Galactic Civilizations 2

[SUBMAN1]

This is one highly addictive game! Who turned me on to this game here anyway? Crud! It consumed many hours this weekend.

-S

PS. Finially have a defence against the Dread Lord Frigate. I used to lose a cruiser battling those guys. Finially this Corvette has the armor to stand up to them and win. This ship is a one trick expensive pony though - built specifically to take on one type of ship and survive that ship. No defence against anything else except Dread Lord ships, and it also has a weapon type that the Dread lord ships are vulnerable to.

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/3455/gc2br4.jpg

[KeptinCranky]

Dammit! :D Now that i've seen this I'll have to play it again, totally addictive... :doh:

but... vulnerable to exponential growth exploits... apart from that this is such a cool game, I can spend hours just designing and assembling spaceships :up:

[SUBMAN1]

Yep - addicting allright!

Dread Lord Dreadnoughts! I finially have a solution to them instead of having them blow up my very expensive starbases, and destroy all my ships!

The last ship was designed to live through a fight and survive (though damaged) with a single Dread Lord Frigate. This ship is a monster, but regardless it is a suicide ship! The Dread Lord Dreadnoughts are unstoppable, so this ship is designed to die, but it will launch a full volly from it's anti-matter torpedo batteries, all 20 of them, before it is destroyed! This will severely damage the Dreadnought forcing it into an instantaneous retreat.

I just used my first one, and it worked remarkably well. Prior to The Battleship's destruction, the Dreadnaught was so severely damaged, I am estimating that Dreadnought will be gone for at least 2 years game time (I'm guessing over 100 weeks + another 10+ for transit time)! Expensive, but the amount of material saved from rampaging aliens was probably 3 fold or more!

-S


http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/7338/gc22zs0.jpg

[Ramius]

Change your shortcut to this....

drive letter:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\galciv2.exe" cheat

Then once in game press CTRL+B (as many times as you want) and get loads of Battleships :up:


Cheats apart, this is an addictive game :damn:

[Rilder]

I used to play it, I love the unit customization and combat, but I fell out of it at some point and have been unable to get back into it.

[DemonTraitor]

Never heard of this game - looks interesting. I love space sims etc - used to hump Elite Frontier to death on my trusty Amiga :rock:

The bigger the game the better IMO. although most of the biggest games are monthly subscription stuff, which is poo. Would be ok if the subscription was a reasonable price, like £5 or less a month, any more than that and it like paying for a new pre-owned game a month, and unless you hump the game to death without rest, then you are basically paying for the game to sit there and fester.

I tried the EVE trial, but would prefer a game that is more of a simulator, where you can actually go exploring a massive massive universe, with the possibility of never seeing anyone else. Transmitting messages, which take days to arrive anywhere at the speed of light. Terraforming planets, mining, building space-stations. Discovering new species of animals, races, some very advance, some nasty... but this will be too big a game for our current technology to handle I expect. The universe will have to be modelled as big as possible, so that even spending years on it you never find anything. Probably a bit extreme for some people, but that sort of thing really floats my boat :D

The ships will have to be proper Sim category ships, like Space Shuttle Missions 2007, and where you have re-direct power from one system to another to counter a micro-meteor hit. You need loads of crew to keep the ship running, and you can take over any position you want, like in MicroProse B17. The ship system will be completely programmable, so you can completely re-design how everything functions, and you can trade system-apps with each-other. like someone designs a very efficient data-compression tool to speed up data transfer, or a systems that monitor the whole of the ship to detect component failures etc.

Jees, I think I was born waaaay to early :( :damn:

Well, in the mean time I will check out this GC2 game :)

[SUBMAN1]

Its worth it. Rarely does one come across such an addictive game.

-S

[Raptor1]

@TraitorDemon - It's a strategy game, not a space sim

I...need...to...get...it...

[SUBMAN1]

@TraitorDemon - It's a strategy game, not a space sim

I...need...to...get...it...Its great! I took the technology route! I am king of technology in the universe, but at the expense of not being able to be financially rich, nor can I manage a massive fleet. I am maintaining about 1/3rd the income of the richest empire. I am also maintaining about 1/2 that of the strongest military. I will say this though, not only would you not want to go up against even a single ship of my Navy, but I can get massive cash for a battle on a whim for selling my technology to races I consider friendly! It is the only way I can compete, but I am surviving!

I am probably the only Empire that can go up against the Dread Lords and possibly win too with minimal loses. I sent the Dread Lords from the #1 militarily in the Universe to #5 using my two specialized ships above! That Medium sized ship by the way is incredibly expensive at about 22,500 bc, so I can only afford 1, but it does the job. It is severely damaged in my current save game, but it is still alive!

-S

[GlobalExplorer]

GalCiv2 is one of the two or three recent titles that still deserve the name strategy game. In restrospect, it was by far the best game I played in all of 2006. Some months ago I have ordered the Twilight of The Arnor expansion, but had no time yet to get back into it. Well, as the industry turns out nothing but crap anyway, there is still a lifetime.

