How about a game set in space where each planet has a size, (with a star size buff), and the size of the planet determines the tech level of its inhabitants. Thus each planet is 'infused' with a technology level, along with a genetic evolutionary organisms level. Some planets may have less than their cap for a variety of reasons, and many have only plants and lichen (primitive life, on the smaller radius planets). The thicker ones have better resources assuming higher tech mines due to more corpses piling up to create the thickness. Players control the leader of a population on a planet, and can direct research, production, expansion, and giant explosions. The game could start in a randomly generated solar system, with n planets and a star, and the goal might be to colonize all planets and the star in a civ-style way, then possibly expand to other stars from the first star. Critters and humanoids and advanced life could be generated with spore-like mechanisms, with inputs being random, code based, or player made. Tech could be modeled as a few numbers, with things like 'ship speed' being a researchable tech element, as is getting better materials and recipes.

How about it!

hmm im thinking of doing something very similar with my game. It is very much in the same vain as elite/frontier but there are over 750 million stars which will be populated by 1000's of different randomly generated civilisations which will all dynamically start to slowly populate the galaxy and interact with each other in varies ways