Are you happy with the game?

Strategist83 · April 24, 2006, 04:33

I'm certainly not. I'm going back to Civ 4. Too many bugs and a foolish AI in a single-player only game makes for a frustrating experience.

Solver · April 24, 2006, 07:37

It's hard to define happy

.

I've shelfed it and am back to playing Civ4. Then again, I mostly intended GalCiv2 as a break for me before I had started testing Warlords. The 1.1 update appears to fix a large number of things that I complained about, and I will definitely play GalCiv2 again someday.

bonscott · April 24, 2006, 09:03

Very happy. No bugs that I've encountered and very good AI. Much better then Civ 4, that's for sure.

I shelved it for Oblivion but once the 1.1 update is out then I'll take a break from Oblivion and play GC2 for a while at that point. Haven't touched Civ 4 since Feb. But I did launch it this weekend with the new patch and started getting sucked in to another game.

Basically they all rock and will get my game playing time this summer.

teaster · April 24, 2006, 09:17

Very happy, it put Civ IV temporarily on the shelf (don't worry Ghengis I'll be back to put you in your place). It's allowed me to hold off on getting a new video card for Oblivion (that delay is also only temporary). With an expansion for Hearts of Iron 2 coming out soon I have a rare overload of good games I want to play.

A good problem to have though.

tiny toad · April 24, 2006, 09:17

Oh..err..i hope im not adding fuel to a fire here.
BUT ...I love it and am still playing it
One irony i have is when i was playing Gal Civ 1
I used to think how great it would be to play another race apart from the humans, now that I`ve got this option I ONLY PLAY AS HUMANS...!!!

....Go figure cos i dunno.
Honestly though i have played MOO2/MOO3 Gal Civ1 and this version is IMO the best, really good fun with humor mixed in

Stuie · April 24, 2006, 09:19

I'm happy... but I've actually gone back to modding RTW while waiting for the 1.1 patch.

tiny toad · April 24, 2006, 10:30

BTW Stuie love the Star Names Mod
I use it.....

Hansolo88 · April 24, 2006, 13:25

I'm very happy, and Stardock's support has been and will continue to be great. It remains one of the best strategy games developed with the single-player experience in mind.

I hang out on strategy game forums a lot and the simple truth is that there are always going to be a few people who loudly declare the game a failure. It doesn't matter how good the game is, everyone has different ideas of the ideal game and there are always going to be bugs and issues. In my mind its how committed the developer is to improve the game over time that makes or breaks it, and the reason the forum community exists is to help other people enjoy and improve the game. So simply declaring a game a failure really accomplishes nothing and, while everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinion, doesn't do anything for the community that is trying to enjoy the game.

Strategist83 · April 24, 2006, 14:43

I don't know... I really want to like it but I find the AI to be incredibly frustratingly idiotic. For example, in my game yesterday the Arceans built only transports and no combat ships. I think it did this because I hadn't built any fighters and so it was lead into thinking it could just invade my planets with undefended transports. Well, obviously I would simply quickly build a few powerful fighters with which I destroyed the entire Arcean invasion force (some 10-20 troop transports). For a single-player only game an AI this stupid is simply unacceptable.

Well, I'm glad others are enjoying it. I seem to be the one person in the whole world who doesn't (the reviewers are raving).

I will say, though, that I admire Stardock for being so open and informative towards the community. I'm not very optimistic, but perhaps a future patch will win me over.

bonscott · April 24, 2006, 14:59

Quote:

Originally posted by Strategist83
I don't know... I really want to like it but I find the AI to be incredibly frustratingly idiotic. For example, in my game yesterday the Arceans built only transports and no combat ships. I think it did this because I hadn't built any fighters and so it was lead into thinking it could just invade my planets with undefended transports. Well, obviously I would simply quickly build a few powerful fighters with which I destroyed the entire Arcean invasion force (some 10-20 troop transports). For a single-player only game an AI this stupid is simply unacceptable.

Well, I'm glad others are enjoying it. I seem to be the one person in the whole world who doesn't (the reviewers are raving).

I will say, though, that I admire Stardock for being so open and informative towards the community. I'm not very optimistic, but perhaps a future patch will win me over.

