From the information available, GALCIV3 is looking pretty much like the previous iteration with nothing that substantial to tell them apart. This is a gut feeling impression and I hope I'm wrong and there's more than updated graphics and tweaks here and there to justify wide consumer interest in a seemingly lackluster premise.
The 2 things I expect to do well in this game are:
1. The AI will be above average compared to most 4X titles out there. Bad AI has been the game breaker in most 4X games.
2. The other is that I expect the game to be quite moddable. Now that mega events and other things that were once hardcoded are moddable through XML, I imagine a lot of new things will become possible after the modding community takes it up.
Now the bad. I hate to be so blunt, but the reason why I have not funded this game is because I just don't see this game becoming awesome, so to speak. I think this game will become decent, but not great.
1. The graphics are outdated for a 2014 game. It's understandable for a medium sized company, although it is a bit of a disappointment. I'm not saying as a medium sized company that Stardock should try to push the envelope the way, say, Crysis 1 did (I should note that the subsequent games were a step back from Crysis 1), but I do feel that the quality of the models and textures are, for a 2014 game, is a bit lacking. If this game gets 3-5 years of development, that means that we could be looking at 2020 as the end, and by then, the graphics are going to be well ... ancient. There may be subsequent improvements in expansion, but the engine fundamentally locked in, so upgrades may be limited.
2. There isn't as much depth in the story, in the way they have made the factions compared to many other games. Alpha Centauri for example tried to put a lot of depth into the different factions and a really, engaging storyline that drew me in. Now GC2, as a game did take a good step forward of introducing tech trees for each faction and some unique improvements. That's a step in the right direction, but the emphasis should be much deeper.
Whatever it's other failings, I think Starcraft did a really good job of that. How you built buildings, how you made units for example, was quite different, and the fundamental tactics, and synergy between the 3 sides is very different.
SOTS tried this too. The different races had different methods of propulsion and their designs were fundamentally different. Some emphasized frontal fire power. Others were broadside based. Some focused on energy weapons. Some focused on mass drivers. This had huge implications. Of course this is only possible with tactical combat, but it shows how much depth tactical combat could add, if it were implemented well.
Sins of a Solar Empire, with its Titans and Capital Ships also arguably demonstrated substantial differences between the races.
3. There aren't really very many game-affecting decisions.
Example: The good/evil/neutral has been expanded into the ideology tree, but it's for a few limited bonuses, none of which will have a game changing effect. Ideologies are small bonuses and will not make a huge difference.
4. The living universe is somewhat ... dull. There has been some effort to put things like black holes in, but it's not a truly living environment in a sense. Elemental I think did a better job overall of this. Alpha Centauri with its extensive terraforming, along with the other mechanics like worms I think was the best among them again.
I'm not ready to pass judgement on 4 yet, I want to see the Starbases and other options available.
5. I'm not sure about what they are doing for ship to ship combat, so I can only case judgement when the game is released.
I'm not saying the game will be awful, but so far, what I'm seeing is well ... average in a sense. It has it's flaws and advantages. It's an incremental improvement in some areas, but it may also turn out to be a step back in others.
I have not had a game wow me in a while now, and well, I don't expect to play this game and go "wow this truly revolutionizes 4X gaming" the way a game like MOO2, Alpha Centauri, or any game that has been so influential that it has shaped future games has.