Space Imperia 4X: Close Encounters

Space Imperia 4X: Close Encounters is the first expansion of the original Space Empires 4X board game by GMT Games.  This is a true-to-life implementation of the board game's expansion and includes a host of new ways to play Space Imperia.  All of the included modules are completely optional, allowing players to mix and match exactly how they want to play.
GROUND COMBAT
Wage war with Ground Troops.  Now, players can optionally invade planets with four different types of ground units.  Successful invasions transfer the planet intact, which immediately begins producing for the invading player.
TITANS
Behold the coveted Titan, a 5-hull point space orbital that does two damage per hit, can carry fighters, and has built in mine defenses.  These are researched after Dreadnaughts and are the ultimate 2-hull point ship killer.  Be careful, though, as Titans may never retreat from combat!
BOARDING SHIPS
Out-matched by the enemy's ship configuration?  Capture them instead!  Boarding Ships allow players to merely capture enemy ships.  The capturing takes time, and Boarding Ships act last in combat (a new 'F' class ship), but the rewards are high: boarded ships begin fighting for the capturing player in two combat rounds, and may later be salvaged at a friendly shipyard to harvest enemy technologies.  Security Forces can be researched to counter this, teaching your crews how to handle a boarding party.
SHIP EXPERIENCE
Combat Groups can now earn Experience, enabling better combat attributes, more hull points, and less maintenance paid.  Players can research Military Academies to improve their crew's base experience levels as well as experience rolls after destroying enemy ships.  This module incentivizes maintaining large Combat Groups and starting combat, as the benefits of gaining experience are very useful.
EMPIRE ADVANTAGES
At the start of every game, players can play with Empire Advantages: extremely powerful faction abilities that change the course of every game played. 
ALIEN TECHNOLOGY
Incentives for Terraforming alien planets are even higher with Alien Technology.  The first time a player colonizes an alien planet, they pick from two technologies that are permanent buffs to the player's faction.  These technologies are only available to the first person to colonize a given alien planet, giving those planets a much needed buff.
UNIQUE SHIPS
With this module, players can design Unique Ships from a host of design choices and special abilities.  Each player may design one Unique Ship at the start of a game.  Players may also change their design any Economy Phase where none of their Unique Ships are present on the board.
FLAGSHIPS
Empires now start with their coveted Flagship, a 3-hull point ship that can be equipped with Exploration technology.  
NEW TECHNOLOGY LEVELS
Terraforming 2 enables Miners to mine Nebula for a 5 Bullion income!  Additionally, four Miners may now be built per game.
Exploration 2 allows for Reaction Movement, a powerful ability that allows a defending player to move neighboring ships in reaction to enemy movement!  Employed effectively, this technology can sway the tide of battle.
Fast Battlecruisers allows Battlecruisers an extra System of movement on the first turn of every round.
FACILITIES
An alternate way to play the economy-side of Space Imperia, the Facilities optional rule allows for building of Industrial Centers and Research Centers, which drive ship production and technology procurement in different ways.