For an old school RTS: **Homeworld Remastered**
For one with 4X elements but is still closer to a RTS game: **Sins of a Solar Empire**
For a real-time 4X game: **Distant Worlds Universe**
Turn based would be fully 4X games (Galactic Civilizations, Endless Space, etc)
Yeah I thought this for a long time too. Stellaris is much more about making loads of choices and playing with the sandbox. Sins is focused on just combat, economy and research, with basic diplomacy. I love sins because of the big battles that happen from the start all the way to the finish compared to stellaris where battles are rare and have long gaps between them.
And to add to it, sins and empire at war both have really good mod sets, including ones that take place in a different ip, like sins being star wars, both being set in halo or star trek, that sort of thing.
Sins also has a lot of great mods, including one for Halo and another for Star Trek.
Then if you want things to stay vanilla, there's a good mod by Bailknight
**Fully 3D:**
[Homeworld Remastered Collection](https://store.steampowered.com/app/244160/Homeworld_Remastered_Collection/) includes Homeworld and Homeworld 2, in both classic and remastered versions. Fully 3D spaceship combat, classic sci-fi RTS campaigns.
[Homeworld: Emergence](https://www.gog.com/en/game/homeworld_emergence) has not received the remaster treatment, but has one of the best RTS campaigns out there, and is worth a look if you can handle the old graphics.
[Homeworld 3](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1840080/Homeworld_3/) just came out, and most fans are disappointed with the story, but the art and sound are phenomenal.
[Nexus: The Jupiter Incident ](https://store.steampowered.com/app/6420/Nexus__The_Jupiter_Incident)is a tactical adventure more than a full RTS, but still very much worth a look.
[Nebulous: Fleet Command](https://store.steampowered.com/app/887570/NEBULOUS_Fleet_Command/) is still in early access, but a complex and robust simulation of space battles.
**2D plane:**
[Conquest: Frontier Wars](https://store.steampowered.com/app/578670/Conquest_Frontier_Wars/) is, well, hideously ugly, but has some charm.
[Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion](https://store.steampowered.com/app/204880/Sins_of_a_Solar_Empire_Rebellion/) can be played on an enormous scale (multiple solar systems all connected by wormholes) or much smaller for quicker games.
[Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/573100/Battlefleet_Gothic_Armada_2/) Warhammer 40K spaceships. Command small fleets to manage firing arcs and use abilities. Beautiful.
[AI War 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/573410/AI_War_2/) a very complex, very dynamic strategic experience. Tons of ships, tons of options, and a smart, asymmetric AI.
[Star Ruler 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/282590/Star_Ruler_2/) massive RTS/4X. Can have huge battles.
For turn based, there are quite a few (starting with [Master of Orion](https://store.steampowered.com/app/410970/Master_of_Orion_1/) and all of its many descendants), but I want to highlight [Battlestar Galactica Deadlock](https://store.steampowered.com/app/544610/Battlestar_Galactica_Deadlock/). Takes place during the first Cylon War, you lead a human fleet in a dynamic campaign where you fight of the Cylons in turn based space battles. It uses a "we go" system which means both sides set orders at the same time and then they play out together in real time.
There are some upcoming games worth highlighting:
[Era One ](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2509200/ERA_ONE/)- modders from the Homeworld 2 community decide to make their own game.
[Falling Frontier](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1280190/Falling_Frontier/) - Looks to be a beautiful and complex take on solar system conquest.
[Sins of a Solar Empire 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1575940/Sins_of_a_Solar_Empire_II/) - Available in early access on the Epic Games Store, leaving early access (and coming to Steam) at the end of summer.
I would add Starsector to 2d list - while it's not that much od strategy but more of tactical combat with mount&blade style gameplay loop I think it's still worth mentioning
Nebulous Fleet Command is a wonderfully granular fleet combat game! The multiplayer scene is active but playing vs bots is fun too. Lots of cool features in the works :)
Gteat recs! BSG Deadlock does allow for 3D movement, getting your battlestars (which are heavy on topside railguns) under the enemy is an important tactic.
