I really liked to play 4x games like master of orion 2, Heroes of might and magic and especially age of wonders 1 and two in hotseat mode when I was younger.

Now they seem to take ages in turns when playing multiplayer. Are there any 4x games that retain some complexity while keeping the turns fast and engaging for multiple players? Online and hotseat are both welcome.

I prefer the first 3 x-es. I find most of the combat to be more tedious than fun, but I haven't played much new stuff since Civ VI came out, so I may be OOTL a bit.

sins of a solar empire 2 xplore

I believe the only 4x games I have played have been the Sid Meier's games. They weren't really my usual type of game but I did appreciate the complexity they created with balancing tactics and diplomacy.

HoMM3 with WoG mod is a ton of fun. Songs of Conquest is 4X I believe. Also great fun.

I think EXplore is the big thing for me. The more incentive you have to explore, and the more content to be explored, the more enjoyable the game is.

I way prefer Sci-Fantasy, but it's a toss up between the Sci or the Fantasy.

I think Grand Strategy is where I'm at right now, and I tend to focus a lot of games in that area.

What is the smartest way to get into Stellaris right now? I'm waiting for the whole DLC package to get marked down in November or something like that. The Steam Workshop pretty much controls mods right now, so GoG isn't an option from what I've read.

For people who play Stellaris regularly, I recognize that the game has been less popular recently. Is there a specific reason for that?

Stellaris

On the rare occasion that I have the time, I sometimes play Stellaris. (I’ve never played till the end though, I couldn’t sustain attention THAT long, especially given all the BS they keep doing to the game mechanics so often it makes strategizing impossible in the long run unless you dedicate your life to the game.)