Poll: Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition - The most impossibly good strategy game in the cosmos

Tryzon

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Tryzon?s Nonsensical Gaming Trips #35
Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition (PC, 2008)


I have, in the past, admitted to not playing tons of proper Strategy games. I?m far from unfamiliar with them, and those I have experienced have usually been played to the bone, but I?m considerably more used to the kind of game where one wins World War VIII using a laser gun and a harem of overly friendly nurses. Until not so long ago, probably the Strategy title that I found most agreeable was Fragile Allegiance from ?96, the review for which you?re more than welcome to investigate.

I didn?t realise as such for a long time, but Fragile Allegiance is actually a particular sub-category of Strategy game: the 4X type. This essentially means that, instead of having any set objectives, you?re plonked in a fixed area with so much space and resources and left to build an empire that can match those of your opponents. However, if Fragile Allegiance has a main problem, it?s that it?s a Real-Time Strategy game, which naturally limits how long you can spend thinking about decisions and makes for a more stressful experience. That has a charm to it, but only to an extent.

Then something magical happened. A chance encounter with a game I?d never heard of from 2003 whose premise left me intrigued resulted in my buying it, loading it into my PC and having my mind officially blown. That game was Galactic Civilizations, basically a remake of something from 1993 and rather similar to Master of Orion. Just the kind of 4X Strategy thingy I like, only Turn-Based! Just to sweeten the deal further, I discovered a pleasingly geeky sense of humour, mainly involving references to everything sci-fi that?s happened since the ?60s, and an almost astonishingly deep web of gameplay mechanics that managed to interweave war, diplomacy, economics, cultural imperialism and plenty more. As much as I love Fragile Allegiance, GalCiv utterly eclipsed it. I even got the Gold Edition so that I could play the Altarian Prophecy add-on.

So imagine my excitement upon learning that a sequel came out in 2006, entitled Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords. Even better, it had since been bundled with its pair of expansion packs in a value pack known as the Ultimate Edition. ?Ultimate? is just about the best word they could have picked for it, as such an adjective implies being the very best at whatever the thing in question does. ?Supreme? means more or less the same thing, but doesn?t have the same oomph, you know?

Had I skipped the first game and gone straight to GalCiv II, I fear the shock may have killed me. At least I?d die happy, but then I would have missed out on what is, without exaggeration, one of the greatest games I?ve played in my life. I?m talking the God of War, Burnout 3 or TimeSplitters 2 of Strategy games here. THAT good.

The set-up for GalCiv is that, for many millennia, the races of the galaxy had lived in relative harmony, as travel over long distances was only possible through the construction of star gates, which were massively expensive, required one on each side of the trip and still resulted in journeys of a few decades. Humanity, meanwhile, managed to reverse-engineer plans for a star gate given to them by the only race they?d met, the Arceans, and developed a portable version of the technology that could be stuck on ships and allowed for faster movement. This would have given them an unbeatable advantage, but they foolishly donated the device to all the major civilisations out of the assumption that only primitive species go to war. So now everybody is within reach of everybody else, and they all prepare to either invade or protect against invasion. What they don?t know is that the Dread Lords, malicious remnants of the ancient race known as the Arnor or Precursors, have returned to the galaxy with intent to dominate the younger peoples.

So you pick a race, start a match and see that you have a single planet, a Colony Ship, a Space Miner and a Survey Ship. From here you need to quickly make more Colony Ships, as everybody will be partaking in what is known as ?The Colony Rush?, which involves grabbing as many worlds as possible in the first few dozen turns, so as to give oneself an advantage in various ways. Once that?s over with, you can start properly building up your colonies in whatever way you like, depending on what your plan of action is. There?s infinitely more choice available here than in Fragile Allegiance, and the balance is also much better; anybody who?s played Fraggle (as I call it) can tell you that the Agents are vastly overpowered once you have enough cash to afford them. GalCiv II has no such trouble, and whatever kind of player you are, you?ll find a combination of options that works for you. Explore, expand, exploit, exterminate.


And this is one of the smaller galaxy sizes! Bring a packed lunch.

There?s a system of sliders that control your tax rates, production capacity and how your cash is budgeted out between military building, social improvement construction and research. This is extremely reminiscent of the budgeting screen from Fragile Allegiance, and you see them nearly as much as you do in that, which I actually like, partly because it?s a convenient way of doing things and partly because sliders are just comfortingly familiar.