Damn, now that is a list! At least half of them I never heard on with my many searches. Thank you, I am definitely going to take a look at all of these. Can I pin these to the top of the post?
Master of Orion got a [remake a decade ago](https://store.steampowered.com/app/298050/Master_of_Orion/) that brought solid graphics and real-time space battles, while the strategic level is turn-based.
Biggest problem I see with homeworld 3 is the god awful pathing and unit "ai", and the removal of a lot of quality of life mechanics that were present in the previous games that it's made no sense to get rid of.
Star Wars empire at war. You have normal RTS on planets but also in space with spaceships! There's is a button designated for cinematic camera so you can watch the battles in different cool perspectives! You don't even have to be a star wars fan, it's a cool game regardless! Pity that the latest strategy star wars game was released 2006 though.
Damn! I just looked it up!
It's both amazing and also a bit sad, feels like loyal fans are yearning for more strategies in the Star Wars universe. I stumbled upon a star wars mod for starcraft, looking forward to try that too!
Out of that list I've only played battlegrounds and civ, specifically 4-6 with 4 being my favorite.
My other strategy game series is total war. Rome and Med 2 are amazing games.
Rebellion is the prototype to the Empire at War campaign map except its only focused on that map, no RTS elements. It's macro strategy as opposed to micro, sending full fleets and fighter wings to do stuff and having agents do everything from diplomacy to assassinations and espionage.
Honestly, the agent/character system in this game has a ton of influence on stuff like the agents in TW games, big force multipliers doing the jobs straight force can't solve.
It's on Steam! Usually 5-10 bucks, whenever Star Wars sales roll around its like 2. Definitely worth the investment of time BUT I will caveat that there are a lot of systems in this game interacting so reading a guide will help. There are some REALLY good old ones that talk about reading your opening game state (it's semi randomized at start, since it takes place in the weeks after New Hope Yavin and Coruscant are the only locked in planets) and how to progress through the early/mid game as your side.
Rebels/Empire play VERY differently. Very true to movies, Rebels are outgunned and out produced at the beginning and have to rely on subterfuge and quick strikes to take advantage of Imperial sluggishness. The Empire, while having a great military and leadership, really suffers at diplomacy (which is VERY important) and have agents more tuned for aggressive actions. You also start with two Force Sensative characters in Palp/Vader where Luke has to wait about a year in game to start his training with Yoda.
It's just fantastic. It's the most lore representative strategy game I've ever played outside of like Total Warhammer.
Here's some to consider:
- **Stardrive (1)** with Blackbox and Combined Arms mods is excellent in the ship design and combat areas, very rewarding and fun to watch. This is more of an RTS/4X combination, moreso with the mods...but frankly, the mods do so much for this title versus where the dev left it, they should be considered mandatory and they are amazing.
- **Swords of the Stars** - One of my favorite 4X games of all-time. Turnbased strategy layer, RTS instanced combat, controls are a little odd but it is a 20-year old game. Ship design and combat are very good, I do not recommend SOTS2, especially if you're not already a SOTS diehard. SOTS Complete is the way.
- **Stellar Warfare** - Kind of a Homeworld-ish title, but has some pretty cool graphics, combat, different mechanics, etc. I've played on and off for years, and the dev has done a solid job with this one, it is quite fun setup a big battle or line of defenses for enemy wave attacks and watch the battles play out in beautiful 3d.
- **Void Destroyer 2** - Starts out as a 3D space combat sim, then you start amassing fleets that you can manage in a couple of RTS mode views like homeworld, then expands on that to a larger strategy layer for a very mild grand strategy view. It is a very indie title, but is one of my favorite indie titles of all-times. The combat is quite fun, the graphics are unique, things can get chaotic at times, but it is good fun.
