When comparing Townsmen vs Star Traders 4X Empires Elite, the Slant community recommends Star Traders 4X Empires Elite for most people. In the question“What are the best Android games with economics-based gameplay?” Star Traders 4X Empires Elite is ranked 7th while Townsmen is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose Star Traders 4X Empires Elite is:
The Trese Brothers studio is known for constant improvements and content additions to all their titles.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Well-polished with great attention to detail
From the detail to the inhabitants to the great design of the town it is obvious a lot of attention was payed to the smaller things.
Pro It has that realistic feel
It feels realistic and you can roleplay to your heart's desire.
Pro Intuitive and accessible
Straightforward controls, well-organized information and a thorough tutorial make Townsmen easy to pick up and play.
Pro Actively supported with frequent updates
The Trese Brothers studio is known for constant improvements and content additions to all their titles.
Pro Complex, multifaceted gameplay rivals desktop 4X titles
The depth of simulation in Star Traders 4X rivals that of the Galactic Civilizations and Master of Orion franchises from which it draws clear inspiration, and yet it's no simple genre clone: there are plenty of original ideas here.
Cons
Con Intrusive ads and offers
Even in the premium version, you'll receive pop-ups offering a few points of Prestige (premium currency) in exchange for watching a video advertisement.
Con Supply chain construction can become tedious in scenarios
Townsmen's complex resource management is not too burdensome while casually building a sandbox city. Once you've done it once or twice, it's frustrating to wait through dozens of build timers just to get access to the raw materials needed for a scenario's first goal.
Con Intriguing internal-faction system is poorly executed
Quoting pockettactics.com:
"In a strictly solo-play title whose main distinguishing feature is this faction system–the idea that you’re not playing as an ideologically pure civilization so much as guiding a fractious, corrupt plutocracy–you’d hope that those factions would be colorful and easily distinguished from one another. [...] Instead, what you have are two sets of three factions, each positioned, lore-wise, as starkly different from the others, though mechanically the separations are minor."
Con Unintuitive and poorly explained
Many important game systems are opaque to the player, and the tutorial and in-game documentation don't make up for this.