Sent my new laptop to get fixed under warranty because of some dead pixels, so I'm stuck with the one it replaced and it just seems slower than ever.
I'm looking for a game that can waste a large amount of time (automated e-mail response said 1-1.5 weeks, +time to order parts if needed), but it has to be very easy on the hardware requirements.
I found Distant Worlds and it was great. I especially liked that you could leave some matters to the computer, while you handled only a specific aspect of your empire. But... it turns out that my PC starts lagging out quite fast. Atm, with 12 empires, 700 stars and a 15x15 (or 8x8, doesn't change much) galaxy (even without pirates!), the best I can get is about 2 years in-game before I get to under 20 FPS. (Strangely, I recall playing it with a huge galaxy and default settings for a very long time to a sizeable empire, but either way, that definitely doesn't work now).
So, I guess a game that's either a space sim where you can play Trader/Pirate/Whatever you like or a 4X with AI help/advisers and low system requirements (I have an nVidia GT 555m and a 4gb i3-2330m 2.2GHz, but I think something ain't working fine...)
Has to be simple though (or follow a basic structure found in other games). I don't want to spend time learning an entire new game and creating strategies, since I only need something to keep me occupied for (hopefully) a few days to 1 week for now.