Highly recommended!!

[GlobalExplorer]

For the other GalVic players. My favourite shipdesigns, admittedly exploits, were:

1) the Comet, using the maximum number of warp drives and 1 weapon system. This resulted in a speed of 16-24, while the AI was still at 5-6. Completely impossible for the AI to stop, when used to disrupt their trade routes and destroy basic space stations.

2) The Horus, using a transporter hull with the maximum number of sensors, resulting in insane sensor range.

You see that I always invested in propulsion technology and speed as well as miniaturization. However I heard these exploits were fixed in the current versions, and speed was toned down. So I might have to develop a better strategy next time.

[SUBMAN1]

I've got tuny fighters using advanced technology that can take on Frigates in a one to one fight, no matter what weapons the Frigates are using!

-S

[Raptor1]

Well, the only proper strategy games I'm playing right now are Hearts of Iron 2 and Victoria, GC2 could be a nice addition to the collection, will get it as soon as I can

[SUBMAN1]

Well, the only proper strategy games I'm playing right now are Hearts of Iron 2 and Victoria, GC2 could be a nice addition to the collection, will get it as soon as I canI bet you could find it pretty cheap too.

http://www.amazon.com/Galactic-Civilizations-2-Dread-Lords/dp/B000BPBAPI

-S

[Oberon]

Well, the only proper strategy games I'm playing right now are Hearts of Iron 2 and Victoria, GC2 could be a nice addition to the collection, will get it as soon as I can

Gah, no wonder your western front defence is so good :damn: If I had known I was up against a fellow HOI2 player... :lol:

[GlobalExplorer]

Tip: you can also buy GC2 directly from Stardock. This is especially recommended if you are from Europe (the exchange rate makes it almost a steal). I guess the good people at stardock have some benefit if you buy directly and bypass any publishing deals.

Well, the only proper strategy games I'm playing right now are Hearts of Iron 2 and Victoria, GC2 could be a nice addition to the collection, will get it as soon as I can
I also highly recommend right now American Civil War and BoA2 Wars in America http://www.ageod.com/en/index.php

[SUBMAN1]

Tip: you can also buy GC2 directly from Stardock. This is especially recommended if you are from Europe (the exchange rate makes it almost a steal). I guess the good people at stardock have some benefit if you buy directly and bypass any publishing deals.

Well, the only proper strategy games I'm playing right now are Hearts of Iron 2 and Victoria, GC2 could be a nice addition to the collection, will get it as soon as I can
I also highly recommend right now American Civil War and BoA2 Wars in America http://www.ageod.com/en/index.php
I take it those are the 1 or 2 others games that you mention above that is worthy of the 'strategy' title?

-S

[Raptor1]

Most of the good 'strategy' games today are fun, but rarely require any...strategy...

[Rilder]

GC2, even on the easier difficulties can still give you a jolly good whipping sometimes.

Though thats probably because I suck.


Also Ship designing is worth the game + expansions.

[GlobalExplorer]

I take it those are the 1 or 2 others games that you mention above that is worthy of the 'strategy' title?

better count them as 1, because they run on the same engine.

Besides those and some butt ugly indies, which I can't recommend to anyone, there's not much else I found that involves real strategy. And I sifted a lot.

Any recommendations? That's what I come here for most of the time. But spare me the odd 3rd person squad shooters with toy tanks and green health bars.

In the past I played to death several PG's and Close Combat 2 and then I had a three year relationship with Shogun Total War that was abruptly ended.

[GlobalExplorer]

GC2, even on the easier difficulties can still give you a jolly good whipping sometimes.

Yeah that's what counts, strong AI + challenging gameplay + functional interface + suitable for adults.

I've got tuny fighters using advanced technology that can take on Frigates in a one to one fight, no matter what weapons the Frigates are using!

My strategy always involved sensor ships (tradehulls) prowling around (to always see what the AI is doing), extremely fast, lightly armed fighters that can strike where the AI has no defenses, and of course slow interceptors with extreme firepower for the defense of my planets.

[KeptinCranky]

Well, to be honest, GC2 is in many ways Master of Orion II (which still rocks) but more pimped out, some more options in all aspects of the game, some more variety, and better looks, and with the added benefit of designing the look of the ship as well as the weapons/systems

I've found GC2 as bit exploitable, which is a shame, it's fun though.
But for the real startegy stuff I'd also go for the Paradox games, especially Hearts of Iron

good ship designs to do at or shortly after startup are:

explorer/scout:
cargo hull with survey module, 2 or 3 sensors, 1 life support and all the engines you can conveniently stick on there

faster colony ship: This game is all about getting as many planets asap, so faster colony ships give you an edge over the AI

[GlobalExplorer]

faster colony ship: This game is all about getting as many planets asap, so faster colony ships give you an edge over the AI

Thats correct, build fast ships for the colony rush. But with the expansion you get radioactive worlds and such that can only be settled later in the game when you have developed the technology.