Certainly nothing wrong with not liking the game, not everyone will.

I guess I would ask what level are you playing? Anything less then "Intellegent" the AI does stupid things on purpose to simulate a newbie player. I've played several games on higher levels and have never seen the AI do anything that dumb once I got above Intellegent. Try playing on Maso.

If it is actually doing that on the higher levels then I'd suggest sending in a saved game to Brad or support and let them look at it.

Stuie · April 24, 2006, 15:15

Quote:

Originally posted by tiny toad
BTW Stuie love the Star Names Mod
I use it.....

Wow - thanks! I've been meaning to clean it up and post a new version - a few less AC-that and DM-this. Maybe when 1.1 is finally out...

That's going to be the extent of my modding for GalCiv2; I've wasted way too many hours modding RTW.

Hansolo88 · April 24, 2006, 15:36

Quote:

Originally posted by Strategist83
I don't know... I really want to like it but I find the AI to be incredibly frustratingly idiotic. For example... For a single-player only game an AI this stupid is simply unacceptable.

Well, I'm glad others are enjoying it. I seem to be the one person in the whole world who doesn't (the reviewers are raving).

I will say, though, that I admire Stardock for being so open and informative towards the community. I'm not very optimistic, but perhaps a future patch will win me over.

I'm sorry if I sounded harsh, Strategist83. You sound like a very reasonable guy and I certainly didn't mean to put you down, it sounds like you really are giving the game a chance and just not liking it. I hope you stick around and find ways to improve your game experience!

Hansolo88 · April 24, 2006, 15:39

Quote:

Originally posted by Strategist83
For example, in my game yesterday the Arceans built only transports and no combat ships. I think it did this because I hadn't built any fighters and so it was lead into thinking it could just invade my planets with undefended transports. Well, obviously I would simply quickly build a few powerful fighters with which I destroyed the entire Arcean invasion force (some 10-20 troop transports).

I was playing a game just the other day against the Arceans, 1v1 on a tiny galaxy, and the exact same thing happened! They suddenly started building nothing but troop transports. This almost certainly has to be a bug, it happened right after I had patched to 1.1 Beta 5. There is no way the AI is supposed to operate that way.

So stick around, man, a lot of this stuff is probably gonna get fixed, we can only hope.

Strategist83 · April 24, 2006, 16:07

No offence taken.

Beta 5 is out? I'll have a go at it.

Solver · April 24, 2006, 16:32

One big mistake made with GalCiv2, IMO, is having the default difficulty where it is. It creates an impression of the AI being much weaker than it is. On the higher levels, I wasn't exactly blown away by the AI, but it was decent.

The default level is, IIRC, at Sub-Normal intelligence. Worse yet, what's called "Normal" intelligence is actually still an AI that is being dumb on purpose.

I actually like the idea of low levels where the AI simulates newbie strateges, it's certainly good for newcomers and casual players, but IMHO, the defaults and labelling aren't handled quite well.

Peets · April 24, 2006, 16:44

I'm very happy about it. Civ 4 has been kicked in the closet for a long time already. Maybe I should try it again but I'm still waiting for my tech tree they "promised" to send. I find the AI more terrible at Civ 4 then GalCiv 2. You see much more bonus given to the AI in civ 4 then in GalCiv 2.

Though atm, I have put it away until 1.1 is complete.

Hansolo88 · April 24, 2006, 17:11

Regarding AI difficulties, Brad should have done what he said he wanted to do a while ago: have separate sliders for AI intelligence and economy boosts; basically letting people set a "custom" difficulty level. So you could have a smart AI with a heavy economy handicap, or vice versa, or whatever you wanted. Ideally, the difficulty interface should also look more like it was in Civ III, a spectrum that is completely visible so that players know where they are and how many more steps there are in each direction.

I agree, the naming has also been a huge problem; Brad wanted people not to be put-off by getting beat by the AI early on, but the end result was more people being put off by how easy the AI is on "normal".

Quote:

Originally posted by Peets
Though atm, I have put it away until 1.1 is complete.

Shouldn't have to wait long, I hear its coming out sometime this week... I can't wait to see if they actually post the full change-log though, it is going to be dozens of pages long.