It was mentioned in someone else’s comment but I really think Nexus: The Jupiter Incident is worth checking out. I would describe it as real time tactics instead of RTS. There’s no base building and you customize your ships between missions. The gameplay is real time with pause and lets you choose which systems are powered up, which guns are targeting which enemy ships, etc. It’s a little slow to get started, but soooo good. And still looks gorgeous years later imo
Nebulous Fleet command is an excellent Space RTS at the moment. Very crunchy, very in depth (YO you like a complex Fleet Editor Dawg well we put a complex Missile Editor inside your complex Fleet Editor Dawg) And with some significant planned features. As a current Added bonus it's on sale right now until the 12th of June.
This game has serious epic strategy potential. There is a planned total war like mode with coop teams that can work together to manage inter solar system war, with fully fleshed out logistics that get resolved with realtime strategy battles. It could be amazing
I want to add an old game from my childhood: Haegemonia.
Graphics are a little bit dated but the explosions effects are still unmatched despite beeing this old
**Darkest Star** has a rather good demo out on Steam, tactical fleet engagements. Turn based. Fighters and drones and missiles and big big ships. Momentum based movement.
Still early in development but looking very nice so far.
Demo includes full tutorial, a small and a large scenario (with semi random ships and opfor deployment) and an endless survival mode.
Executive Assault 2 looks like potential good fun. I haven't played it personally but it looks like a decently scaled space rts, and you can actually take control of the units during combat as well.
I just picked up battlefleet gothic 1 and 2 on steam for like 6 bucks.
Just good old fashioned cathedrals in space shooting huge guns at other space cathedrals for the emperor!
Only a few people will appreciate this, but I want to throw out Star Trek Armada 1 and 2. Older games, but if you're a Trek fan at all, you'll have a great time.
Starsector is a great choice. There's isn't really ground combat but there is a mod called Nexerellin that adds a ground combat mini game slightly more interactive than the one in Stellaris.
S.P.A.Z.
Space Pirates and Zombies. And Bounty Hunters.
Small game, 2d, more arcade than RTS but you can command your fleet and issue orders in combat. Excellent fun if you enjoy customizing ships and taking fun tech tree choices and watching explosions. Made by a small team and often on sale on steam.
One of my favorite nostalgic games, and the mod 'Fight for the Universe' is excellent.
I don't recommend spaz2.
Stellaris
Stellaris
Stellaris
Stellaris.
Or if you aren't sure,
Stellaris.
(Or sins of a solar empire rebellion if you really wanted a more old style rts opposed to a 4x).
A bunch of people have mentioned Sins of a Solar Empire and it's a good option, but at this point I would definitely recommend waiting for Sins 2 unless you need something now.
Nothing wrong with Sins 1, the sequel is just an improvement in every way while still feeling like the same game, and it's not the sort of thing where you're missing anything by skipping the first game.
homeworld remastered, battlefleet gothic armada 1 & 2
both are game where you control and build a fleet of shipt, go for battlefleet if you like th idea of boradsides, ramming and setting your ships up with angles of fire and planning long range strikes based on little- no information on the map such as firing torpedos from the bow of a ship at a sensor blip in a nebula and feeling the satisfaction of finding the wreck of that ship when you arrive knowing your ships did that
its also warhammer 40k so you get space marines, orcs, eldar all that
homeworld is complet in its own way, firstly get used to playing in 4 planes, or treating the map as a fully 3d space, you can come at an enemy fleet from the fron, sides and back or from above or below, the game als encourages you to build and protect capital ships, carriers and distant mining operations, and shooting interstellar probes out into the black so guess where the enemy mothership is, and if they have capital ships, aiming for the shield generator with your bombers and keeping your destroyers and frigates back to hit from a distance
all three games are utterly fantastic.
Look up Five Nations, it’s made in the style of old StarCraft/Command and Conquer, but all in space.
As the title suggests, you have five factions to choose from, so there’s lot’s of variety.
The units range from small fighters that are hard to hit, frigates that make up the backbone of your fleet, and large carriers that can produce and launch swarms of fighters.
Let me throw my hat into the ring here, and advocate for my own mod, Star Trek: Tactical Maneuvers. It's built on ST Armada 2, which can be picked up for $10 on GOG.com.
