, very rewarding once I had. I'm still waiting to see if the ancient Rome mod for it ever gets finished. If it did it would be pretty close to being my ultimate grand strat game.

Hoi2: Doomsday is one of my top three games ever. I've played it probably more than any other game I own.

CCIP is right about the save game export, though. In theory you could start a game with crusader Kings, export the save to EU, then to Vicky and finally to Hoi2. Take a long, long, long time, though.

I love Rome Total war (can't get into MTW2, though,) but as a history nut the overall arcadey feel does me in eventually.

[blue3golf]

I had Hearts of Iron 2 for quite a while, loved it, I can't think of anything bad to say about it, control everything from tech stuff, to production and your politics, by far one of my favorites ever produced.

Just bought "Making History: The Calm & The Storm" from Strategy First games. I havent got to deep into it yet but seems a little more complicated that HoI2. There's a patch that fixes some minor AI problems and allows you to be any country. You can't choose your ministers or cabinet but the production and research part is much trickier. You have to produce consumer goods as well as arms, research is tied to your production, it also goes off laborer happiness, if there isn't enough goods for them their productivity goes down. There's to manyh other aspects for me to list here but the game is definitaley showing promise.

[FAdmiral]

Paradox's latest game is Europe Universalis 3 which runs from 1453 to 1789
or start anywhere inbetween at the historical level. I heard they are working
on an expansion to it with a Napoleonic theme to reconstruct that era. This
game is completely open-ended and entirely moddable so the sky is the limit.
You can pick any country of the time and take it where YOU want to go....

JIM

[iambecomelife]

My title says it all. I'm just looking for a good Open-Ended strategy game. Something Like the TW series. I've gotten a little bored with Rome and Medieval 2...

I originally wanted an Open-ended Napoleonic strategy game, but can't find one that people seem to be crazy about. I tried out both Cossacks 2 and Imperial Glory. I don't want a scripted campaign, I want something I can shape into my own...is there such a game? Is there a naval game that is like this? I looked at Pacific Storm, but once again, I'm thrown in between people that say it rocks and people that say it sucks. I've also looked at distant guns, but I'm in the dark as to how it actually is. I dug out my old Age of Sail 2, and quickly realised why I put it up (very fun, but the water rendering hurts my eyes)...so yeah, any suggestions?

Since you seem to like the Napoleonic era, are you aware of the "Napoleonic Total War" mods? http://lordz.thelordz.co.uk/ There are versions for Medieval Total War and Rome: Total War. The version based on RTW has gorgeous graphics but no campaign mode, which is criminal IMO. :damn: The MTW version has a very enjoyable, fully functional single player campaign but by now the graphics are a bit dated. I am hoping that the team either adds a campaign to the RTW-based game or produces one based on Medieval 2.

[NefariousKoel]

Hmm..

open-ended naval strategy...

I hear War In the Pacific is a huge one controlling the whole Pacific theater. I've not tried it since my attention span is lacking. Hell, I still haven't finished up the precursor Uncommon Valor. Time intensive.
http://www.matrixgames.com/games/screens.asp?gid=294


As for other open-ended strategy games, they seem few and far between. For an easy-going yet enjoyable empire building series I can recommend Spartan (Ancient Greece) and it's predecessor Chariots of War (Really Ancients). Neither too extremely intricate but it'll keep you thinking on what you should do next running the kingdom. Kinda relaxing and a nice change after the hard-core ones but they still have diplomacy, trade, and all the usual trappings of running your own kingdom. Bargain priced with a no-hassle digital download option at Matrix.

http://www.matrixgames.com/games/game.asp?gid=312
http://www.matrixgames.com/games/game.asp?gid=341

[Radtgaeb]

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Right now I'm looking into Europa Universalis 3 and HoI2. I played the HoI 2 demo last night, and it really is a bit complicated. I'm sure with time and training though...it'll be a bit easier.