You always start with an Imperial government, where you have complete power over your people but the economy is relatively weak. However, you can research three alternatives: a Democracy, a Republic and a Federation. These all give the people the right to vote on their leaders, and they will quickly oust you if taxes are too high and so forth. This doesn?t end the game or anything drastic, but robs you of your nice extra numbers until you get re-elected. A Federation grants the highest possible bonuses, but keeping the masses happy is much harder. None of the options are definitely better, since sometimes it?s worth having a mediocre economy so that you can control your civilisation easier. After all, a planet with extremely low morale will eventually break off and form its own nation, which doesn?t do you a whole lot of good.

The ethical alignment mechanic from GalCiv I is expanded upon. There are still random events that you must give either a good, neutral or evil answer to, which slowly alters your alignment bar. However, there is now also the opportunity to research Xeno Ethics, which lets you choose how nice or nasty your race will be for the rest of the game. This has far more impact on proceedings than it does in, say, Black & White, because not only does each option come with very different bonuses, but how other civilisations react to you is affected by whether your morals match theirs. Good guys get better defences, neutrals get better trading and research and baddies get better weaponry.

A deceptively important change from the first game is that you no longer have dibs on a star system once you first colonise on of its planets, as somebody else could easily come along and take any of the other orbiting spheres. I?ve seen cases where three different races each have a planet surrounding the one star. One race?s influence will probably overwhelm the others in time, converting any interlopers to their side. I like this, just because there was never any reason before why such a thing couldn?t happen, but it never did.

The United Planets is a galactic council, as it were, which every major race is a member of as standard. Every so often everybody meets up and a randomly selected issue is voted on, such as ?should Race X, being so hugely powerful, contribute some of its wealth to all the other races?? You can choose whatever option you like and how much leverage you have is determined by your influence. It?s a straightforward feature that doesn?t typically have a massive impact on proceedings, though an occasion where I, playing as the Korx, got my number of allowed trade routes slashed down to three (because all evil races were given that punishment) proved disastrous, as the Korx need trade income desperately.
It can be exploited, however. If, for instance, your civilisation has more than 50% of the votes available, then whatever you vote for is guaranteed to be the winning option. This situation happens a lot if you?re going for an Influence Victory, the specifics for which I?ll explain in time. On top of that, all races are free to leave the council whenever. This makes them immune to any negative laws that might be passed, but also means that they will lose all trade revenue. This might not bother a war-oriented tribe who plans to attack everybody anyway, but would obviously be suicidal for somebody like the Korx. It?s impossible to re-join after quitting, too, so don?t make the decision lightly.

Alliances can be forged with all and any races who love you to bits, and this comes with its own set of pros and cons. They?re much more willing to help you either militarily or by trading technology, but they also expect you to come to their aid if some git attacks them. Not doing so instantly breaks your agreement, though they?ll probably still like you for the most part. It?s a lot like getting married, really: the bond makes you closer than ever, but messing around will put an end to it, though at least re-conjugating isn?t frowned upon anymore.

Combat is obviously an integral segment of the game, but whether you actually do any of it is not set in stone, although the computer gets more and more fond of using it as you turn the difficulty up. In order to keep things quick and simple, ship-to-ship fighting is entirely based on numbers and a bit of luck: better tech and larger fleets will win against inferior tech and smaller fleets. You can naturally decide who you want your prize frigate with a fighter entourage to attack, but once it gets there, the computer decides who wins with your only option being to change the viewing angle. You can?t even retreat from a skirmish, unlike in Fragile Allegiance. Ground warfare is similar, but the invading party (as battles are always on a planetary scale) gets to choose what attack option they want: Traditional Warfare has the lowest chance of success but won?t damage the planet, making it nicer to win, while things like Mass Drivers (send asteroids plunging towards the world) will increase your combat effectiveness at the cost of some improvements.
My not being much good with small-scale battle coordination is precisely why I?m rubbish at Homeworld. I own both games and am hopeless at both, though the first one?s story kept me persevering much longer than I otherwise would have. GalCiv is much slower-paced than games like Homeworld, where combat is the main activity and so is given much more attention. Sure, you could speed up the game in the settings and try to have a quicker match, but that?s not really the intention. GalCiv is not an instant satisfaction kinda thing; you?re meant to start with a seed and groom it into a beautiful Orchid.
This could put you off, and I?d understand if it did, but I very much appreciate that the military aspect is left uncluttered so that the bigger picture can be focused on. You can still use strategy, of course, but on a galactic scale, not with individual ships. The founder of Stardock (the developer and publisher) himself, Brad Wardell, said on the web at one point that GalCiv has always been about a clash of civilisations, not militaries: ?you're building a civilization and you want to see how it is able to compete against other civilizations.? Couldn?t have put it better myself, sir. That?s THE man, people. Mr. GalCiv. Show him some respect.


