Re: OT: Galatcic Civilizations (GalCiv)
 

I am mainly unhappy with the game because the planetary model is difficult to understand. In Master of Orion I & II, you could easily determine the production of a planet. In Master of Orion I, you had a factory level that determined the number of factories per colonist. Planets with a larger max number of colonists could have more factories and thus produce faster. In Gal Civ, you just have this nebulous "Planetary Quality" which somehow will affect both the max number of colonists and the max production. But it isn't really explained anywhere, and it isn't really all that intuitive.

As I am playing and reading on the Gal Civ forums, I have found a number of bugs in the game--some of which are game-stopping crash type bugs.

If you are interested in trying out this game, I would advise waiting a few months until a patch or two has come out.

BTW, it appears you can do some modding of the Gal Civ data files. It looks like both MOO3 and Gal Civ saw the success of SEIV and followed suit.

Re: OT: Galatcic Civilizations (GalCiv)
 

I have really enjoyed this game. No crashes and the beginner AI has beaten me three games in a row. However, in game 4 I have solved the money problem and have spread like the plague. Victory #1 perhaps? The interface has a few rough spots and there are a lot of things that are unexplained, but it is very intuitive and I have had little problem coping. There are also a few information and management features that should be added. Researching for cash is the key, along with not building things you really cannot afford yet.

I do regret the lack of tactical combat or custom ship design, but things seem to work out. R&D makes sure that stock BBs, CA, etc are not all created equal.

[ March 31, 2003, 14:55: Message edited by: solops ]

Re: OT: Galatcic Civilizations (GalCiv)
 

There is a current patch out. It comes with the Bonus pack. Addresses a few of the crash issues.

The one thing that changes that I have not been able to figure out is the UI. It changes, and I for one have no clue as to why. Overall, the game is rather fun. I am in my fourth game now and for the most part was winning it. Now I am at war with the Yor and they are taking my worlds over covertly. Most frustrating.

Re: OT: Galatcic Civilizations (GalCiv)
 

There are different UIs for evil ,neutral and good empires. If the UI has gone red its means you've been a bit nasty http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Askan

Re: OT: Galatcic Civilizations (GalCiv)
 

I really like this game (GalCiv)....I have actually chatted with the Devs (even the main dev) for a bit yesterday afternoon....They are so far constantly updating it....posting on the forums about what ppl would like to see in the game. I have personally never seen this type of support for a pc game...ever.

My only "complaint" is the combat...i don't mind that combat is not tactical...that doesn't bother me. I just wish it would slow down just a bit so i can actually see how my ships are doing against the enemy ships.

I did win my first game Last nite...an Alliance victory. I was only about 6 months away from a cultural victory...I was able to ally with the Altarians, then got dragged into several wars to protect my alliance.

I played one game on Sub-Normal AI, and got totally bLasted in less than 2 hours. Today, going to start a game using SubNormal AI again (Last nite's was Beginner AI)....

All in all, i really like this one. The Tech tree is good...the overall strategy is good....the diplomacy is good....

Re: OT: Galatcic Civilizations (GalCiv)
 

Thanks Askan http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: OT: Galatcic Civilizations (GalCiv)
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Is that even possible? Doesn't MOO3 have a 0 rating? That would make GalCiv have a negative rating... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Guess you haven't seen SE4 then... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ April 02, 2003, 23:42: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

Re: OT: Galatcic Civilizations (GalCiv)
 

GalCiv should arrive at my door in a few days.
Any game play advice?

Re: OT: Galatcic Civilizations (GalCiv)
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Guess you haven't seen SE4 then... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hehe...seriously, i have seen SE4, and i still agree with him.
I think the current record is set at 3 or 4 patches in 1 week. But that was a bit overkill IMO. It seems to have calmed down now...maybe 1 patch week/2 weeks. Stardock also reserved one full year to continue updating and expanding the game. So that's 1 year of garantueed updates, after that there may still be updates though.

[ April 08, 2003, 21:02: Message edited by: Lemmy ]

Re: OT: Galatcic Civilizations (GalCiv)
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Start on a small or tiny map.
Starbases good.
In the first few turns set your research to 100%, and get to the Universal Translator (the yellow tech options), that will allow you to commiunicate with the civs you've encountered.
Rush buy a colony ship if you see a good planet, but don't lease unless you have to!
Starbase bonuses STACK!
Sell your techs to the AI in exchange for x amount of cash/month, use that cash to increase your spending level.
Starbases very good.
Don't bother to build anything other then colony ships, constructors and some defense at the start.
Don't build every social improvement available, the maintenance cost of the unnecessary projects will kill you in the long term.
Starbases rock!

[ April 08, 2003, 21:08: Message edited by: Lemmy ]