I've strayed away from Distant Guns right now because of the price. $65 is a bit too much for me, especiall via online credit card purchase, which would mean me going to a convenient store, purchasing a prepaid Visa and then burning it all up. Heck, I don't even pay that much for my 360 Games (used video stores).

I played the demo for Pacific Storm. It was okay, nothing to get too excited about. Allies, on the other hand, I hear is great, but is it scheduled for an American release? I've only seen it on British sites...

[CCIP]

I wouldn't call Distant Guns all that open-ended (and I love the game) :hmm:


As for HoI 2 - of course, there's a bit of a learning curve involved, but it's totally worth it! Lots of depth, lots of ways you can 'change history' there, lots of time to sink into it (a real black hole, that one :88))

[Radtgaeb]

Well, this topic has been helpful indeed!

I WOULD be getting HOI2, *BUT!* I found out today that in the first part of August, I am going to chicago to see U-505!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I have to save all of my money so that I may plunder the gift shop.

I shall keep all of your suggestions in heart until then.

Still working on mastering IL2, btw. ;)

[Tikigod]

Falcon 4.0 campaign engine can be added to this. You can control air and ground forces as well as repair damaged assets with engineering units. You can also send special forces units by helicopter to capture structures such as radar installations. So, even though its technically a flight simulator it comes with the tools to control the entire logistics of a battlefield.

You could try the Battle of Britain 2 flight sim, as even though it's a flight sim, it can also be played as a Non-flying campaign where you are a controller, so you can direct the Battle of Britain RAF defence, or the Luftwaffe's attack. And it's fairly cheap to get hold of. Not exactly what you are looking for, but cheap, so maybe worth a look.

:D Chock

[SteamWake]

While not really in the genre your looking for "Sword of the Stars" is a lot of fun.

Turn based space conquest / building game.

[Packerton]

Open ended strategy?

Rome:Total war

[JALU3]

I am suprised no one has talked about Civ IV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization_IV), or the classis MOO series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Orion) . . . however, for the diplomatic model . . . if you're into that . . . look at AC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Meier%27s_Alpha_Centauri)

[GlobalExplorer]

As an old school strategy gamer who grew up in the late 80s and 90s strategy I feel the genre is almost dead.

But there there is at least one recent strategy game that I can recommend to anybody, full heartily as an example of how games should be today:

Galactic Civilizations 2 (http://www.galciv2.com/)

I can imagine your reaction as a wargamer is to look away because you dont like Science Fiction - thats how I felt about it at first - but do yourself a favour and try it. It is well thought out, replayable, it has nice graphics and sound, and most importantly a very competitive, almost human like AI. Strategy is about making tough decisions, having to wage impossible options and pondering over new approaches during the night, until your head starts smoking, and GalCiv2 is exactly that kind of game.

Unlike most games (among that the recent TW games) who are only fun in the beginning, GalCiv gets more interesting after the mid game. That is because there are alot of interesting, unexpected special events (like in my last game the Snathi suddenly stole the whole technology from the most advanced civilization and offered them for sale), because the AI adapts to new situations and is generally very challenging, and because you will discover that game has much more to offer (like I discovered space stations offer huge possibilities in defending your most important planets and boosting the economy).

One of the nicest parts is the ship designer that allows you to create your own spaceships, depending on the level of technology you have achieved. I sometimes spent several hours just designing a new generation of ships, always forced to wage between speed / firepower / price, and the need to create ships that would fulfil and fit perfectly into my tactic plans.

There is so much more I could say, but maybe I better stop here and recommend you read some reviews or try out the demo, which you should get here:

http://www.galciv2.com/Downloads.aspx

Well yeah if someone asks me about a good (and new) strategic game, I will always recommend this one.

