Ignore the negative reviews and buy Master of Orion 3! I completely agree with this guy about MOO3: "I'm confident that MOO3, properly patched and modded, is the single best, most fully featured space 4x game ever made. It has every feature I have personally ever wanted in a grand space strategy game. It has everything you would expect in terms of empire management, economy, diplomacy, and espionage. Technology is handled in a unique way at the macro level. Some people will not like the lack of ability to research specific techs, but there are just so many of them and you can influence their development in a way that usually results in you getting all the techs you want anyway. It has a streamlined ship design system, as well, that lets you pick your hull, weapons, mounts, engines, defensive systems and special modules. Speaking of hulls, there are more than 14 types, ranging from lancers, cutters, corvettes, frigates, destroyers, light cruisers, cruisers, battle cruisers, etc. etc. On top of this, the fleet management system is simply top notch. The rules of fleet creation make fleet design feel very naval and authentic. Build detachments, flotillas, squadrons, fleets, etc. Add ships to the core, the escort and the picket. Then deploy your task forces and conquer." Font: https://www.grogheads.com/forums/index.php?msg=52666
PR1 is my favorite of the Port Royale series. I played PR2 and didn't like it. PR3 is decent. PR4... no comments.