Just your ickle slice of a crowded galaxy. Make it count, eh? Notice the flagship's resemblence to summat...

Victory can be achieved in one of five ways, though the last is exclusive to Twilight of the Arnor. Conquest Victory is the only non-togglable one, and simply involves killing off every other major race by any means necessary. Diplomatic Victory requires forming an alliance with every surviving race, even if that?s just one by the end. Influence Victory involves having and keeping 75% of the galaxy under your control for so many turns, at which point it is decided that the galaxy relies on you for cultural and economic stability. Technology Victory sees you researching your species beyond this plane of existence, essentially activating God Mode. Finally, to get an Ascension Victory, you have to build a Starbase on as many of the five Ascension Crystals in a match as you can, counting down the turns until you become infinitely powerful, much like in the Technological path. I don?t actually like this one, because it turns the whole game into a galactic Capture the Flag match, though you can easily turn it off, so no worries.
I usually start a match with a certain victory method in mind, but often find at a certain point that, say, switching to a Technological one would be easier in my current position. In the same way, you might notice a gap in a rival?s defences and finish them off with an invasion rather than convince their planets to revolt. The rules aren?t set in stone, and the flexibility is lovely.

I?ve found that GalCiv II is one of those games which I might start playing half-heartedly, either not really in the mood or thinking that most of its tricks have been revealed, and then realise that lunch has suddenly become dinner, or that dinner has morphed into breakfast. Its ability to hoover up time is practically unparalleled, and it even tries to stop you leaving by saying ?a few more turns wouldn?t hurt?? You can dip in and out of it, of course, but it?s always best when played in a single, giant marathon that devours most of your day and possibly some of tomorrow. Play a match with the ?Immense? galaxy size and you could be at it for weeks.

GalCiv has had campaign modes since the Altarian Prophecy expansion for the first game, but I strangely have never cared for them much, instead focusing almost entirely on just having open-ended matches. The freedom that a 4X Strategy game provides is a big part of what I love about them, so taking that away by plonking me in a particular sector of space and setting rigid goals doesn?t make me happy. It?s a bit like how I played the campaigns in Battlefront 1 & 2 precisely once each and then never again: I wanted to be able to say that I?d done them for the sake of it, but seriously couldn?t be arsed to go through it all again. GalCiv II?s campaign (or rather campaigns, as each chapter of the Ultimate Edition has its own set of missions) is well done and other people seem to like tit, so don?t think it?s of poor quality; it?s just not my cup of tea, especially when there?s a jumbo bottle of ice-cold Coke sitting nearby that I could devour instead.

Something pretty much everybody picked out as being a bit off about GalCiv I was the fact that, despite having a multitude of different races present in the game, you were forced to play as the Terrans, which is something Fragile Allegiance is just as guilty of. Alright, you could change their name to the Smegheadians, but the difference would be purely cosmetic. GalCiv II, never one to be content with established rules, not only lets you be any of the official species you meet, but also allows you to create a society from scratch, complete with custom portrait, insignia, tech tree, colour scheme and ship design! Owners of Dark Avatar or Twilight of the Arnor can even make their own opponents. Trust me when I say that suddenly bumping into the Vindaloovian Empire during a match is one of the funniest things that will ever happen to you. Yes, ever.


Does this suprise you? It shouldn't. I've done things even sadder, if you can believe that.

Another thing that some people point out as an issue is that everything is very random in GalCiv II. See, things will appear in a random spot for some random reason when the match is started, meaning that sometimes Lady Luck will favour one race over the others and give them far more good planets near their homeworld, or something. I do sometimes find this a tad irritating, but the benefits of a random match generator cannot be underestimated, as it gives the game essentially unlimited lifespan. At any rate, if all GalCiv II?s randomness gets to you, why not use the extremely useful built-in level editor that requires absolutely no technical knowledge? This way, you can precisely determine who will get what and go where, solving the problem. There?s even a campaign editor that works in a similar way, so knock yourself out. Braver folk than I could attempt to alter the game?s code in some way, but I have less than no idea how that works, so keep me out of it.

