SPACE... the gaming frontier

Once again, I'm apparently asking for WAY too much from people who make games. Reading through Sooth's ongoing drama of Lacuna Expanse the other day, it occurred to me that I really did enjoy that game... for a while. I remember what I enjoyed about it, and how I just wanted a little more action, and MAYBE some animated graphics. Enter Colony of War. I really enjoyed that too... for a while. Looking back, the grindy ick action involved didn't make it a better game than Lacuna, just more flashy. I wonder how my empire would be had I kept playing Lacuna...

SO, on to the new. In a trusty google search bar, I began the hunt. Having a little experience with some recent offline space games, I know the latest buzz word for what I'm after is '4x'. It stands for something like eXplore, eXterminate, eXchange, and...um... Xbuildshit. So the google search went through the motions: browser based 4x space game, 4x space mmo, browser 4x space mmo, browser space mmorts...and on and on... know what I found? A whole bunch of nothing I want! They are ALL Lacuna clones, with clicky menus and NO animation!

So I come to the conclusion that I'm asking too much. All I want is a galaxy to explore, with 3D fleets and ships transporting goods and engaging in fierce fleet to fleet combat with colored beam weapons. The ability to build orbital platforms to oversee planetary growth. Planet colonization and management, including some RTS style ground combat with troop drop ships and such. Negotiation, treaties... and a lot of automation once you get stuff set the way you want.

Hell, I don't even care if it's browser based anymore! I would be perfectly happy with something downloadable where a person can run a server on a computer somewhere, as long as the space remains persistent as time goes on. I found a few that did do what I wanted, but they were single player downloadables only. Unfortunately, I did find one that looks damn promising, but you have to kickstart them to get into the beta. Why does the perfect space game elude me?!  

Something like Star Control, but multi-player! None of that pay-to-win crap either, but rather the resources you mine you can use to buy stuff in-game from the galactic version of Wal*Mart or something. You have your own science lab for research, your own manufacturing plants that need resources... but then you have this in-game store that you can buy items or blue prints for limited items, which you can then use in your labs or plants to construct said item.