So, what's the good stuff?

Everyone enjoys different things.  The colonization is the early part of the game and it does seem sort of repetitive, but it is also very challenging to do well.  You need to build up your economy with an end in mind - not just execute it without thinking.  It requires "tweaking" in every game.

Ship design and upgraading can be done automatically based on automatic computer suggestions.  You can design your own ships, but there are basic templates you can use, instead.

Long terms research for complicated tech paths isn't automatic.

The simple answer for why you can't set a long term plan for research is that every game is different and your needs will always change.

For instance, huge hulls are mostly useless with Laser I and basic miniaturization.

By the same token, Laser I on a tiny hull won't help you much even with supreme miniaturization.

And finally we have nightmare torpedoes on a tiny hull-which is all fine and good except you can only fit about three of them at maximum miniaturization.  In that case you're better off using black hole guns instead.

Granted, these are extreme examples, but you will need some kind of balance, and based on what the AI is doing, you will need to balance different portions of the tech tree at different times of the game.  So a long term research option would actually hurt you, and therefore wouldn't make any sense to spend dev time on.

Most of what attracts me to this game involves the way that it interacts with my imagination. I would suggest pursuing hobbies/games that interact with yours, lest you go through life like a journalist in your said state of "wonder," pointing out how pointless everything seems.

Of course, if the problem stems from a lack of imagination itself, their are many ways you can stimulate growth in that department...I would suggest periods of sustained non-thinking, or an honest analysis of whether the things that you do love rely more on subjective or objective properties.

Lastly, I would take the time to care for an animal, you'd be surprised how much this can develop the third eye.

Good luck in your search.

Roxlimn, thank you. That got me to look further.

Sole Soul, I'm not talking about selecting the end of the tech tree, just doubleclicking on a tech a few steps down the line to get what I'm going for fairly easily. Should be an obvious feature.

ubernaught, I do have imagination, thank you. That wasn't really helpful at all.

I found a game example that convinced me that the game does let you set long term strategies and go for them. They just don't really come into play in the demo. So I bought it, and have battled my way through the download system and can start paying soon.

Doesn't work that way, sorry.  You can only select to research the techs you are currently able to immediately research.  Selecting a tech that isn't is possible, but it won't change what you're researching.  When each tech is completed, you are prompted to select a new tech to research.  By default, it will select the next tech in line.  If it's a terminal tech, it won't-rather, it will scroll to the top of the list, or in other words generally the cheapest tech, and you'll need to select a new one again, rather than just clicking done or double clicking.

Then you might be disappointed.

I stated that my examples were extreme, but I was trying to make a point.  Even if you simply want to tech immediately from particle beams III to phasors, circumstances may require that you pick up token defenses first, or even real defenses.  You might discover you need more soldiering as the AI won't stop hitting your border planets.  The game changes every time.