[MarcoPolo]

I agree its insane to run a game like CIV IV as a multiplayer as is. Its just crazy having to wait for the other person to resolve his turns within a given time limit. Real time is the way to go, you could have a continual and steady push for resource gathering and economic advancement while still having a wholly satisfying 4X space game unravel in exciting and very unique ways.

Having a chess system per turn approach is unworkable in multiplayer because it ties up everyones time and makes for drawn out boring scenarios that drag on forever. You can still employ a Sins of a Solar Empire style way of resource gathering and planet hunting while still resolving battles in an intelligent way that may still be turnbased for those hardcore TBS fans.

But multiplayer games of this nature almost always lose audiences than secure more when the multiplayer system is poorly thought out and laboriously tedious. People want to be engaged in the atmosphere of the game 100% of the time and not just when their turn starts.