That’s what I liked most about SotS, every single strategic decision seemed to have meaningful repurcussions (BEYOND FREIGHTERS).
It was a far ‘tighter’, more cohesive and coherent design than pretty much any space 4x before or after.
Also @Richard_Holt nice shout out to Imperium Galactica 2. I went back and played IG1 after IG2 and it was an interesting experience. Hegemonia (the unofficial sequel) was also interesting.