Concerning exploits, that's also correct. I had a nasty habit of restarting until my initial world had a 700% manufacturing bonus and until I had an advantageous star distribution. But the simply solution turned out simply not to do it, or to limit myself to generating three galaxies and saving each, then I would have to chose one.

Another thing was that the anomalies were created only at the beginning of the game, I would have preferred to get them to appear randomly or dependent of technology.

[SUBMAN1]

faster colony ship: This game is all about getting as many planets asap, so faster colony ships give you an edge over the AI
Thats correct, build fast ships for the colony rush. But with the expansion you get radioactive worlds and such that can only be settled later in the game when you have developed the technology.

Concerning exploits, that's also correct. I had a nasty habit of restarting until my initial world had a 700% manufacturing bonus and until I had an advantageous star distribution. But the simply solution turned out simply not to do it, or to limit myself to generating three galaxies and saving each, then I would have to chose one.

Another thing was that the anomalies were created only at the beginning of the game, I would have preferred to get them to appear randomly or dependent of technology.I didn't do these things. Not much in advantages for my starting planet. I am by no means king, but I think anyone that actually attacked will be sorry.

I've taken the Yor down from being #1 on the list to #7 with my nearly indestructable (from their perspective) cruisers though. Pimped out with many phasors, the cruisers can wipe out a small frigate fleet while taking only a few HP damage. I got fast troop transports with 2500 capacity too, so the cruiser goes in, wipes the defenders clean, and then I invade. Picked up 2 more worlds last night. I would have done more, but the Dread Lords paid a visit. Slowed all my plans down to almost nill.

-S

[SUBMAN1]

Just had my tiny little fighters (not even my best version) take on an enemy fleet - they lost! One of the enemy ships was even a Frigate!

-S

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/8135/gc23nz1.jpg

[GlobalExplorer]

My guess is your little fighters are so good because you reached technologically omnipotence. How about raising the difficulty by 1-2 notches? As we agreed before, this is good old strategy and a players competence will grow drastically with time.

[SUBMAN1]

My guess is your little fighters are so good because you reached technologically omnipotence. How about raising the difficulty by 1-2 notches? As we agreed before, this is good old strategy and a players competence will grow drastically with time.In my opinion, they aren't strong enough yet! :D My current version now has 7 hit points of damage capacity, and has the best armor, the best shields, and best missile defense the tech tree has to offer!

My tech rating was 168 last I checked. These Yor guys I've pretty much ground into nothing militarily. I'm now just slowly taking over their planets as I wipe them out.

-S

[KeptinCranky]

Hah! the old restarting trick :D I never actually do that because I once watched a friend play Birth of the Federation, he spent the entire night restarting after 15 turns because the desired planets weren't withing initial range....after 30 restarts or so I called him insane :lol:

I think it's fair to use the ship customization to beat the AI on higher difficulties, but if I find out it gets silly I'll limit myself in that too.

[GlobalExplorer]

I guess I can understand the problem your friend had. I also wanted to have my planets in range of each other so I don't have to spend the whole game scrolling and flying around. I also never liked to have other factions planets in my sector. Imo the random generator turns out mostly unbalanced worlds where you are either overpowered or really handicapped, maybe the art is to chose one where the game gets really challenging. Might try that next time and chose my galaxy accordingly ..

[SUBMAN1]

I guess I can understand the problem your friend had. I also wanted to have my planets in range of each other so I don't have to spend the whole game scrolling and flying around. I also never liked to have other factions planets in my sector. Imo the random generator turns out mostly unbalanced worlds where you are either overpowered or really handicapped, maybe the art is to chose one where the game gets really challenging. Might try that next time and chose my galaxy accordingly ..They put my current game in a gigantic galaxy smack dab in the middle almost. I control almost no special star bases (only one matter of fact) so I am at a disadvantage, but I'm trying to make that up from a technological perspective.

The fun part is taking what you are given, no matter how bad, and running with it. I am sort of making this work, and I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel in a way that I think I can deafeat all the other races, though there is still a harrowing balance if I can make it successful. I cannot afford to be attacked by more than 2 factions at once. To take that on might be the death of me. Diplomacy is being used to the fullest extent!

-S

[KeptinCranky]

I just went and started a gigantic galaxy game, but it was obvious fairly quickly that I was going to have a huge confrontation with one of my own custom races since their territory roughly backed me into a corner

The worst part, they are the early military expansion custom race, whereas I was playing a bunch of isolasionist pacifists... :88) I was doomed....

D'OH! oh well, win some lose some :D

[SUBMAN1]

I just went and started a gigantic galaxy game, but it was obvious fairly quickly that I was going to have a huge confrontation with one of my own custom races since their territory roughly backed me into a corner

The worst part, they are the early military expansion custom race, whereas I was playing a bunch of isolasionist pacifists... :88) I was doomed....

D'OH! oh well, win some lose some :DI'm currently playing the Dark Avatar version. i wonder if normal is any different? I've never played the original.

-S

[SUBMAN1]

What is up with the Snathi? Crap! Little evil squirrels that breed military ships like rabbits! Got to knock them out fast now. They are spreading way too far!

