That's certainly going to be a tough one to narrow down, given the variety of preferences people can have on such a genre.
I can give a rundown of a few areas I'd personally like to see in a solidly done (modern) strategy game, based largely on past favorites:
Something space-science fiction related in the same vein as Master of Orion, Star Trek: Birth of the Federation, Star Wars: Rebellion, and Sword of the Stars.
Most newer games I've tried of this variety tend to take annoying and experience killing design choices. Oversimplified and "streamlined" gameplay, 2D/pixely/cartoony art design, and often little depth or personality to anything story, lore, or character related. (IE, Stellaris having a rather bland "spreadsheet" faction setup). I can expound further if you're curious.
I've never been quite able to get into too many fantasy strategy games, save for a few niche instances though, and I think I've burned myself out on historical strategy games thanks to Paradox and Total War.
Maybe something like Heroes of Might and Magic might work, if it had the same personality and charm, but a less cumbersome design to the overarching strategic gameplay.
That's very much the same kind of motivation that finally pushed me into starting on my own game a few years ago. I've tried to keep any details on it pretty close to the vest though, as I'm sure you and others here would certainly understand.
Something worth remembering by the way. It isn't the complexity that makes the game so much as the fun and satisfaction that the core gameplay gives to the player.
IE, playing cat and mouse with an enemy vessel in space, glancing skirmishes that eventually lead to a major moment where you maneuver your ship at the perfect speed and angle, and executing a deadly barrage onto an enemy at just the perfect moment.
So many developers let themselves get so deeply embedded into systems and meta mechanics that they forget and fail to deliver on the simple things. Plus, sometimes it's the simplest things that can provide the most satisfying and complex results (Emergent Gameplay).
That's certainly going to be a tough one to narrow down, given the variety of preferences people can have on such a genre.
I can give a rundown of a few areas I'd personally like to see in a solidly done (modern) strategy game, based largely on past favorites:
Something space-science fiction related in the same vein as Master of Orion, Star Trek: Birth of the Federation, Star Wars: Rebellion, and Sword of the Stars.
Most newer games I've tried of this variety tend to take annoying and experience killing design choices. Oversimplified and "streamlined" gameplay, 2D/pixely/cartoony art design, and often little depth or personality to anything story, lore, or character related. (IE, Stellaris having a rather bland "spreadsheet" faction setup). I can expound further if you're curious.
I've never been quite able to get into too many fantasy strategy games, save for a few niche instances though, and I think I've burned myself out on historical strategy games thanks to Paradox and Total War.
Maybe something like Heroes of Might and Magic might work, if it had the same personality and charm, but a less cumbersome design to the overarching strategic gameplay.
That's very much the same kind of motivation that finally pushed me into starting on my own game a few years ago. I've tried to keep any details on it pretty close to the vest though, as I'm sure you and others here would certainly understand.
Something worth remembering by the way. It isn't the complexity that makes the game so much as the fun and satisfaction that the core gameplay gives to the player.
IE, playing cat and mouse with an enemy vessel in space, glancing skirmishes that eventually lead to a major moment where you maneuver your ship at the perfect speed and angle, and executing a deadly barrage onto an enemy at just the perfect moment.
So many developers let themselves get so deeply embedded into systems and meta mechanics that they forget and fail to deliver on the simple things. Plus, sometimes it's the simplest things that can provide the most satisfying and complex results (Emergent Gameplay).