GalCiv II has some technical merits on top of everything else. It?s easy (they tell me) to make a game hard, but making it hard and fair is another matter. Stardock have done a remarkable job with the opponents here, since they are cunning and smart but never appear to be magically spawning ships or running impossibly efficient factories. To put it simply, they play the same game you do and must get their brains round the same problems. Turn the difficulty up to one of the higher options and the stuff they can do is unreal, particularly when they start tricking you into doing stupid things. It must be seen to be believed and is a core part of what makes GalCiv II so accursedly good.


This is an example of not only the A.I.'s cleverness, but also the ever-present comedy included. Have I mentioned that I adore this game?

One of the odder things about GalCiv II is that it?s somehow not only the funnier game when compared its predecessor, but also the more serious-toned one. See, there are considerably more silly nods to popular culture (Star Wars, Monty Python and many more, including some I don?t recognise), but the story is more dark-tinged and epic. It?s still a deliciously cheesy affair that nobody could possibly be meant to take at face value, but it?s a cut above the original?s simple set-up. I actually quite liked how GalCiv I just gave you a basic backstory and then left you to continue the drama in your own way, but you might feel differently. It?s a bit like how, in Oblivion, you have no idea who your character is other than they wound up in jail somehow, so you can invent your own fantastical origin tale.

GalCiv I used a 2D perspective and no-nonsense icons to depict the galaxy. As such, it became one of those games where imagination plays a big part. Now I know that sounds like a weak defence of its less-than-flashy visuals (not that graphics should ever play a part in one?s opinion of a game), but I feel the need to compare GalCiv to Fragile Allegiance yet again. In both games, a lot of the stuff that happens is either not seen or represented by basic images. As such, it?s terrifically interesting to make up your own mind what stuff looks like, thereby making the universe seem more grandiose. Don?t knock it till you try it. GalCiv II?s shift to 3D had me worried that the part imagination played would be limited somewhat, but mercifully, I was mistaken; there?s still plenty of room to visualise unseen goings-on, though what you can see has been made much more eye-pleasing, such as the space and land battles, which now feature whizzing ships and little marching troops, respectively. Plus the extra dimension allows for turning of the camera and the ability to zoom in and out, which was always strangely absent from the first instalment. The fact that all the dialogue is still just text also means you?re free to do silly voices for everybody. I find doing a robotic tone for the Yor can cheer me up, even if they?re gloating over my smouldering homeworld.

The ship designer is absolutely fantastic, both for practical reasons and just because it?s fun. Using one of several hull sizes, you can stick any number of bits almost anywhere to create either your own modern art masterpiece or the Planet Express Ship. The expansions add spinning sections and extra bric-a-brac, so there are infinite possible outcomes. Creating just the right mix of Mass Drivers, Beams, Missiles and their respective defence techs is also crucial to efficient warfare. Some basic designs are provided for you, but only custom ships will be just what you want.


Just look at this mad thing! There are very few limitations to what the ship builder can do.

Dark Avatar introduces Super Abilities (no, not heat beams and mind bullets) and Mega Events. The former are unique special abilities which every race has, though each may only have the one. Examples include the Arceans? Super Warriors, which means you always get the first strike in fights, and the Korath?s Super Annihilator, which lets them build planet-toxifying Spore Ships. Custom races can have any one of these powers, and which you want depends entirely one what strengths the civilisation has.
Mega Events, meanwhile, are much like the random events that can happen at any time, only far more dramatic. The one I always seem to get involves a plague that is spreading across the galaxy, inflicting all species. You have to research the Plague Cure before your race dies out, at which point you can choose to sell it to less clever folk for outrageous prices. A single Mega Event can completely turn the tide of a match, especially since they are apparently most likely to occur near the endgame. If you?re suddenly hit by one of these, you could be crippled for long enough for an opponent to fix themselves up or get help.
Both Super Abilities and Mega Events are completely optional, which is extremely good, because I can definitely see people not liking them. The added layer of luck will upset purists, but I enjoy the idea of an unpredictable galaxy where crazy stomm can happen without warning. Admittedly, I don?t like it as much when I?m the one who suffers most, but that?s par for the course.