Been using them for free money from old technology that I sell them. They somehow know how to rake in the cash fast! Much faster than me, yet they only have one planet and a bunch of starbases?

-S

[GlobalExplorer]

What is up with the Snathi? Crap! Little evil squirrels that breed military ships like rabbits! Got to knock them out fast now. They are spreading way too far!

I think they are limited to only 1 planet so you can dispose of them. And I love the event when they steal the technology of the most advanced race and sell it to everyone. It's these small details that explain why the game stays interesting even long after the mid game.

The Snathi. LOL.

http://www.galciv2.com/screenshots/gameplay/PowerD59.jpg

[KeptinCranky]

Dark Avatar here too, normal misses out on some features like the toxic/radiated etc. planets. In the original I've also never had one of my own custom races appear as a random opponent.

[GlobalExplorer]

Get Twilight of the Arnor, it adds a lot in terms of gameplay and visuals, I also heard there is a new expansion aroud the corner.

[Rilder]

Just ordered Twilight of the anor.

\o/

You bloody lot made me though.

Also:

GalCiv2: 4.5 Hours spent designing ships, .5 Hours spent smashing end turn.

[SUBMAN1]

Just ordered Twilight of the anor.

\o/

You bloody lot made me though.

Also:

GalCiv2: 4.5 Hours spent designing ships, .5 Hours spent smashing end turn.Look at the bright side - you get an auto ship designer in this one and it even automagically names it!

-S

[Rilder]

I turned it off because its annoying and unnessesary.

Besides building your own ships is the best thing about Gal-civ 2.

Usually I just design a few base designs and then I can easily retrofit them for other uses and upgrades.

For example both colony ships and Freighters would be required to make atmospheric desents (trading and colonizing) so refitting a colony ship into a cargo ship wouldn't be hard.

Also an early Variation of my Screamer Class Frigate, the wings (In rp theory) twist around and allow the ship to fight in atmospheric conditions like a Helocopter

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s311/Rilder/screamerlightfrigate.jpg

[Wolfehunter]

I love this game from stardock. I enjoy creating my uber ships hehehe. Overly large killers hehehe.

Great game cheap and Free from DRMs!!! :rock:

[SUBMAN1]

I turned it off because its annoying and unnessesary.

Besides building your own ships is the best thing about Gal-civ 2.

Usually I just design a few base designs and then I can easily retrofit them for other uses and upgrades.

For example both colony ships and Freighters would be required to make atmospheric desents (trading and colonizing) so refitting a colony ship into a cargo ship wouldn't be hard.

Also an early Variation of my Screamer Class Frigate, the wings (In rp theory) twist around and allow the ship to fight in atmospheric conditions like a Helocopter

Any reports? All I have is Dark Avatar. Wondering if I should upgrade, especially with a new pack coming out?

[Rilder]

Eh?

I haven't played much tbh, Impulse said my install was ****ed up so I'm doing a full reinstall and even having a hard copy of the main version of galciv2 I still have to do a 1.1 gig download, which is even more of a pain because impulse likes to disconnect.

[SUBMAN1]

Eh?

I haven't played much tbh, Impulse said my install was ****ed up so I'm doing a full reinstall and even having a hard copy of the main version of galciv2 I still have to do a 1.1 gig download, which is even more of a pain because impulse likes to disconnect.

1.1 GB is not a whole lot. Should take you what? 10 minutes unless they have really slow servers. I never tried them. I hate transmitting my IP along with a serial over the inet. Its like a tag. MS started this. Everyone else is jumping on.

-S

[SUBMAN1]

Eh?

I haven't played much tbh, Impulse said my install was ****ed up so I'm doing a full reinstall and even having a hard copy of the main version of galciv2 I still have to do a 1.1 gig download, which is even more of a pain because impulse likes to disconnect.

1.1 GB is not a whole lot. Should take you what? 10 minutes unless they have really slow servers. I never tried them. I hate transmitting my IP along with a serial over the inet. Its like a tag. MS started this. Everyone else is jumping on. GC 2 Gold came with version 1.5 anyway which is or was the latest that I saw.

-S

[Rilder]

1.1 GB is not a whole lot. Should take you what? 10 minutes unless they have really slow servers. I never tried them. I hate transmitting my IP along with a serial over the inet. Its like a tag. MS started this. Everyone else is jumping on.

-S

Your thinking that everybody has your connection though

I have a 32KB/s connection, I can download about a gig a day. (thats full throttle for 24 hours)

Also my Galciv2 CD is GalCiv2 Vanilla, not gold, GalCiv2 1.0

[SUBMAN1]

1.1 GB is not a whole lot. Should take you what? 10 minutes unless they have really slow servers. I never tried them. I hate transmitting my IP along with a serial over the inet. Its like a tag. MS started this. Everyone else is jumping on.

-S
Your thinking that everybody has your connection though

I have a 32KB/s connection, I can download about a gig a day. (thats full throttle for 24 hours)

Also my Galciv2 CD is GalCiv2 Vanilla, not gold, GalCiv2 1.0 Yep - just figured that out to about 9 hours. Ouch!

