col80

Reply to Epic Story Generator in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is a feature which would seem to have perfect synergy with Hero characters. Whoever heard of an epic tale without heroes?

Reply to Heroes in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I would have thought Stardock would have been a bit more vocal if they were adding something as popular as heroes to Dark Avatar. I'm pretty sure Heroes were mentioned as something the designers would like to see in Galciv3 though, so every cloud . . .

Reply to Its Easy to Run an Empire When Taxes are the Only Thing That Makes You Unpopular in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Actually, this system was used pretty effectively in Star Trek Birth of the Federation

Reply to Espionage missions in Dark Avatar GalCiv2 Forums

From what I've read so far about the espionage portion of the game, it seems slightly underwhelming. Don't get me wrong, just having an espionage component is a huge improvement, but there's hardly anything to get the blood pumping in what's been revealed - it's all a little staid. Options like assassination attempts on enemy leaders, disrupting diplomatic relations between opponents, planting bombs on ships, releasing plagues into the atmosphere, etc. are conspicuous by their absence.

Reply to Dark Avatar Design Opinions? in Dark Avatar GalCiv2 Forums

There is always a lot of hyperbole whenever an expansion comes out. The developers always claim that it is 'more like a sequel than an expansion', and this is inevitably an overstatement. Likewise, unless the expansion is a real shocker (Civ3:PTW) it will usually be above what modders could achieve. The only exception to this I've seen is Civ4, where the incredible modability means there genuinely are mods out there which play more like sequels. It is a shame Galciv2 has nowhere near this level

Reply to Would people want Mega events? in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

Oh, a thousand times yes. Mega-events would add so much flavour, and make sure games would never play out the same. What would be important is for the player never to be completely at the mercy of such a random element e.g. a space plague should always have something that could be researched to combat it, even if this required a huge science commitment. I would also focus on events that play around with player relationships, either forming alliances or creating enemies, as this could really sha

Reply to Gamspot's interview with Brad discussing the expansion pack in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Looks interesting. I've just about reached the point now where my interest in the game is starting to flag, so this is most welcome. Customization sounds promising, and espionage/sabotage was sorely needed. The only thing that slightly concerned me from the interview was that it sounded like this feature would mainly be used for disrupting your opponents planetary tiles. I was hoping for something a little different - getting info on when and where the AI is planning to attack, being able to dis

Reply to Is anyone surprised at the latest poll result? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I've been a proponent of tactical battles since early on and was always forced to just shake my head at how vigorously the "No Tak Kombat Klub" fought the idea of this option. Their arguments were usually so forceful [and unreasonable] that I thought there must be a whole herd of them. The poll makes them look like a small, loud-mouthed minority. <br

Reply to 1.2 Beta 2 -> Bugs in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

Not technically a bug, but an instance of very strange ai behaviour. I went to war with the Torians and had a lightly defended star base right next to one of their planets. They proceded to sent a procession of ships one at a time to get butchered by the starbase, despite having a huge fleet orbitting their planet and a high logistics rating. Against my ships they were perfectly sound in constructing fleets, so this seemed a little off.

Reply to Econ Starbase Trade Bonuses in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

A problem I have with using starbases to enhance trade is that I'm never sure how much effect I'm having. There just doesn't seem to be a screen anywhere that shows the numbers involved (If there is, could someone tell me where please!) A simple solution would be for the trade window to have a tooltip pop-up over each trade route showing the original value, and how starbases are influencing this.

Reply to Beta 1.2 bugs in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

I started a new metaverse game and I noticed that my neighbor's race is 'custom race'! I've been getting this too. It did get me thinking though, that a cool addition in the future would be an option for the computer to cobble together unique races, from a stock of portraits, ai routines etc.

