head to head
vs
Rome: Total WarvsStarDrive
Rome: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); StarDrive leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Rome: Total WarStarDrive
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 2
Rome: Total War leans harder on execution: Real-time battle micro rewards quick unit handling
Reads2 vs 2
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 9
StarDrive leans harder on optimization: Ship design, economy and expansion are the solvable 4X core
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.