On the topic of optional junk, GalCiv II shares TimeSplitters? convenient assortment of togglable things when setting up a match. I absolutely adore this, because so many games have one or two little silly features that soil the experience for me, but wouldn?t be a problem if they could just be turned off. A common example I cite is from Star Wars: Battlefront II, where the stupid permanent power-ups you can earn give you a totally unfair advantage over the already rather dim A.I., even on the higher difficulty. Again, it might be a nice option, but I resent having it forced upon me. GalCiv II lets you turn off or alter the number of many things, including minor races, asteroids, tech brokering, tech trading, tech stealing, star numbers, star distance from each other and more! Had these been fixed numbers, then much of the possibility to tweak matches to your liking would have been lost, but Stardock were clever enough to realise that choice is always a good thing. Grud bless ?em.

Twilight of the Arnor makes a radical change, as it brings in unique tech trees for each race, instead of the generic ones that everybody uses in the previous chapters. What this now means is that every species feels distinctly different: the Korx get tons of things that increase their economy and influence; the Drengin have tons of weapon choices and special factories that actually put their influence down, for the sake of balance; the Yor are extremely hard to take over with influence and are great manufacturers; finally, the Thalan have many of the most powerful technologies, but researching and building is very expensive for them.
What this all means is that you have twelve vastly varied civilisations to master, and you?ll quickly find favourites, depending on how you play. I prefer to sit in a corner and become the economic backbone of the galaxy, occasionally using my wealth to wage proxy wars, so the Korx and Drath are my most used guys. And seeing how the races interact with each other is fascinating, particularly when you notice patterns, such as how the Torians and Altarians tend to gravitate towards one another, or how the Korx so frequently get picked on in the beginning, because their military strength is reliant on being able to buy ships rather than manufacture them. Giving every civilisation a personality like this adds heaps of replay value and is a great help for immersion. This feature is worth getting Twilight for on its own.


Of all the available strategies, war is definitely the most immediately engaging. So very pretty...

GalCiv has always been very easily moddable, even for people like me whose knowledge of technical jiggery-pokery is limited to bringing up the console in a game and typing ?GODMODE_1?. Simply by moving some MP3s around, I was able to change the game?s music so that some of GalCiv I?s tunes could be there instead, as I actually prefer a lot of those. There are innumerable mods available online from dedicated acolytes of the GalCiv faith on galciv2.com, ranging from the inevitable Star Trek model packs and oddball alterations (like cube planets, which is an acquired taste) to things that completely alter how certain aspects of the game work, such as vastly different tech trees. Stardock have gained a reputation for being very sociable with their fans, as evidenced by the whole copy-protection thing I?ll discuss in a spell, and this has encouraged tons of people to start putting things together. It?s heart-warmingly nerdy.

Here?s a revelation that may shock any hardcore Strategy fans: I?ve never played any of the Civilization games. Not that I never wanted to, as I?ve been curious about them for some time, but it?s only after finding my beloved GalCiv and hearing that it?s got more than a wee resemblance to Civilization that I?ve really felt compelled to track down the latter. Now, I personally prefer a jokey sci-fi theme to a more realistic one, but I?m not shallow enough not to give something a go just because it?s down-to-Earth. The only Civilization thing I?ve ever tried is a demo of the console spin-off, Civilization Revolution, which I actually liked a lot, though I?m aware that it?s much less complex than one of the proper games, in order to fit the control methods and market for consoles.

Now comes by far the trickiest part of my humble review: trying to find flaws. A real head-scratcher, this. Well, some events, like the Space Pirates or the (Mega Event) Peacekeepers, can come out of nowhere and unbalance a match, which gets a bit aggravating at times. True, it helps stop matches from becoming one-sided, and the Mega Events can be deactivated, but the bloody Pirates can be Hell if your military isn?t brilliant.
And what about all the little glitches that can sometimes happen? There aren?t many big ones that I?ve encountered, but odd moments where a race rings me up so that we can trade technology and then offers an empty text box spoil the experience somewhat. The game doesn?t freeze when that happens, so you?re free to reject and move on, but that little error breaks the atmosphere and reminds you that you?re playing a game and not actually the maniacal ruler of a vicious empire. It reminds me of all those trips to the head doctor-man?
Plus, as I touched on, I do think that the music selection has gone downhill a teensy bit since the first game. I?m surely a minority on this, but the quaint style of the tracks in GalCiv I really gelled well with what happened. The sequel still has a lot of good music, now more typical orchestral-sounding whatnot, but it doesn?t have as much of a character to it.
But seriously, if these are the biggest chinks in GalCiv II?s armour, then I think you might begin to see just how highly I think of it. Can we just skip the technicalities and call it perfect now?


