Starfield *is* the best at both, but the mark isn't high.

Base building is cool until you realize it's dumb because it doesn't do anything, it's faster to research if you just have a cargo ship with a big hold and some research pods. If you could "buy low sell high" and setup a trade network (like Fallout) and even entice pirates to attack or take over your base, then it could have been fun.

But I think they were so worried about all the jokes of "a settlement is under attack! I'll mark it on your map!" that they omitted it completely. Absolutely completely. I have a base with a zillion resources in connexes and laser turrets and the Crimson Fleet doesn't even try to attack it. And building a colony? "We can't do that, that's fallout!"

So it's empty and lame.

space combat, IMO, could be way more engaging if kinetic weapons required ammo, specifically missiles, so you had to think about your build and how much ammo you could carry rather than just installing the largest weapons and going to town. But that's a balancing issue.

World design needs to be revamped. More canyons, trees, rivers, etc. and less "I landed and wow, abandoned buildings 3 feet from my ship!"