-S

[GlobalExplorer]

Any reports? All I have is Dark Avatar. Wondering if I should upgrade, especially with a new pack coming out?
I can not say much as it still sits on my harddisk, mostly unplayed. What I can say is that - to me - Dark Avatar appeared to concentrate on better combat, were as Twilight added a lot of changes to the tech tree and races, as well as the graphics.

[Raptor1]

Okay, I got it, I got it all, all of it, if it's worse than what you people say I'll have all your heads

So far I'm enjoying it though, have to see if I still do after I learn to play

[GlobalExplorer]

I don't think you will regret it. It gets really engrossing when you have your first intergalactic war.

Tip for beginners: Don't wait too long until you start investing in your military. the other factions will check your military rating and if it is zero, will be much more inclined to attack you. So some crappy fighters can be a good investment in the beginning, later on you can start building a real fleet.

I also recommend researching technologies first that gives bonusses to research / manufacturing and trying to mine manufacturing / research resources if they are in your reach. Propulsion / speed is also very important in the beginning (resource/colony rush), then later on think about how important miniaturization is, as well as building up trade fleets.

And always make use of planetary bonusses, especially the 300%/700% ones. You know you can buy your first factory, this is definitely a good investment when you have a manufacturing bonus.

[KeptinCranky]

I always buy the first factory on my homeworld, then buy the first colony ship, then the next turn I buy a research lab, this gives a ncie head start early on...

It's also very important not to forget to change the spending sliders in the first turn, otherwise you'll only be spending 60% of your income on research and building...

[GlobalExplorer]

Yes I think max out research and manufacturing early on, you will be spending money faster but you have a buffer of several thousand BC.

[SUBMAN1]

My spending has been maxed at 100% for as long as I can remember. Someitmes to maintain it, you need to get cash from the other races, but there is no race that will turn down new tech to save some cash. I sell them old crappy techs so that I stay well ahead of them.

-S

[GlobalExplorer]

Which brings us to tech trading, a huge exploit in the original version. I think I consistently managed to become omnipotent mostly because of this.

[SUBMAN1]

Which brings us to tech trading, a huge exploit in the original version. I think I consistently managed to become omnipotent mostly because of this.I am not omnipotent. And I lost my dread lord killer from earlier in this thread, but I will say it takes me less ships to do the same thing!

-S

[GlobalExplorer]

Well I don't know if I was omnipotent either, I was just no1 in almost everything with an astronomic lead in technology, and all the enemy spaceships went just click: poof, click: poof. I usually stopped playing at that point. I guess I have to start playing without any cheap tricks (I mentioned a lot of them in this thread) and play on hard difficulty, then it would be really challenging. The game has that potential.

[Raptor1]

I just started a game in an immense galaxy, it turned out waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...aaay too boring, remind me to never do that again

[CaptHawkeye]

As cool as I think GalCiv 2 is, the game really is all about the initial colony rush. If you've got one more colony than your opponent you pretty much win. It would help if the developers found some way to balance others aspects of the game a little more.

[GlobalExplorer]

Are you talking about the vanilla version of 2006 or today with all add-ons / updates?

If it's the first case I agree. But I think they had done a lot to rebalance the game in that respect? Think of the radioactive / poison worlds that are only available if you have developed the technology.

But as someone already said, the game is a bit too exploitable, that is true.

[SUBMAN1]

Well, I am not the first in anything but technology. That is probably why the game is more fun for me. The AI anticipates hardship to. Dread Lords show up and start blowing up my starbases. Within the first round, an AI constructor is already headed to my yellow Mineral thing! I have no way to stop him unless I go to war!

-S

[SUBMAN1]

This game is the funniest damn game ever! Someone screwed up and unleashed Peacekeeper ships across the galaxy! Everyone military is being reduced to 0, including my own!

-S

[SUBMAN1]

I won. The Peacekeepers screwed up everything, so I went for a tech victory instead.

Someone beat this for income. My average income was not even positive! I had a negative: -1738 bc credits per month income! :D :up: I bet I might be one of the few that ever managed to win with negative income the entire game!

-S

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/3331/endih1.jpg

[DeepIron]

After reading through this thread, sounds like GC2 is a hoot. I see I can get the GC2: Ultimate Bundle Pack as a d/l for $60.00...

If the game is a good as you guys make it out to be, I guess I'll be a bit poorer by morning... ;)

[Skorn]

Well you guys convinced me to buy it today...played it for a few hours tonight and had fun. I probably still don't know how the play the game, but it was still fun to have free reign over my empire :)

[SUBMAN1]

Let's see if anyone can match my massive negative income and still win! Talk about doing things backwards!