Reply to "the game is too easy", they say in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Firstly, for those who think the AI is somewhat weak - compared to what? Seriously, if someone can name a strategy game (apart from chess, go, etc.) where the AI provides more of a challenge (without cheating) then please tell me as I will try and acquire it ASAP. AI is relative - it is good or bad depending on what the current standard is, and at the moment Galciv2 is way ahead of the current standard. That it doesn't cheat is important because it means losing can actually be a

Reply to Poll: Would you be interested in a large package of hulls/ship pieces for $8.95? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I have nothing in theory against a cheap eye-candy based expansion. As has been mentioned, the price is very reasonable (about the same as a pc games magazine these days)! Yet I have voted no because out of all the aspects of the game the ship design is the one which requires the LEAST graphical overhaul. Planetary invasion, ship combat, galaxy map - I would happily pay a negligable amount to see these spiced up a bit visually. I know ship design is (rightly) one of the most popular b

Reply to What would you pay good money for in an expansion? (The unofficial inquiry) in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

1. Another vote for 'better' diplomacy. Better meaning deeper and more varied (the above post sums up some of the things I think would be nice on this front), as well as the AI being more pro-active and varied in its proposals. Basically a move away from the diplomacy paradigm of all 4x games i.e. just a way of trading techs and money. 2. Heroes. Or rather, 'characters'. There is little point in adding something like this if it is only along the lines of '+2 ship weapons' - I can just

Reply to Tony Blur to outlaw Gal Civ 2 as class A drug. in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Tony Blur to outlaw Gal Civ 2 as class A drug I know our beloved leader is on the ropes at the moment, and he has previously dabbled with this 'Cool Britania' nonsense, but does he really think changing his name like this is going to get him more votes?

Reply to What do you want in an expansion? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I'd like to see more emphasis on exploration. Currently this 4X game is missing 1X, as far as I'm concerned. The initial "colony-rush" phase is vaguely interesting in the way the distribution of your colonies sets the tone of the rest of that game, but I wouldn't characterize that phase as exploration. It's more like "wander arou

Reply to GalCiv II: v1.1 BETA 4A Change Log in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

I am enjoying this latest beta very much - things really seem to be coming together. In particular the races are seeming better defined. I am in the middle of a wonderful game at present which showed off the new shiny AI: The Drengin declared war on me for attacking their trading partners. As they were the galactic badass I was more than a little worried, until my friends the Drath contacted me saying our destinies were intertwined or somet

Reply to Tactical Combat? Did anyone say Tactical Combat? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

As has been mentioned, tactical combat is an element of the warfare side of the game. This side does not need emphasising further as it already, as with most strategy games, occupies a pretty dominant position. A much more interesting use of developer time, imho, would be to expand upon facets of the game currently underdeveloped - espionage, technology victories, diplomacy, etc. Some of those arguing for tactical combat seem to view it's om

Reply to A Must Have Change in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I like the way that you can only build the latest version of a building. As well as offering an incentive for keeping planets largely intact when invading, it also means older established planets with a built up infrastructure become increasingly essential as the game progresses.

Reply to what i would like to see in 1.2 in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I might be wrong about this but can the Neutral Learning centres be added to the game, I research them but they don't seem to show up. They've cropped up in the latest beta I believe. More generally, the title of this post is wishes for 1.2. I'm not not sure the implementation of an entire

Reply to 1.3Beta Bug - Black Holes! in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Yep - I've had invisible stars too. I don't think it's a graphics card issue because I didn't get this in the first beta (I have not tried the second one).

Reply to Which Starbase is being upgraded? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I usually click 'no' and then just decide later when i'm cycling through ships that have turns left. Yep, this is what I do too, although it is a little cumbersome. Galciv2 isn't the best at providing geographical information when decisions need making, and the addition of a few minimaps (with approp

Reply to Loose Vs Lose in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

Oh man, this is a problem which gets worse by the year. I used to teach at an undergraduate degree level, and the number of students I would get who could not construct a basic sentence was frankly terrifying. It made me feel incredibly petty, but I would always start a seminar by correcting some of the more common grammatical mistakes. The most common error I saw (apart from apostrophe abuse obviously) was the use of 'of' instead of 'have', as in: I could of let it go, but it's the s

Reply to 1.1 Balance Problem in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

those guys will have literally absorbed most of the other players near them Ouch!

Reply to How are starbase defence bonuses applied? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Thanks for the responses. I guess I need to start putting some defenses on my ships. dawggie - they certainly seem to have in games I've played (now that I understand the system a little better!)