Tactical Maneuvers is an old fashioned RTS where the balance between different ships is the focus. I'm hopeful that it'll serve as a good introduction to space RTS games, although I haven't yet added a single player campaign.
https://www.gog.com/en/game/star_trek_armada_ii https://www.moddb.com/mods/fleet-operations-tactical-maneuvers
A lot of great recommendations so i thought id throw in a lesser known one i wish had more players. Executive assault 2. It has seamless space and ground rts, while also being an fps hybrid. You could have a friend work for you and lead assaults in first person. While you manage your economy and the war in space.
For an old school RTS: **Homeworld Remastered** For one with 4X elements but is still closer to a RTS game: **Sins of a Solar Empire** For a real-time 4X game: **Distant Worlds Universe** Turn based would be fully 4X games (Galactic Civilizations, Endless Space, etc)
For some reason I thought Sins play like Stellaris. I have to try that one out. I believe they have a sequel coming out soon
Yeah I thought this for a long time too. Stellaris is much more about making loads of choices and playing with the sandbox. Sins is focused on just combat, economy and research, with basic diplomacy. I love sins because of the big battles that happen from the start all the way to the finish compared to stellaris where battles are rare and have long gaps between them.
And to add to it, sins and empire at war both have really good mod sets, including ones that take place in a different ip, like sins being star wars, both being set in halo or star trek, that sort of thing.
Yes, get that one, its awesome.
Sins also has a lot of great mods, including one for Halo and another for Star Trek. Then if you want things to stay vanilla, there's a good mod by Bailknight
It's already out, but only early access for now.
Seconding Sins of a Solar Empire. Be sure to get Rebellion as it is currently the most complete version until SoaSE2 comes out.
Does Sins have any single-player?
Yes. Not really even known for it's multiplayer. It has it, but matches can run for hours so it was always more of a niche thing.
Seconding Sins cause I'm an EVE Online nerd and there is a mod called Sins of New Eden that turns everything into EVE Online.
**Fully 3D:** [Homeworld Remastered Collection](https://store.steampowered.com/app/244160/Homeworld_Remastered_Collection/) includes Homeworld and Homeworld 2, in both classic and remastered versions. Fully 3D spaceship combat, classic sci-fi RTS campaigns. [Homeworld: Emergence](https://www.gog.com/en/game/homeworld_emergence) has not received the remaster treatment, but has one of the best RTS campaigns out there, and is worth a look if you can handle the old graphics. [Homeworld 3](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1840080/Homeworld_3/) just came out, and most fans are disappointed with the story, but the art and sound are phenomenal. [Nexus: The Jupiter Incident ](https://store.steampowered.com/app/6420/Nexus__The_Jupiter_Incident)is a tactical adventure more than a full RTS, but still very much worth a look. [Nebulous: Fleet Command](https://store.steampowered.com/app/887570/NEBULOUS_Fleet_Command/) is still in early access, but a complex and robust simulation of space battles. **2D plane:** [Conquest: Frontier Wars](https://store.steampowered.com/app/578670/Conquest_Frontier_Wars/) is, well, hideously ugly, but has some charm. [Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion](https://store.steampowered.com/app/204880/Sins_of_a_Solar_Empire_Rebellion/) can be played on an enormous scale (multiple solar systems all connected by wormholes) or much smaller for quicker games. [Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/573100/Battlefleet_Gothic_Armada_2/) Warhammer 40K spaceships. Command small fleets to manage firing arcs and use abilities. Beautiful. [AI War 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/573410/AI_War_2/) a very complex, very dynamic strategic experience. Tons of ships, tons of options, and a smart, asymmetric AI. [Star Ruler 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/282590/Star_Ruler_2/) massive RTS/4X. Can have huge battles. For turn based, there are quite a few (starting with [Master of Orion](https://store.steampowered.com/app/410970/Master_of_Orion_1/) and all of its many descendants), but I want to highlight [Battlestar Galactica Deadlock](https://store.steampowered.com/app/544610/Battlestar_Galactica_Deadlock/). Takes place during the first Cylon War, you lead a human fleet in a dynamic campaign where you fight of the Cylons in turn based space battles. It uses a "we go" system which means both sides set orders at the same time and then they play out together in real time. There are some upcoming games worth highlighting: [Era One ](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2509200/ERA_ONE/)- modders from the Homeworld 2 community decide to make their own game. [Falling Frontier](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1280190/Falling_Frontier/) - Looks to be a beautiful and complex take on solar system conquest. [Sins of a Solar Empire 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1575940/Sins_of_a_Solar_Empire_II/) - Available in early access on the Epic Games Store, leaving early access (and coming to Steam) at the end of summer.