GE

[Hertston]

Galciv 2 (Stardock), Forge of Freedom, Crown of Glory, War in the Pacific (Matrix), Dominions 3 (Shrapnel), Great Invasions, and AGEOD's Birth of America and American Civil War all fit the bill. The last three are designed by the guy who created the original Europa Universalis board game and all are rather less buggy than Paradox has ever managed. There's a game for all tastes among that lot. WitP is a lot more 'grog' game than the rest.

[FIREWALL]

Google Silent Steel I've enjoyed it very much. It has multi paths and endings. Almost unlimited game play. And had a good review. There's a
name for the genre of this game but I went blank.:oops: It's not new but kinda ahead of it's time I think. And it's availble on ebay and maybe SubSim. Try to get it from SubSim first. That is if it sounds like something that might interest you.


Lots of choices:)

[Radtgaeb]

As an old school strategy gamer who grew up in the late 80s and 90s strategy I feel the genre is almost dead.

But there there is at least one recent strategy game that I can recommend to anybody, full heartily as an example of how games should be today:

Galactic Civilizations 2 (http://www.galciv2.com/)

I can imagine your reaction as a wargamer is to look away because you dont like Science Fiction - thats how I felt about it at first - but do yourself a favour and try it. It is well thought out, replayable, it has nice graphics and sound, and most importantly a very competitive, almost human like AI. Strategy is about making tough decisions, having to wage impossible options and pondering over new approaches during the night, until your head starts smoking, and GalCiv2 is exactly that kind of game.

Unlike most games (among that the recent TW games) who are only fun in the beginning, GalCiv gets more interesting after the mid game. That is because there are alot of interesting, unexpected special events (like in my last game the Snathi suddenly stole the whole technology from the most advanced civilization and offered them for sale), because the AI adapts to new situations and is generally very challenging, and because you will discover that game has much more to offer (like I discovered space stations offer huge possibilities in defending your most important planets and boosting the economy).

One of the nicest parts is the ship designer that allows you to create your own spaceships, depending on the level of technology you have achieved. I sometimes spent several hours just designing a new generation of ships, always forced to wage between speed / firepower / price, and the need to create ships that would fulfil and fit perfectly into my tactic plans.

There is so much more I could say, but maybe I better stop here and recommend you read some reviews or try out the demo, which you should get here:

http://www.galciv2.com/Downloads.aspx

Well yeah if someone asks me about a good (and new) strategic game, I will always recommend this one.

GE

Wow, you've sold me! Don't let my obsession with Naval strategy and Napoleonic combat fool you. I'll always be a sci-fi geek at heart :88). Star Wars/Star Trek have/are/will always be amongst my favorite movies and TV shows.

As long as I'm rambling on about Sci-fi strategy...has anyone tried Star Wars: Empire at War? It's sooo much fun! I bought it last year and I re-installed it the other day and I'm totally domitating the Star Wars universe. The only sad thing about that game is that the playing field is so incredibly small :down:.

[JALU3]

How is Star Wars: Empires at War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Empire_at_War) in comparrison to Star Wars: Rebellion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Rebellion)?

[Radtgaeb]

How is Star Wars: Empires at War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Empire_at_War) in comparrison to Star Wars: Rebellion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Rebellion)?
Never heard of "Rebellion" let alone played it.... but considering Wikipedia's description of "Rebellion", EaW is exceedingly better. All of the review sites I've seen have agreed with my PoV. EaW is a gem among Star Wars games. It's greatly fufilling, a little simple, but still incredibly fun.:rock:

[WolfOfCampscapel]

Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares ... wonderful replayability. These days, I tend to take it out once a year or so and play it for far too many hours straight. Both the strategic and the tactical mode are turn-based and way too much fun.

[GlobalExplorer]

Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares ... wonderful replayability. These days, I tend to take it out once a year or so and play it for far too many hours straight. Both the strategic and the tactical mode are turn-based and way too much fun.

you too should have a look at GalCiv2 then. I really liked MOO2 when it was new, but never found anything like it in about 10 years .. until GalCiv2, which I think is the real spiritual successor of MOO.