With the final expansion, you can spend ages building some star-destroying Terror Stars. Just watch that thermal exhaust port.

Perhaps what will put off the most people about GalCiv II is its complete and utter lack of any multiplayer component whatsoever, not counting the opportunity to post match scores online. Granted, TBSes aren?t famous for working well online, since you spend most of the time waiting for people to have their go before somebody eventually rage-quits before the end, once it?s clear that they?re losing. I?ve never played a Strategy title online, though I think that, given some clever balancing and such, GalCiv II would be amazing when playing against mates of yours who appreciate the game?s intricacies and won?t just dump you when things go bad.

This may actually be the most critically-acclaimed game I?ve ever reviewed, though one can?t be certain. Looking at the box, one sees ?92?, ?9/10? and ?PC TURN-BASED STRATEGY GAME OF THE YEAR?, which is a lot more praise than most things I?ve analysed got. I think Jumanji on PS2 could have got a prize for effort? And surely Celebrity Deathmatch deserved the ?Best Use of Mr. T? award? GalCiv II didn?t break any records for good reception, but more people than not seem to agree with me that it is outstanding.

So then, should you get yourself a copy of Galactic Civilizations II? That depends entirely on whether it sounds like what you play. If, for instance, you?ve enjoyed any of the various games mentioned in this review that GalCiv II was influenced by, then you will probably get a similar kick out of this. However, even if strategy (or Turn-Based gameplay) has never been your thing before, I would still suggest finding a copy of the ?vanilla? version of the game, Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords. This is extremely cheap used, so you can try that before committing to the Ultimate Edition. The vast array of difficulty settings means that you can have as easy or challenging a match as you want, though the complexity of the game can still make it daunting for first-timers. I can confirm from personal experience that it?s completely compatible with XP and Vista, though I hear Windows 7 can get freaky with it sometimes, so look into that before buying.
Stardock have been hailed as Christ reborn (well, almost) for not putting any kind of malicious copy-protection gizmo in any of its GalCiv games to date. You don?t even need to have the disc in the play after installation, just like in the good old days. There?s a registration code, but that?s only required for linking the game to Impulse, Stardock?s very own Interweb distribution-majig, which is what you wanna do in order to get the updates. The company?s explanation for all this is that things like DRM tend to push more people towards using piracy out of frustration than it prevents. Any kind of copy-protection will eventually be broken, they say, so you might as well treat the consumer with respect and not make them feel as if they?re still paying for their legally-purchased game after parting with their cash. People trust the company more and don?t turn to naughty methods to avoid the hassle and give the Man the finger. I think it makes complete sense, despite the obvious risks involved, so power to ?em. And anybody who bootlegs a game made by a little developer like this is Satan.

For me, GalCiv is still a relatively recent part of my gaming life, since I hadn?t even heard about it a year ago, but I?ve already played it for so many hours that I?ve started managing the galaxy in my dreams. It came out of nowhere and left a colossal impression, the aftershock of which I haven?t totally recovered from yet. Maybe the best thing it?s done is renew my appreciation for Strategy games, particularly Turn-Based ones, which has meant that I?ve been looking for other ones to experiment with ever since, though I suspect that it?ll be some time until a GalCiv rival emerges. Stardock?s own Sins of a Solar Empire has caught my eye, not least because it?s apparently a 4X RTS like Fragile Allegiance, only published by the GalCiv people!

I?ll end with a simple thank you to Stardock, whose genius has brought me so much happiness. Rest assured I?ll be purchasing some more of your products, mates. If the word ?love? was engraved on each nanoangstrom of those hundreds of miles of coding in GalCiv II it would not equal one one-billionth of the love I feel for Stardock at this micro-instant.

Which of you would like to play their little game?


What I imagine my Troop Transports are full of...
 

