Title says it all really - What’s the selling point of this game to you? And how successful (or unsuccessful!) have you been at promoting it to pals?
I’ve posted a screenshot with Solar system map with a net of movement tails in my micro-blog-for-friends.
Nobody reacted. Well, I do value the freedom of entertainments: if they don’t want to play strategy in a very realistic Solar system - it’s their free choice, who I am to persuade them. 
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Ive convinced afew people to play it.
But the problem is they dont stick with it due to the initial difficultly, i cant always be there to answer questions.
The main problems are the initial Sol setup / survival. Meaning not crashing the economy or running out of minerals and the initial what to do.
There is no tutorial, that is the problem.
Unless you start watching someone play first (EnterElysium for myself) or a very long tutorial series like spacemarines (very detailed and covers all features but is not beginner friendly)
The solution would be a very simple tutorial game (maybe to be loaded like the example game)
My suggestion would be step by step popups or if that is not technically possible, map labels (wont be pretty)
Showed Aurora to my mate once
He asked why I was playing Excel . . .
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My colleague at work sneaked to my desk while I was reading on the forum and asked me what the hell was that blue screen with dots.
I explained him about the most beautiful game in the world at my best and, despite him being a game player, He did not get what I was talking about and took me for a weirdo and smiled.
You need to really like a thing like Aurora, I mean, you need to like the idea behind before even try, if your friend plays stuff like Rimworld, civilization, Dwarf Fortress, then maybe he can try, but if he plays casual 3D games, average games, then no, no point to try to convince him.
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It’s funny you say that because I think what was at the foundation of my question (that you uncovered) is
“Why does this game appeal to us and not other people”
I’ve found it easier to maintain interest with others by telling them stories / talking about the stuff I’ve done in Aurora / varying situations that have arised, rather than directly showing it as the graphics is not quite for everyone.
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I think reading after action reports is probably a good intro. We had so many on the old forums, but not that many on here yet. I need to finish posting the Empire of the Stars campaign and then get a new one going. I’ll maybe try to post some of the older ones too.
I agree that some form tutorial would help though.
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Creating Beginner Guides - Aurora 4x Wiki This page is still blank, but will try to work on it today as a starting point.
Whilst a Wiki is always helpful and often a very good source of truth, even for senior players.
I do believe a interactive tutorial is the most effective guide through, within game.
However, I do not know if that is technically possible within the current game architecture.
A new “Event” like system would need to be created.
An interactive tutorial would involve a LOT of code, checking if players had done what the tutorial asked at each stage and advising accordingly. I think a list of ‘How To…’ guides would be a lot faster and easier.
There are some great videos series, but maybe some written individual guides on ship design, colony creation, game setup. etc.. would help anyone who is not a fan of videos.
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A couple of pages of answers to this, from the old forum, saved in Wayback Machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/20251009013712/https://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=8a25c719b501feab252127e6c837d163&topic=13824.0
https://web.archive.org/web/20251009015223/https://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=be0d607321cab128760596facefe8b21&topic=13824.15
Steve is not selling the game either, so why would I?
But seriously: When people’s eyes start to glaze over (as they invariably will do) I know it is time to switch topics to the weather, poetry, the error of Foucauldian Thinking, soccer or really anything but the finer points of military hangars within civilian hangars and the ideal ratio of Gallicite stock to extraction rate to tonnage of the active navy.
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I needed no convincing, tutorial or written stories to take up Aurora. Just a glance was enough to know this is for me.
The one time I showed it to some colleagues that were potential candidates at work (under the selling point “The only game you can play here that looks like you are working!”), I got the comment that it is “Eve Online for the poor”.
…Not really accurate, but I fear a game this specialized is just like that. You either know it is for you on the spot, or you know it isn’t.
So the only advertising gains to be had I can see is that at least all those that don’t know it exists yet could be activated, but in my opinion there is not much in it trying to convince people that it is good if they don’t have “the reaction” in the first seconds.
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It was the other way round for me - I think someone was trying to convince me not to play it - the more he described the more my inside voice was going ‘that sounds great’
you design your own ships - uh huh
But you have to design the engines - uh huh
And the sensors and weapons and….. and…..
outside was calm nonchalance inside was ‘as soon as I get home I have to download this monster’
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It depends where u from. I am from Italy, but living in New Zealand over 15 years now, and I found out a horse head in the bed usually does the trick.
Less drastic measures require knowledge of the other person. I have noticed that most all Aurora players have all or some of the following in their steam library: Rimworld, Dominion (Series), Dwarf Fortress, Kenshi, Song of Syx, Conquest of Elysium (Series), Ostranauts, Neo Scavenger, Caves of Qud, and Warsim. There would be other titles like X series, Paradox Games or Shadow Empire/Matrix Games, and Avorion, but I tell you why the others are the most important:
- Steep learning curve
- Heavy RPG
- Gameplay over graphics
- High level of micromanagement
- Losing is fun core system
- Little to no tutorial available in game
Rings a bell?
So back to the original question, I would probably check if the person we would like to get into Aurora is into any of the above mentioned games already, and would probably leverage the similarities between them. If they are not, but still interested into space strategy 4x games, I would ask if they have tried already some of those titles mentioned, and try to get a pulse on why they stopped playing, and perhaps see if there is an entry to uplift Aurora over the objection raised on the different title, where possible ofc.
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Oddly enough, I have absolutely none of these in my library/ies. Plenty of Paradox experience in the generation before current, though, plus management sims and turn-based/RTS going further back.
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I guess because your are part of the other spectrum: Gary Grisbys/hex and counter Table Top (or PC porting). 
Or the famous exception to confirm the rule
I don’t have any either 
My top 10 games on steam by hours played are:
Civilization V
Battletech (Roguetech mod)
Valheim
Skyrim
Steel Division
Gray Zone Warfare
Starfield
XCOM
Elder Scrolls Online
Although I played a huge amount of hex wargames, SFB, Starfire, AD&D, etc., none of which was a computer game, except for the assistant I wrote for Starfire, plus a lot of PC games before Steam became so dominant.
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Okay, question though: why Gray Zone Warfare instead of Arma III?
Can I have your top 3 hex and counter?