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explore, expand, exploit, exterminate
Haven't played Stellaris in a while, but from what I recall, it feels pretty much like a traditional 4X, as long as one pauses a lot, which I do.
With Stellaris (as with Europa Universalis), I tend to either be playing at max speed, or paused, in a way simulating a turn-based approach, though I guess with more granularity to the "turns".
As such, I'd almost call EU a 4X as well, though I guess it's more of a 3X, since there isn't much exploration going on (though I guess a case could be made that expanding to the new world does offer an aspect of exploration, even if it comes later than in a traditional 4X).
I wouldn't call Driftland: The Magic Revival a 4X, though. I see it as much more of a traditional RTS, with a couple of twists.
Being able to move the islands gives an interesting amount of "life" to the map, and the "hands-off" control of your units is more reminiscent of Majesty than a traditional RTS (Majesty is still an RTS, just... not a "traditional" one).
Driftland has the explore, exploit and exterminate aspects, but I feel the "expand" aspect a bit too weak to call it a "proper" 4X.
Of course, expansion is a tricky concept within this context.
After all, what differentiates a "proper 4X" from a "proper RTS"? For the most part, both genres follow an "explore, expand, exploit, exterminate" approach, and on the overall, they share a lot of elements.
For me, I guess it comes down to three major factors:
In a way, you could almost squeeze all that down to just complexity, since I'd certainly call Stellaris a 4X, and it -could- be played without ever pausing (much like Star Ruler 1 & 2, or Distant Worlds), and the focus on combat could easily be attributed to a lack of complexity.
In Driftland's case, it lacks that complexity. Yes, you do expand to other islands, but you only have one castle, and it's the center of everything. You can't even build satellite outposts/bases like you can in many RTS.
As for Total War, the last one I played was probably Medieval II, but from what I understand, the essence of the franchise hasn't changed much since, so that's probably close enough? (if there have been major changes in how the game's played, feel free to ignore the following)
I never liked the tactical battles in TW (I played Rome & Medieval II) and would always auto-resolve them, focusing my gameplay on the strategic map and approaching it as a 4X.
As such, yeah, I'd say it's pretty close. Not quite a "full/proper 4X", but certainly closer than Driftland.
It does have that "focus on combat" I attribute to "RTS-nature", and it might lack a bit of complexity compared to a "full" 4X, but it also has something... more to it? I'm not sure how to explain it.
Perhaps scale? Maybe that's something else which differentiates 4X and RTS.
I get the impression that RTS tend to be more map-by-map, whereas 4X tend to be played on a single large playing field. I could be wrong about this, though, and it might just be a cognitive bias stemming from my lack of RTS experience.
So... yeah... I guess that for me, the main difference between 4X and RTS comes down to a matter of complexity & scale.
The "turn-based" vs. "real-time" aspect is kind of a "red herring", as it were, simply due to the fact that games in both genres have traditionally used one approach or the other, so we're used to think of those genres in those terms.
Then again, I guess part of it is that the more you ramp up the complexity, the more you -need- the ability to pause things. For the most part.
It's still not an absolute necessity, though, considering Stellaris, Star Ruler 1 & 2 and Distant Worlds all have the option to -not- pause, and I'm fairly sure some people play them without pausing at all.
On the other side of the scale, what about turn-based "RTS"? I mean, they wouldn't be "RTS" in the strictest sense of the term (not being real-time, n' all...), but games which have the "essence" of RTS games (i.e. kind of 4X-y, but with less complexity & scale, and more focus on combat).
The only example that comes readily to mind is Battle Worlds: Kronos, though there are no doubt others. It's certainly a rarer genre/
Thanks for asking the question and making me think about it. This has been an interesting though-experiment. And sorry if my reply's a bit all over the place.
TL;DR -
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion: Don't know.
Northgard: Don't know.
Stellaris: Definitely 4X.
Driftland: The Magic Revival: Not 4X.
Total War: Warhammer: Mostly 4X.
What we call genre are really, strictly etiquette and as such they are simply indicative of a game's content.
I am french, and what you called city-builders, we call gestion games. For a long time 4x were Civ-like to us. And hack'n'slash was diablo-like.
It shows that those etiquettes shift through time and are not too 'strict'.
And I guess I will go down the path of Caveman,
eXploit
eXpand
eXplorate
eXterminate
Are pretty much values that you can find in any RTS.
In starcraft, you do need to eXploit the minerals and gaz ressources to eXpand.
By expanding your base and your troops you give yourself the mean to eXterminate your for.
But to better eXploit, eXpand and eXterminate, you do need to eXplore.
To see where the ressources are, where the enemy is, to look he constructed a 2nd or 3rd base etc. To also counter his manoeuvres.
Imo, what really set apart a 4x to a RTS - but even that perception is put to challenge nowadays - is that in 4x you need to take care of your population, your cities, your children, etc.
It's not only about combat, but also about politic, education, healthcare...
So strictly from that I would say that:
Total War: is not a 4x, despite having some touchs
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion: I didn't play the game, I am unsure, I think it sticks to combat and as such I would say it sticks better to the RTS genre.
Stellaris: 4x
Driftland: The Magic Revival: RTS (although it does not respond strictly to the codes of RTS).
Northgard: RTS (bis)