[bradclark1]

Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares ...
That goes for premium prices nowadays. $45-$50

[JALU3]

To Bad MOO: III was such a bomb . . . :nope:

[WolfOfCampscapel]

Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares ... wonderful replayability. These days, I tend to take it out once a year or so and play it for far too many hours straight. Both the strategic and the tactical mode are turn-based and way too much fun.
you too should have a look at GalCiv2 then. I really liked MOO2 when it was new, but never found anything like it in about 10 years .. until GalCiv2, which I think is the real spiritual successor of MOO.
I'm waffling to and fro on it, and have been for some time. When it works in Wine, I'll probably give it a shot. It doesn't yet.

(Sword of the Stars was fun and graphically nice, but too short and limited for the strategist in me)

[SteamWake]

To Bad MOO: III was such a bomb . . . :nope:

I beta tested that game.

I wrote a long laundry list of bugs and gameplay issues.

The response I got back was "Were you able to load and run it okay ? Good, thanks thats all we wanted to know." :doh:

[Radtgaeb]

To Bad MOO: III was such a bomb . . . :nope:
I beta tested that game.

I wrote a long laundry list of bugs and gameplay issues.

The response I got back was "Were you able to load and run it okay ? Good, thanks thats all we wanted to know." :doh:

Was that project also adopted by UBI? :rotfl:

[RedChico]

Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares ... wonderful replayability. These days, I tend to take it out once a year or so and play it for far too many hours straight. Both the strategic and the tactical mode are turn-based and way too much fun.

you too should have a look at GalCiv2 then. I really liked MOO2 when it was new, but never found anything like it in about 10 years .. until GalCiv2, which I think is the real spiritual successor of MOO.

Sorry you got it wrong.
It has more to do with Civillization games than with MOO2.

[RedChico]

To Bad MOO: III was such a bomb . . . :nope:

I beta tested that game.

I wrote a long laundry list of bugs and gameplay issues.

The response I got back was "Were you able to load and run it okay ? Good, thanks thats all we wanted to know." :doh:

You should have broken the NDA, that's just stupid.

[Skybird]

A title that I monitor since two years and that slowly but surely is nearing completion is the PC-version of Word in Flames. No release date yet, but they are in process of (closed) beta-testing. but i must admit, beyond that I am not fully up to date on how far they have gotten. Planned release wax x.mas 2006. I expect it sometime in 4th quarter this year. See yourself:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=110

There are threads that feature and illustrate all the many hundreds of different counters, and map details.

Set in WWII, WiF has been one of the most successful map-and-counters cosims ever, and is deperately waited for by many fans. If they do it right, it could become a tremendous success. Obviously they do not hurry it, and take their time, which is a good sign.

Do not mix it up with the old PC-version which was developed from 1995-2002.

[ausraider]

You could try the Battle of Britain 2 flight sim, as even though it's a flight sim, it can also be played as a Non-flying campaign where you are a controller, so you can direct the Battle of Britain RAF defence, or the Luftwaffe's attack. And it's fairly cheap to get hold of. Not exactly what you are looking for, but cheap, so maybe worth a look.

Also not quite along the exact lines of what you want, but still great fun in a manner similar to the battles part of TW, is Combat Mission, which if you've never tried it is a turn-based WW2 battle scenario game very much like traditional military wargaming in effect, but with computer graphics. There are lots of scenarios for it available and it's great on multiplayer if you know someone with similar interests who can fight you as a human opponent online. Kind of like a great game of chess with high explosives!

If you can find a copy, the old Fighting Steel is also a similar thing to Combat Mission with WW2 battleships fighting it out, although not turn based. Graphics are somewhat dated now, so if eye candy is a must, you won't like it, but it's still a good game and it does run on XP.

