You can keep going, by extending the playtime, I forget what it's called exactly, but when the game is over there is an option to keep going with it..
But yes, it ruins it for me...
If you want a better game, look for Sins of a Solar Empire... Those matches can go on for countless hours... I think the shortest skirmish I ever did was 4 hours, and I barely pulled that off... Both me and the enemy were nearly destroyed in the battle (which in and of itself lasted an hour)