If you say so... when I'm in a Civ mood I seem to always end up with 3 - I kind of can't get into 4 easily. Maybe because 3 is basically an expanded Civ 2, and I don't know how many hundred hours I spent with this one back in the day (though MoM and MoO2 probably even more).

bit of a surprise but... the next free game over on EPIC is civ VI ... i reckon with their just released season pass they can easily free up their base game

just sayin if you wanna check out a new civ now is your chance

If you start with Stellaris, it will be the last 4X in your life. Long-long life.

I would recommend Endless Space 2 instead. It's more friendly and far less time-consuming. Also, it has GORGEOUS visuals.

I played about 10 hours of Stellaris due to the free event they did and I really enjoyed it. I didn't get to any warfare or anything, I managed to mostly thrive upon peaceful expansion. However, two neighboring empires were pretty hostile; one threatened to wipe me out but didn't have the resources to do so while the other just doesn't trust my empire. I was working on improving diplomacy between that empire and mine when the trial ran out. The tension became pretty unreal for a bit, though, and it was genuinely exciting.

So yeah, that will be one of my next major purchases but for now, I'll just enjoy SMAC, Endless Space, Civ 3, that Civ game that's going free on EGS and Age of Wonders 3. If other 4X games are anywhere near the level of enjoyment that I had with Stellaris, then those should be a great start!

Thanks for all the recommendations, guys!