Anyway, just some suggestions

:D Chock

If your going for BOB - I might suggest Universal Combat or something along the lines of Derek Smart - which is as open ended as you can get IMO.
But Turn Based games - open endedly - aren't all their snubbed to be.

Ausraider.

PS:
DS notwithstanding....

OFP is certainly as open ended as you would like it to be - and should be reasonable bucks nowadays.
Make sure you get the FULL Resistance campaign version.

[Radtgaeb]

You could try the Battle of Britain 2 flight sim, as even though it's a flight sim, it can also be played as a Non-flying campaign where you are a controller, so you can direct the Battle of Britain RAF defence, or the Luftwaffe's attack. And it's fairly cheap to get hold of. Not exactly what you are looking for, but cheap, so maybe worth a look.

Also not quite along the exact lines of what you want, but still great fun in a manner similar to the battles part of TW, is Combat Mission, which if you've never tried it is a turn-based WW2 battle scenario game very much like traditional military wargaming in effect, but with computer graphics. There are lots of scenarios for it available and it's great on multiplayer if you know someone with similar interests who can fight you as a human opponent online. Kind of like a great game of chess with high explosives!

If you can find a copy, the old Fighting Steel is also a similar thing to Combat Mission with WW2 battleships fighting it out, although not turn based. Graphics are somewhat dated now, so if eye candy is a must, you won't like it, but it's still a good game and it does run on XP.

Anyway, just some suggestions

:D Chock
If your going for BOB - I might suggest Universal Combat or something along the lines of Derek Smart - which is as open ended as you can get IMO.
But Turn Based games - open endedly - aren't all their snubbed to be.

Ausraider.

PS:
DS notwithstanding....

OFP is certainly as open ended as you would like it to be - and should be reasonable bucks nowadays.
Make sure you get the FULL Resistance campaign version.

ahhh, good old OFP. I lost many nights of sleep on that game last summer :doh:. My uncle (a rather crazy ex-Royal Army tank commander who immigrated to the states) had the entire package and let me borrow it. Man oh man, what a great game. Still wanting to play ARMA...but OFP will be hard to top.

As of right now, I'm still trying to master IL2, and Lock On...and still waiting for the fabled 1.3 for SH4.

[GlobalExplorer]

If your going for BOB - I might suggest Universal Combat or something along the lines of Derek Smart - which is as open ended as you can get IMO.


Was it really necessary to bring Drek Smart into this discussion?

[RedChico]

If your going for BOB - I might suggest Universal Combat or something along the lines of Derek Smart - which is as open ended as you can get IMO.


Was it really necessary to bring Drek Smart into this discussion?

Oh boy....:nope:
Those forbiden 2 words. :nope:

[Dust]

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=99213

gcb is in development...

[GlobalExplorer]

If your going for BOB - I might suggest Universal Combat or something along the lines of Derek Smart - which is as open ended as you can get IMO.


Was it really necessary to bring Drek Smart into this discussion?

Oh boy....:nope:
Those forbiden 2 words. :nope:

I just meant please dont give the guy any publicity ..

P.S. I see you play GPL .. :up: .. Recently I came back to it after a 8 year hiatus and its still unsurpassed! Holding a LAN session with a friend soon.

[Heibges]

Also not quite along the exact lines of what you want, but still great fun in a manner similar to the battles part of TW, is Combat Mission, which if you've never tried it is a turn-based WW2 battle scenario game very much like traditional military wargaming in effect, but with computer graphics. There are lots of scenarios for it available and it's great on multiplayer if you know someone with similar interests who can fight you as a human opponent online. Kind of like a great game of chess with high explosives!

:D Chock

Did you used to play Microarmor by any chance?

[Tikigod]

How is Star Wars: Empires at War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Empire_at_War) in comparrison to Star Wars: Rebellion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Rebellion)?