-S

[Raptor1]

I found that if you have some nice research going on you can do fine (sort of) by selling the technology to the pathetic lesser beings for big moolahs

Don't think I could deal with -1700bc/m though

[SUBMAN1]

I found that if you have some nice research going on you can do fine (sort of) by selling the technology to the pathetic lesser beings for big moolahs

Don't think I could deal with -1700bc/m thoughWhats up with the Peacekeepers? They showed up with unstoppable ships. Massive in scale with 10 to a fleet? Utimate Logistics only allowed 5 for me! They had more Disruptors mounted on a ship than I could, giving them massive firepower. They also backed it up with over 1000 in shield defense? This ship is cheating! I will take a pic in a second! The best technology could not take out these massive fleets! They even could move massive numbers of turns per turn, and destroyed everything regardless that they were only supposed to destroy military ships outside of their scope of space? Starbases, and frieghters were on the list even!

-S

[DeepIron]

Curious, Stardock's new title, "Sins of a Solar Empire" http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com/ sounds a whole lot like GC2. Anyone playing SSE?:hmm:

[GlobalExplorer]

Curious, Stardock's new title, "Sins of a Solar Empire" http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com/ sounds a whole lot like GC2. Anyone playing SSE?:hmm:

Except the music and graphics style they have next to nothing in common. GC2 is turn based, sins is RTS, which I hate. But it seems to be a pretty popular game among RTS fans.

[SUBMAN1]

Curious, Stardock's new title, "Sins of a Solar Empire" http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com/ sounds a whole lot like GC2. Anyone playing SSE?:hmm:
Except the music and graphics style they have next to nothing in common. GC2 is turn based, sins is RTS, which I hate. But it seems to be a pretty popular game among RTS fans.
When they make a campaign for SSE, then I'll get it. Right now, its basically an online RTS game.

I like Homeworld so I like this kind of game. I didn't get into Homeworld 2 though.

-S

[Raptor1]

I still consider Homeworld and Homeworld 2 the best space RTS I have ever played

[DeepIron]

Hmm.. thx guys... Yeah, I'm liking the "turn based" game play of GC2 already... :up:

[SUBMAN1]

Hmm.. thx guys... Yeah, I'm liking the "turn based" game play of GC2 already... :up:

Think before you move. Its chess.

-S

[SUBMAN1]

I've got Twilight installed. Going for another go at it. I have an immense universe rolling this time.

Patched to 1.96. I refuse to use Stardock though. Thats a terrible way to force people to use your system.

-S

[GlobalExplorer]

I've got Twilight installed. Going for another go at it. I have an immense universe rolling this time.

Are you nuts? I checked this only once, and got like 200 billion stars, so no thanks.

Patched to 1.96. I refuse to use Stardock though. Thats a terrible way to force people to use your system.

-S

I hate that stuff too, and the praise stardock gets for that is undeserved. The bloody thing doesnt even let me specify where to store my damn files so I always have problems when my C: partition is full. Same with Impulse. Very stupid, superfluous programs.

[SUBMAN1]

I hate that stuff too, and the praise stardock gets for that is undeserved. The bloody thing doesnt even let me specify where to store my damn files so I always have problems when my C: partition is full. Same with Impulse. Very stupid, superfluous programs.My C: is nothing more than a swap file with a boot sector. There is no room for crap on my C drive - maybe less than 100 MB.

-S

[DeepIron]

The bloody thing doesnt even let me specify where to store my damn files so I always have problems when my C: partition is full. Same with Impulse.
Just a quick note: Impulse will let you specify where your install, temp and archive dirs are located. Click the round "stardock" icon in the upper left hand corner and choose preferences. I had the same problem as GE the first time I used Impulse... filled up my C drive...

BTW, as much as I hate using programs like Impulse (I'm old skool "download and install" kinda guy), it works pretty well. I purchased the GC2: Ultimate Bundle, paid through Paypal. Stardock sent an email with all the appropriate links and info. Then I downloaded, installed and ran Impulse, plugged in the serial numbers to register. The UB consists of all three games, Dread Lords, Dark Avatar and Twilight of the Arnor as three separate download/installs, each with it's own serial #.

Last note: Impulse currently downloads and installs only. The "Archive" feature is disabled so it's not possible to just download and burn to disk. It's supposed to be working in the near future...

Cheers!

[GlobalExplorer]

The bloody thing doesnt even let me specify where to store my damn files so I always have problems when my C: partition is full. Same with Impulse.
Just a quick note: Impulse will let you specify where your install, temp and archive dirs are located. Click the round "stardock" icon in the upper left hand corner and choose preferences. I had the same problem as GE the first time I used Impulse... filled up my C drive...
Thanks that will be handy in the future.

My C: is nothing more than a swap file with a boot sector. There is no room for crap on my C drive - maybe less than 100 MB.
Same here. C is 6144MB and it's a necessity, because I use an old image program that backups whole partitions including empty space. One of the most reliable pieces of software I have seen my entire life.

[DeepIron]

If you haven't bought Twilight of the Arnor, you're missing out on some cool stuff. Stardock added Map, Scenario, Campaign, Tech and Ship Editors along with an "Improvements" editor (don't know what it does yet), all of them accessible from the menu screen... :up:

[SUBMAN1]

If you haven't bought Twilight of the Arnor, you're missing out on some cool stuff. Stardock added Map, Scenario, Campaign, Tech and Ship Editors along with an "Improvements" editor (don't know what it does yet), all of them accessible from the menu screen... :up:Playing it now. This time out, I'm not top dog tech wise. I opted for a planet grab this time. When the money starts rolling in from all my planets, then I will crush them on the tech tree!

