Tentative recommendation of Slipways; the VOI part isn’t as central as I suspect you’d like, but sending out probes sure does cost time and money you could use for settling planets and forming trade routes; and while it’s easy enough to survive to the end of your term, it gives what you’re asking for if you choose to define ‘victory’ as ‘get 5+ stars on Tough’.
Tentative recommendation of Slipways; the VOI part isn’t as central as I suspect you’d like, but sending out probes sure does cost time and money you could use for settling planets and forming trade routes; and while it’s easy enough to survive to the end of your term, it gives what you’re asking for if you choose to define ‘victory’ as ‘get 5+ stars on Tough’.