Star Wars Rebellion:

1. You collect miain characters from the movie as you play. Empire and Rebellion start with x amount of main characters. You use your main characters to send on missions:

- Recruiting (character will search for new main characters to join your faction.
Each character has special abilities: dipolmacy, research, force sensative, combat

- Sabotage (will attempt to destroy a structure or equipment on a planet)

- Assainate (will attempt to kill main character on other side)

- Training (characters with the force will train other characters that have the force)
The characters being trained will come back stronger with the force and will promote to different levels of Jedi.

- Diplomacy (characters will go to planets to persuade the population to join the faction)

- Research (character will research new techonologies)

- Incite Uprising (character will try to get the population to overthrow the current govt)
This is only successful if diplomacy is mostly in your favor for that planet.

- Reconnaissance (droids will go out and gather information on a planet only)

- Espionage (characters will gather information on a planet or character/ship movements in a system)

2. Diplomacy: There is a diplomacy bar under each planet. A planet is either white (neutral) uninhabited, green (supports empire), or red (supports rebellion). Most planets have a bar that is green and red and its your job to send characters with high diplomacy skills to sway them to your side. The benefits of gaining support are use of planetary resources, permission to build on the planet, and resistance to other faction in the event of an invasion by force. So you can either win a planet over by talking to the people or you can take them by force and send in garrisons to stomp out any resistance.

When Death Star is moved inside a solar system it will scare or motivate all planets in system to join empire. a star destoyer parked in orbit of a planet will do the same only for that planet. when you bring these units into systems your diplomats will gain interest to support the empire faster than without them. Also movie a ship unit over an enemy system initiates a blockade of that system (which stops production and resource gathering) If a planet cannot be defended the citizens will eventually sway to the opposing faction for protection.

3. 3-D RTS battles are only available in space. The environment is a box with a 2-D space backdrop of planet, etc. The fighters were made of sprites while the larger ships were simple 3-D polygon models (back then this was amazing graphics) Camera angle is not limited to one viewpoint. In the RTS space battles you could move around in the 3-D environment freely and see ships from any angle.

4. Main characters all had special abilities and could be assigned titles: Generals (can be assigned to ground invasion forces), Commanders (to lead figher squadrons), Admirals (to command and give bonuses to ship manueverabilty and weapon effectiveness)

5. There isn't any weather on planets that will affect the outcome of a battle.

6. Plot follows the original Star Wars trilogy. There are many events that happen along the way that relate to the movie. Luke at one point flys off to see Yoda and comes back as Jedi.


Empire at War:

1. Graphics are better.

2. RTS environment for both ground invasions as well as space battles. (Rebellion it was space only)

3. Weather on planets can manipulate battles.

4. No character assigning (can't make darth vader a commander or Piett or Ackbar and Admiral) There are less characters in Emire at War than there are in Star Wars Rebellion.

5. RTS is viewed from one camera angle only.

[Tikigod]

I recommend trying Galactic Civilizations 2 for open ended gameplay. It looks like a silly game graphically but, the gameplay is pretty amazing.

Things you can do:

Custom build your own ship designs and save them to build later. Your designs alone could give you the advantage over the enemy in combat. There are no other games out there that allow this (other than Robot Arena 2: Deisgn and Destory)

The AI and diplomacy are probably the best I have seen in a game. Its alot like Sid Meier's Civilizations but, with better and less limited AI negotiations.

Become an arms dealer and capitalize off others at war:
You can build ships and sell them to factions at war for income or you can sell them to people at war with your ememies so you don't have to attack them yourself (if you have a weak military).

Voting system based on population. The more people that you can cram on your planets the more politcal power you can wield during elections. You can trade for influence points that basically buy votes so people agree with you. If you want your enemy not to have a voice in elections you just send in troops to kill the populations on his planets.

Permanent and temporary laws can be voted during each assembly meeting allowing you to vote for things that may favor your civilization or oppose your enemies. (I think its just cool in general to be able to vote in a rule to a game while playing it)

There are hardly any limitations in this game. The only thing that really limits you is your current technology level.