I hold more planets than any other race so far.

-S

[GlobalExplorer]

I used to do that too (settle as many planets as possible) but then there's always a dangerous point early on when you run out of funds (if you dont happen to find any cash anomalies) ! It's painful if you must lower social / military production in order to get some meagre 20bc/a extra.

[Rilder]

TA is indeed nice, the more unique planet build trees is quite cool imho.

[SUBMAN1]

TA is indeed nice, the more unique planet build trees is quite cool imho.Yep. I just got my butt kicked by it too. Only 3 races left (including me - and from 10 races total - 9 + me). I had an alliance with one that all a sudden had 100 days till accention. Great. Have to go to war with them. I didn't expect to have to fight who they were allined with too - 3 on one. My superior tech kicked many of their ships back to cold space, but there were just too many. I had to try or lose the game, and try as a might, there was no winning against both of them. They had fleets of battleships.

-S

PS. One thing I notice in this one is that no matter how bad ass your diplomacy is, other races don't give up tech too easy anymore. I usually had to trade 2 techs for one this go around in TofA.

[DeepIron]

I usually had to trade 2 techs for one this go around in TofA.

Yeah, I noticed that too. Really makes me think about what I want to "give up"...

[Peto]

Great. I just noticed this thread. the reason I hate GalCiv is because everytime I play it I only get about 3 hours sleep :shifty:. Makes me crabby at work the next day (stayed up all d*** night just to lose :nope: )!

I may have to pick up TA. Haven't checked that out yet.

Impressive vitory Subman--winning with negative income :hmm:!

[SUBMAN1]

Impressive vitory Subman--winning with negative income :hmm:!That would be much more hard to accomplish in TofA. No one gives up tech in TofA without you giving up 2x more!

-S

[SUBMAN1]

I usually had to trade 2 techs for one this go around in TofA.
Yeah, I noticed that too. Really makes me think about what I want to "give up"...Yep. Makes Super diplomacy much less valuable than it once was. Matter of fact, it killed it. No reason to have it anymore. Play balance feels a little screwed up this way. Old way was slightly better.

-S

[CaptainHaplo]

I have GC2 but never got the last expansion. However, since your enjoyed GC, have any of you tried Sins? (Sins of a Solar Empire)

I have it - and its amazing how Stardock took some of the most successful things OUT in Sins - and its still a dang good game. The tech tree is WAY smaller, there is no ship building/configuration - travel is limited to jump lanes - but its still bloody addictive.

Yes - MoO2 was one of the best. MoO 3 I have to admit I was dissapointed in. It has potential, but it really was a step back in so many ways.....

If you enjoyed the free form play of MoO2 - then another old but good one is Imperium Galactica 2. I still have my copy and it runs fine on XP or Vista provided you get the 1.08 compatibility update.

[SUBMAN1]

I've currently got the universe in my grip! You can't win the old fashioned way of building and then conquering the AI, so the other empires must be dealt with accordingly.

How to win? Diplomacy has come to save me in that once again. Make everyone fight everyone but you! for a few bc (I'm guessing about 1500), any alien empire can be made to fight another! If one race starts to lose against another, you can't let that other race get too powerful! So you give away some high tech ships to even the score! This way, you are not giving that race tech to built such bas ass ships, but you are given them the capability to use them! This keeps them weak when it comes their turn for conquering!

I've got this game down pat. I went from nearly last militarily to first now by a large margin, last economically, last production, last everything except research. I am now first in all! My win is in sight! I think I will win militarily now since every race is now severely weakened.

Great game. Thought I couldn't fight my way out of this one until I screwed things up for everyone but myself behind the scenes! Few other games capture this magic!

-S

[SUBMAN1]

This is the way I like my galaxy! In turmoil! Everyone who is left is fighting everyone! This not only prevents Alliances, but it keeps them angry at each other! I am the Terran Alliance on top. Only fighting one race and I am slowly taking over their worlds to add to my empire!

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/2814/gctz3.jpg




Here is the military picture. I am off the charts now when I thought I didn't have a chance in hell before!

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/7990/gc2ql5.jpg

[Zakalwe]

Oki,

now you got me in. Just ordered the Gold Edition for around 7 € at Amazon marketplace. I loved Master of Orion and Civ IV so I think I`ll like this one aswell.

Greets

Z.

[JoeCorrado]

I picked up GC2 on Friday and am about to pull my hair out.

What am I missing guys? I cannot build ships larger than a defender playing the Terran side. I have to be missing something obvious but I can't figure it out to save my empire! LOL

What do I have to do to be able to build larger, stronger ships- I am being killed in every game and I still haven't figured it out.

I thought it would have been medium hulls on the tech tree, but no dice.

