I had the same choice to make & because of all the content and completeness of GalCiv 3 thats what I chose. I dont regret it.

I would go with 4. I did buy 3 and all the DLC and I regret it.

Argh!!!

I am also in the same boat Canute! Hopefully someone can provide better insight!

I have played the third game and kept my eye on the 4th for a few years.

I also made a choice between one or the other and I decided on the 4th one. The reason for this is the way planet management is handled between the two games.

In GC3 each planet is managed separately. Mid to late game when you have 50+ planets this becomes a micro-management hell, as most 4x games do.

GC4 allieviates this somewhat by grouping planets into Cores World and subsidiaries. The lesser planets are not managed directly, instead they funnel resources to the nearby core planet. This alone should drastically reduce the amount of clicking, scrolling, and decision making requisite each turn.

After almost 200 hours I will admit I still don't understand 3. In 2 if I wanted more production I built more factories. If I wanted more science I built more research buildings. I have no idea what to do in 3. The bonuses buildings give are confusing and unclear. The bonuses tiles give is confusing and unclear. It was all very straightforward and simple in 2.
And I have read lengthy descriptions on how each works in GC3 on the forums and then someone else will come along and say "No, that's all wrong" and give another lengthy description about how it works leaving me even more confused.

Originally posted by HurtfulPlayer97:

After almost 200 hours I will admit I still don't understand 3. ...

My goto place for learning how to play some games is Youtube. I can usually find a few pro-gamers (the ones that literally play games and post videos about them for a living) that explain mechanics and the ins and outs of how things work for most any game I'm interested in investing time into.

Sorry I can't offer you any expert advice, but rather point you to where you could find some. :-)