Well, given that, then it makes sense that for a long-lasting game, the players should focus on strategy, with the computer/AI performing the strategy by the player. For example, deciding that you will set aside 70% of resources for colonization, 20% for exploration and 10% for defense, with the player directing what "colonization" means, such as move towards a certain area or build certain types of ships. However, the economics like trading may be hard to do in the TW environment because the player should have inputs on trades that are made. I wish I had more than a superficial understanding of the TW game to be able to comment more, and a better example to explain what I mean. Basically to explain it in another way, the player can queue up actions, and specify desires (because some of the planned actions might fail or require a choice to be made at the time).