In the order the comments were placed :
@ aurora : I am aware that this game exists, but i could not find a decent "how to" yet that would explain the game to me. I like knowing -something- before even starting. For Dwarf Fortress the LP of captain duck did the trick.
Aurora is a last resort.
@ Acid : Masters of Magic was awesome! (so was Civ 2) But it's an afternoon adventure, not a week strugle
@ NewsMuffin : I have tried X-Com series, yes. Before someone suggests them : I also played Jagged Alliance and Silent Storm. All of them very nice games, but i'm not looking for that genre this time.
Sword of the Stars.
Civ 4 with Fall From Heaven 2 total conversion mod, with epic or marathon speed.
Distant Worlds.
Armageddon Empires (not really sandbox, but fun fun fun indy).
Dominions 3, mother of all fantasy strategy games and the best PBEM game ever (remember to use Conceptual Balance Mod).
I do have Dominions 3. The only AI i've seen that was WORSE than this of Dominions 3, was from Polish version of Space Empires 5. This was because the translators have screwed it, and there was no working AI at all.
I'll see what Distant Worlds are and Swords of the Stars.
@ Sean Mirrsen, Majestic 7
Is it true? We're talking here about Morrowind-like bugs, that you could easily fix yourself, or Daggerfall bugs that were like eating cooked broccoli when there's a pizza calling your name?
@ Astral : AC was fun too, but from what i remember it's the fastest of "Civ" games. Two dozen turns and the map is colonized!
So right now i'll be reading some more about DW, SotS, LE and perhaps even Aurora.. Keep 'em coming.