PLEASE HELP!!! :huh:

[SUBMAN1]

I picked up GC2 on Friday and am about to pull my hair out.

What am I missing guys? I cannot build ships larger than a defender playing the Terran side. I have to be missing something obvious but I can't figure it out to save my empire! LOL

What do I have to do to be able to build larger, stronger ships- I am being killed in every game and I still haven't figured it out.

I thought it would have been medium hulls on the tech tree, but no dice.

PLEASE HELP!!! :huh:Start researching hull size. Doesn't matter much though at you stage since the enemy won't have the tech to build anything better than you if you manage it right.

I doubt another race will sell you hull size upgrades too. They horde it for themselves. You will have to reasearch it on your own.

Small is what you have. Medium is next.

-S

[DeepIron]

BTW guys, StarDock has the first beta for GC2 2.0 out and available. It mostly affects Twilight but fixes some stuff in Dark Avatar as well... You'll need Impulse to install it.

To save you some hair pulling (providing you have Impulse running correctly already) you'll need to click on the blue StarDock icon in the upper LH corner and then click the "Show prerelease versions" checkbox. That way, the updates will show up in the "Updates" tab and you can choose to install them.

[JoeCorrado]

I picked up GC2 on Friday and am about to pull my hair out.

What am I missing guys? I cannot build ships larger than a defender playing the Terran side. I have to be missing something obvious but I can't figure it out to save my empire! LOL

What do I have to do to be able to build larger, stronger ships- I am being killed in every game and I still haven't figured it out.

I thought it would have been medium hulls on the tech tree, but no dice.

PLEASE HELP!!! :huh:Start researching hull size. Doesn't matter much though at you stage since the enemy won't have the tech to build anything better than you if you manage it right.

I doubt another race will sell you hull size upgrades too. They horde it for themselves. You will have to reasearch it on your own.

Small is what you have. Medium is next.

-S
I researched to "medium hulls" and it says that several new ships would be available but all of them require atleast one new technology- it doesn't say what new technology that might be but on some of the ships it said more than one technology would be need with a not about miniaturization being one.

I am still unable to build anything other than a freighter (from the trade technology) and small ships like the defender- nothing else. This is why I have lost every time I've played. Every other race seems to be building frigates, corvettes, etc~ I'm stuck with patrol craft!

Could be an enjoyable game, but looks destined for file 13...

Any help is appreciated.

[SUBMAN1]

You need other techs to get 'pre-designed' canned ships. Nothing is stopping you from designing your own bigger ships. I don't think I ever used a canned ship in the entire game. Always too limited.

-S

[JoeCorrado]

You need other techs to get 'pre-designed' canned ships. Nothing is stopping you from designing your own bigger ships. I don't think I ever used a canned ship in the entire game. Always too limited.

-S

I went ahead and designed my own- I had thought that their would have been some stock ships of the larger variety.

Thanks for the help.

[SUBMAN1]

I went ahead and designed my own- I had thought that their would have been some stock ships of the larger variety.

Thanks for the help.No problem man. Even at the behinning of the game, you can build better ships than the canned ships. You can build cheaper colony transports (Think mass production instead of ship speed and you can save a bundle on resources and time to construct and get more transports to colonize more planets 3x as fast).

How about survey ships to analyze those rocks floating around? I built a ship small in size and had 3x of the fastest engines you could research - it covered 25 to 30 spaces in one turn, and usually surveyed two to three rocks in any given turn, increasing my abilities each time.

Just think what you want to accomplish and build a specialized ship for it. A few posts back, you can see I built a ship to take on the Dread Lords - basically send them packing, though it wasn't designed to survive the actual battle. It sent the Dread Lords cruiser packing for over 2 years time though so I had little worry about them doing me harm.

Just think outside the box - and you will win.

-S

[JoeCorrado]

The concept of "pirates" is fine, but to have hundreds of them appear all across the galaxy- all at once and most of them equipped with state of the art weapons (black hole eruptor) is stretching things past the breaking point.

These pirates just appeared out of the blue and instantly became the highest rated military in the galaxy. My nilitary is unable to deal with this! There are so many of them that building any type of a fleet capable of responding is impossible. These guys are everywhere, attacking everything at once.

Wow.

[Egan]

Amazon just dispatched my copy of the 'Ultimate Edition'. That will do nicely for X-mas i think. I can't believe that this game pretty much past me by for so long. Looking forward to playing it.

[Egan]

Installed it last night to have a quick look see and ended up playing for 4 hours. It looks like a keeper. I can't believe I haven't bought it before now.

[SUBMAN1]

Installed it last night to have a quick look see and ended up playing for 4 hours. It looks like a keeper. I can't believe I haven't bought it before now.Definitely a keeper.

-S

[JoeCorrado]

Installed it last night to have a quick look see and ended up playing for 4 hours. It looks like a keeper. I can't believe I haven't bought it before now.Definitely a keeper.

-S

I would say so! I became addicted to the game immediately... some very dangerous stuff here if you are married and your other half expects to get much of your time. :rotfl: