Been a while since I posted here.
So I have (what I assume are) rather weird tastes. I love god games. I love city-builders, but... I don't enjoy the level of control I'm given in most of them. It feels like the people whose lives I have control over are just mindless automatons without lives of their own.
So I'm wondering if anyone knows of any games that are mostly hands-off, where you spend your time guiding rather than dictating.
Some examples:
Majesty 1&2- Pretty good example. I love these games. The only downside is there is a definite 'win' condition. I'd prefer a more sandbox game that you can essentially play for hours upon hours without starting a new map. It still gives you a bit more control than I'd prefer, but they're solid anyway.
OpenTTD/TTD- While you have complete control over your company, cities grow only with your influence (not your demand), and they decide where to build rather than you dictating it. I'd prefer more details on the citizen's lives, and it's clearly not the main focus of the game, but I love that little touch, and it scratches the itch to a degree.
Distant Worlds-Your empire will grow without you, and the private sector is perfect. The only problem is you can be a total dictator over every aspect of your empire (except the private sector), and having the possibility of that control makes me feel like I'm doing it wrong if I let the AI take over.
Various Artificial Life sims- Probably where I got a taste for this style of "game"play. Needless to say, these are very rarely actually "games", but they do meet the criteria.
Dwarf Fortress- Mostly qualifies for the same reasons Majesty does, though I'd rather if the people would do some building on their own, without you demanding it. Come to think of it, that's another thing that makes the Majesty series not a perfect fit.