I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but one thing I like about Stellaris is the ability to build mega structures like habitats, ring worlds, ect. There are even mods to add more.
One thing I'm disappointed to see in the reveal video, is that it looks like the research model is the same as in DW:U. I didn't think I was going to like the randomness of research options that Stellaris has I've found that I like it better than the linear model that DW has. I really like now know what my next options are going to be.