Windexglow

New member
Apr 30, 2009
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Same company is also coming out with Elemental : War of Magic in a few weeks. If you like GalCiv than seriously check out elemental.
http://forums.elementalgame.com/


As for galciv2, it's an amazing game who's problem is the poor combat and AI reactions. We're at total war : I've sent everything to my front to destroy you. You are badly losing. But you'll keep 2-3 ships at every planet, just in case.

Read the feature list for Elemental, btw.
http://forums.elementalgame.com/374531
There are a ton of features where if even a single one was adopted by sc2, it would make huge news.
 

Tryzon

New member
Jul 19, 2008
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Windexglow said:
Same company is also coming out with Elemental : War of Magic in a few weeks. If you like GalCiv than seriously check out elemental.
http://forums.elementalgame.com/


As for galciv2, it's an amazing game who's problem is the poor combat and AI reactions. We're at total war : I've sent everything to my front to destroy you. You are badly losing. But you'll keep 2-3 ships at every planet, just in case.
That doesn't strike me as a hopeless strategy, if over-protective. I would like to try Elemental, but doubt my PC would handle it well. I'm much more interested in Sins of a Solar Empire for now, anyway!
 

TimeLord

For the Emperor!
Legacy
Aug 15, 2008
7,508
3
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I love GalCiv! Terror Stars are brilliant, I also love making X303s in the ship builder!

Despite Terror Stars only moving 1 square per turn, it's fun to influence the Galactic votes to pass a law to eject ships from enemy space once war is declared. Thus catapulting my Terror Star across enemy space right where I want it!
 

Lord George

New member
Aug 25, 2008
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Ahh Galciv II memories of gleefully blowing up large sections of the universe as a race of sentient chairs who bred like rabbits, fun.

Very nice long and detailed review, I may even go reinstall it now.
 

Flamezdudes

New member
Aug 27, 2009
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GamesB2 said:
Ooo it looks shiny and Sci Fi...

If I see this cheap in CEX I may pick it up.
Wow! Thats the first time i've seen CEX noticed anywhere on the internet. It's quite new in the UK i guess. What a great store.

OT: I haven't heard of this game before but good review, it looks like something i'l try once i get myself my laptop.
 
Jul 22, 2009
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Flamezdudes said:
GamesB2 said:
Ooo it looks shiny and Sci Fi...

If I see this cheap in CEX I may pick it up.
Wow! Thats the first time i've seen CEX noticed anywhere on the internet. It's quite new in the UK i guess. What a great store.

OT: I haven't heard of this game before but good review, it looks like something i'l try once i get myself my laptop.
Is it fairly new?

I did work experience there for 2 weeks a couple of years ago.

And I've been a customer of there since I was like 8...
 

Flamezdudes

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GamesB2 said:
Flamezdudes said:
GamesB2 said:
Ooo it looks shiny and Sci Fi...

If I see this cheap in CEX I may pick it up.
Wow! Thats the first time i've seen CEX noticed anywhere on the internet. It's quite new in the UK i guess. What a great store.

OT: I haven't heard of this game before but good review, it looks like something i'l try once i get myself my laptop.
Is it fairly new?

I did work experience there for 2 weeks a couple of years ago.

And I've been a customer of there since I was like 8...
Seriously? Wow, it did only just arrive in my area which is weird. I shouldn't make assumptions, hehe.
 
Jul 22, 2009
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Flamezdudes said:
Ha we have a huge one in the city centre.

It's a bit out of the way and it's more of a 'gamer' shop sort of...

Like GAME and Gamestation are more open and family oriented, but if you walk into CEX it's cause you belong there.

Tis why I love it so ;)

I use them for buying old PC games... damn new ones and their one time activation keys.
 

Liberaliter

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This was one lengthy review, but I read it all. I'm glad this came up actually, I was looking into finally getting round to buying the game and its expansions, you have just sold me on it.
 

Tryzon

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TimeLord said:
Despite Terror Stars only moving 1 square per turn, it's fun to influence the Galactic votes to pass a law to eject ships from enemy space once war is declared. Thus catapulting my Terror Star across enemy space right where I want it!
That is genius! I'd never think to manipulate the game's tricks to my own ends like that, but now I feel compelled to nick your idea.
 

Tryzon

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Furburt said:
Ah, Galciv 2. Possibly the best 4x game ever made. Maybe even better that...gasp, dare I say it? Civilization.