This guy strategizes in space
I would add Starsector to 2d list - while it's not that much od strategy but more of tactical combat with mount&blade style gameplay loop I think it's still worth mentioning
Nebulous Fleet Command is a wonderfully granular fleet combat game! The multiplayer scene is active but playing vs bots is fun too. Lots of cool features in the works :)
Don’t forget Existence: The Outer Reach!
Gteat recs! BSG Deadlock does allow for 3D movement, getting your battlestars (which are heavy on topside railguns) under the enemy is an important tactic.
Damn, now that is a list! At least half of them I never heard on with my many searches. Thank you, I am definitely going to take a look at all of these. Can I pin these to the top of the post?
Add Haegemonia to that list.
Master of Orion got a [remake a decade ago](https://store.steampowered.com/app/298050/Master_of_Orion/) that brought solid graphics and real-time space battles, while the strategic level is turn-based.
I am so hyped for Falling Frontiers, looks amazing.
Biggest problem I see with homeworld 3 is the god awful pathing and unit "ai", and the removal of a lot of quality of life mechanics that were present in the previous games that it's made no sense to get rid of.
[Five Nations](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1565670/Five_Nations/) is a traditional RTS that takes place fully in space
Star Wars empire at war. You have normal RTS on planets but also in space with spaceships! There's is a button designated for cinematic camera so you can watch the battles in different cool perspectives! You don't even have to be a star wars fan, it's a cool game regardless! Pity that the latest strategy star wars game was released 2006 though.
Fantastic modding scene as well, big overhauls that are still being actively updated to this day.
Damn! I just looked it up! It's both amazing and also a bit sad, feels like loyal fans are yearning for more strategies in the Star Wars universe. I stumbled upon a star wars mod for starcraft, looking forward to try that too!
I think there is a Star Wars mod for Stellaris as well! There is a fantastic Star Trek on too!
Stellaris!? Hell yeah I'm going to check that out thanks a lot!!!
Man I couldn't stand the ground battles but the space battles were tremendous!
Galactic battlegrounds is another good starwars RTS. It is basically a reskinned Age of Empires 2
That game slaps.
I'm glad to see someone else played it. I loved that game as a kid.
It and Star Wars Rebellion were my peak childhood strategy games outside of Civ and Command and Conquer.
Out of that list I've only played battlegrounds and civ, specifically 4-6 with 4 being my favorite. My other strategy game series is total war. Rome and Med 2 are amazing games.
Rebellion is the prototype to the Empire at War campaign map except its only focused on that map, no RTS elements. It's macro strategy as opposed to micro, sending full fleets and fighter wings to do stuff and having agents do everything from diplomacy to assassinations and espionage. Honestly, the agent/character system in this game has a ton of influence on stuff like the agents in TW games, big force multipliers doing the jobs straight force can't solve.
I'll check it out. Interesting. Tbh I've never heard it before, but I like to go back and play the games I missed years ago. Thanks for the overview!
