Space Empires V

Space Empires V (commonly abbreviated SEV) is a 4X turn based strategy game by Malfador Machinations published by Strategy First. The game retains many races and technologies from its predecessor, Space Empires IV.

Gameplay
While Space Empires V retains much of its predecessor's gameplay, there are several key differences. It is the first Space Empires game to use 3D graphics, and as such, the user interface has been heavily redesigned. New to the series is a real-time combat engine, and the player can now control ground combat in addition to the usual space battles. The empire-building aspects of the game borrows as much from the third installment as it does from the more recent fourth, with research and intelligence being assigned as percentage of available points as opposed to the queue system used for construction.

Races
Virtually all of the stock races are updated versions of SEIV races. Custom race creation is basically the same as in the previous games, with two notable changes - you must now select a government type in addition to a social pardigm, and the game master may grant players a set number of research points to improve starting technology. As of now, there are comparatively few player-created shipsets, arguably a consequence of the switch to 3D graphics.

Critical Reaction
The game received mixed reviews. Several have complained that the game is over-complex and overloads the player with options, especially while setting up a new game, and that it may not be suitable for players who are new to 4X games. One huge bug in the game that frustrated many players was the fact that the AI was always building only one ship type based on largest hull size available. For example, if the AI had battleship hull size technology, it would build only battleships until a bigger hull size was available.