I have wittered away so many hours on this game. I love the humour in it as well. Some of the descriptions are hilarious. Plus, when you see no less than 4 Hitchhikers guide references in the tech tree, you know you're in for something good.

Anyways, very good review. I would suggest breaking up some of the paragraphs a bit more, but other than that, I can't see any problems.

Also, if anyone thinks this might be a bit much for them, they should try Sins of a Solar Empire. They're very similar, and share the same publisher, except Sins is real time, and it's a lot simpler, and can help you get into these kinds of games as a whole. Plus, it's great too.
Thanks for the constructive criticism there, and also for making SoaSE sound even more tempting. I've heard nothing but good things about it as of yet, and if my PC can handle it, then I'm there!
 

Tryzon

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Lord George said:
Very nice long and detailed review, I may even go reinstall it now.
Thanks and I sincerely recommend you do that. As you might have gathered, I have a fairly positive opinion of the game :D
 

Tryzon

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Liberaliter said:
This was one lengthy review, but I read it all. I'm glad this came up actually, I was looking into finally getting round to buying the game and its expansions, you have just sold me on it.
My mission is accomplished, then! My whole point in reviewing stuff (other than twisted self-gratification) is to introduce folk to stuff they mightn't have heard of. If this looks like your kind of thing, then I can all but guarantee that you'll love it.

Somehow I forgot to use this word in the review, so I'll say it now...CLASSIC!
 

SomeLameStuff

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Apr 26, 2009
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Ahhhh I remember this. I remember building an entire swarm of cheap unarmored fighters with missile banks and overunning the enemy fleets.

On another note, were you as unfortunate as I was to get the random encounter for the Dread Lords? Bloody bastards can one-shot any ship even with all the armor you can fit onto it. Lucky for me it was mid-way into the game and I had my ship swarms ready. They can't stand against hundreds of missiles, even with all that armor.
 

King of the Sandbox

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Jan 22, 2010
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I can't usually get into very complicated, micro-managing games like this, but the customization aspects have me intrigued.

And if it's any kind of compliment, I had no interest in a game like this whatsoever, but I read the entire review anyway.

Kudos!
 

Tryzon

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somelameshite said:
On another note, were you as unfortunate as I was to get the random encounter for the Dread Lords? Bloody bastards can one-shot any ship even with all the armor you can fit onto it. Lucky for me it was mid-way into the game and I had my ship swarms ready. They can't stand against hundreds of missiles, even with all that armor.
Are you referring to the Peacekeepers? Because they are indeed colossal gits, as mentioned briefly in the review.

King of the Sandbox said:
And if it's any kind of compliment, I had no interest in a game like this whatsoever, but I read the entire review anyway.
That is a HUGE compliment, sir! I assumed that only die-hards would attempt to conquer this towering mountain of a review, but you have proven me wrong, which makes me very happy. If this isn't your kind of game, then I obviously won't be able to convince you with just words, but I seriously would suggest finding a cheap used copy of the basic version of it, just for the sake of experimentation. It barely costs a few quid online, and could potentially open the door to a universe of magical happiness.

Or it could confirm that strategy titles aren't for you. Either way, at least you'll know.

Many thanks, at any rate :D
 

King of the Sandbox

& His Royal +4 Bucket of Doom
Jan 22, 2010
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Tryzon said:
somelameshite said:
On another note, were you as unfortunate as I was to get the random encounter for the Dread Lords? Bloody bastards can one-shot any ship even with all the armor you can fit onto it. Lucky for me it was mid-way into the game and I had my ship swarms ready. They can't stand against hundreds of missiles, even with all that armor.
Are you referring to the Peacekeepers? Because they are indeed colossal gits, as mentioned briefly in the review.

King of the Sandbox said:
And if it's any kind of compliment, I had no interest in a game like this whatsoever, but I read the entire review anyway.
That is a HUGE compliment, sir! I assumed that only die-hards would attempt to conquer this towering mountain of a review, but you have proven me wrong, which makes me very happy. If this isn't your kind of game, then I obviously won't be able to convince you with just words, but I seriously would suggest finding a cheap used copy of the basic version of it, just for the sake of experimentation. It barely costs a few quid online, and could potentially open the door to a universe of magical happiness.

Or it could confirm that strategy titles aren't for you. Either way, at least you'll know.

Many thanks, at any rate :D
True enough. It looks like an experiment is in order.

To eBay! FOR SCIENCE!