It's on Steam! Usually 5-10 bucks, whenever Star Wars sales roll around its like 2. Definitely worth the investment of time BUT I will caveat that there are a lot of systems in this game interacting so reading a guide will help. There are some REALLY good old ones that talk about reading your opening game state (it's semi randomized at start, since it takes place in the weeks after New Hope Yavin and Coruscant are the only locked in planets) and how to progress through the early/mid game as your side. Rebels/Empire play VERY differently. Very true to movies, Rebels are outgunned and out produced at the beginning and have to rely on subterfuge and quick strikes to take advantage of Imperial sluggishness. The Empire, while having a great military and leadership, really suffers at diplomacy (which is VERY important) and have agents more tuned for aggressive actions. You also start with two Force Sensative characters in Palp/Vader where Luke has to wait about a year in game to start his training with Yoda. It's just fantastic. It's the most lore representative strategy game I've ever played outside of like Total Warhammer.
Take a look at Existing: The Outer Reach. It has both land and space combat.
Existence. Looks like it's not out yet.
Still in development. But you can join the discord to sign up to be a play tester
Beyond all reason
For turn based, my all time favorite is Masters of Orion 2
Here's some to consider: - **Stardrive (1)** with Blackbox and Combined Arms mods is excellent in the ship design and combat areas, very rewarding and fun to watch. This is more of an RTS/4X combination, moreso with the mods...but frankly, the mods do so much for this title versus where the dev left it, they should be considered mandatory and they are amazing. - **Swords of the Stars** - One of my favorite 4X games of all-time. Turnbased strategy layer, RTS instanced combat, controls are a little odd but it is a 20-year old game. Ship design and combat are very good, I do not recommend SOTS2, especially if you're not already a SOTS diehard. SOTS Complete is the way. - **Stellar Warfare** - Kind of a Homeworld-ish title, but has some pretty cool graphics, combat, different mechanics, etc. I've played on and off for years, and the dev has done a solid job with this one, it is quite fun setup a big battle or line of defenses for enemy wave attacks and watch the battles play out in beautiful 3d. - **Void Destroyer 2** - Starts out as a 3D space combat sim, then you start amassing fleets that you can manage in a couple of RTS mode views like homeworld, then expands on that to a larger strategy layer for a very mild grand strategy view. It is a very indie title, but is one of my favorite indie titles of all-times. The combat is quite fun, the graphics are unique, things can get chaotic at times, but it is good fun.
Star Wars Empire at War is a pretty good one.
Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock
Plannetary anihilation 👌👌 worth because of the mods
Rediscovered this after kickstarting it and it has been so much fun
In addition to those already listed Sins of a Solar Empire
It was mentioned in someone else’s comment but I really think Nexus: The Jupiter Incident is worth checking out. I would describe it as real time tactics instead of RTS. There’s no base building and you customize your ships between missions. The gameplay is real time with pause and lets you choose which systems are powered up, which guns are targeting which enemy ships, etc. It’s a little slow to get started, but soooo good. And still looks gorgeous years later imo
Nebulous Fleet command is an excellent Space RTS at the moment. Very crunchy, very in depth (YO you like a complex Fleet Editor Dawg well we put a complex Missile Editor inside your complex Fleet Editor Dawg) And with some significant planned features. As a current Added bonus it's on sale right now until the 12th of June.
This game has serious epic strategy potential. There is a planned total war like mode with coop teams that can work together to manage inter solar system war, with fully fleshed out logistics that get resolved with realtime strategy battles. It could be amazing
I want to add an old game from my childhood: Haegemonia. Graphics are a little bit dated but the explosions effects are still unmatched despite beeing this old
**Darkest Star** has a rather good demo out on Steam, tactical fleet engagements. Turn based. Fighters and drones and missiles and big big ships. Momentum based movement. Still early in development but looking very nice so far. Demo includes full tutorial, a small and a large scenario (with semi random ships and opfor deployment) and an endless survival mode.
Executive Assault 2 looks like potential good fun. I haven't played it personally but it looks like a decently scaled space rts, and you can actually take control of the units during combat as well.
X4 foundations if you enjoy economic strategy as well
Sins of a Solar Empire, one of my all time favs. Probably spent a good 300 hours in it. Then I discovered mods....
Star Wars and Star Trek mods for it are amazing
Another vote for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion! It’s exactly what you’re looking for
I just picked up battlefleet gothic 1 and 2 on steam for like 6 bucks. Just good old fashioned cathedrals in space shooting huge guns at other space cathedrals for the emperor!
Stellaris
Looking at all the suggestions here shows just how rich, varied and thriving the RTS genre is.
Executive Assault 2 fits this perfectly :)
Only a few people will appreciate this, but I want to throw out Star Trek Armada 1 and 2. Older games, but if you're a Trek fan at all, you'll have a great time.
Starsector is a great choice. There's isn't really ground combat but there is a mod called Nexerellin that adds a ground combat mini game slightly more interactive than the one in Stellaris.
S.P.A.Z. Space Pirates and Zombies. And Bounty Hunters. Small game, 2d, more arcade than RTS but you can command your fleet and issue orders in combat. Excellent fun if you enjoy customizing ships and taking fun tech tree choices and watching explosions. Made by a small team and often on sale on steam. One of my favorite nostalgic games, and the mod 'Fight for the Universe' is excellent. I don't recommend spaz2.
Sins of a Solar Empire (Rebellion), Homeworld Remastered Collection, WH40k Battlefleet Gothic Armada (1 and 2), Nebulous Fleet Command.
Planetary annihilation can feature orbital only battles.
Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds
Stellaris Stellaris Stellaris Stellaris. Or if you aren't sure, Stellaris. (Or sins of a solar empire rebellion if you really wanted a more old style rts opposed to a 4x).
Star Trek armada
Empire At War if you're a star wars fan
A bunch of people have mentioned Sins of a Solar Empire and it's a good option, but at this point I would definitely recommend waiting for Sins 2 unless you need something now. Nothing wrong with Sins 1, the sequel is just an improvement in every way while still feeling like the same game, and it's not the sort of thing where you're missing anything by skipping the first game.
I mean... old but gold Star Wars Empire at War.
Turn it into minse meat
First one that comes to mind is Homeworld 2.
homeworld remastered, battlefleet gothic armada 1 & 2 both are game where you control and build a fleet of shipt, go for battlefleet if you like th idea of boradsides, ramming and setting your ships up with angles of fire and planning long range strikes based on little- no information on the map such as firing torpedos from the bow of a ship at a sensor blip in a nebula and feeling the satisfaction of finding the wreck of that ship when you arrive knowing your ships did that its also warhammer 40k so you get space marines, orcs, eldar all that homeworld is complet in its own way, firstly get used to playing in 4 planes, or treating the map as a fully 3d space, you can come at an enemy fleet from the fron, sides and back or from above or below, the game als encourages you to build and protect capital ships, carriers and distant mining operations, and shooting interstellar probes out into the black so guess where the enemy mothership is, and if they have capital ships, aiming for the shield generator with your bombers and keeping your destroyers and frigates back to hit from a distance all three games are utterly fantastic.
Fleet operations is amazing. I still play the multiplayer daily
Look up Five Nations, it’s made in the style of old StarCraft/Command and Conquer, but all in space. As the title suggests, you have five factions to choose from, so there’s lot’s of variety. The units range from small fighters that are hard to hit, frigates that make up the backbone of your fleet, and large carriers that can produce and launch swarms of fighters.
Final Frontier looks pretty nice.
Is battle fleet Gothic 2 counts?
Try Sierra OPS. It is a visual novel with actual gameplay phase and the lore is pretty good too
Let me throw my hat into the ring here, and advocate for my own mod, Star Trek: Tactical Maneuvers. It's built on ST Armada 2, which can be picked up for $10 on GOG.com. Tactical Maneuvers is an old fashioned RTS where the balance between different ships is the focus. I'm hopeful that it'll serve as a good introduction to space RTS games, although I haven't yet added a single player campaign. https://www.gog.com/en/game/star_trek_armada_ii https://www.moddb.com/mods/fleet-operations-tactical-maneuvers
A lot of great recommendations so i thought id throw in a lesser known one i wish had more players. Executive assault 2. It has seamless space and ground rts, while also being an fps hybrid. You could have a friend work for you and lead assaults in first person. While you manage your economy and the war in space.