ULTIMATE EDITION
(24 September 2006, 04:16 | GalCiv) Stardock has released a new version of the original Galactic Civilizations game: Galactic Civilizations: Ultimate Edition.

Now you can get the complete Galactic Civilizations saga for only $29.95. This includes the original game, Altarian Prophecy and all the updates in-between.

If you`ve ever wanted to play the game that started it all at a reduced cost, now`s your chance. You can buy and immediately download it OR you can have a box sent to you (and still download it while you wait).

Visit the Stardock website to purchase this package. - Locutus

`SUCCEEDING THROUGH` ONLINE DISTRIBUTION
(29 September 2005, 22:34 | GalCiv) Just this month, a new gaming developer Manifesto Games (MG) was announced as just being founded on Next Generation (NG). Posted today, NG`s Colin Campbell interviews MG`s Greg Costikyan, the company`s Chief Executive Officer. From the introductory comments by Campbell:

[MG] is dedicated to gathering games together for digital download. Its tagline is, "PC gamers of the world unite - you have nothing to lose but your retail chains". The company is targeting PC titles too small or niche or strange for retail or traditional publishing consideration.

The third question Costikyan is asked is [h]ow will you find and source product? The answer, in part, reads: [w]e`ll... be looking at, for example, war games where there is a consumer following but which rarely has much in the way of retail distribution any more. For example, companies like Stardock [Systems] have sold more than 100,000 copies of Galactic Civilizations, almost all of them downloads, so there are examples of companies succeeding through online distribution.

A photograph of Costikyan accompanies the one-on-one chat. - DanQ

LIFE AFTER THE SEQUEL
(8 September 2005, 22:16 | GalCiv) It`s a long-term plan that Stardock Systems has in store for its in-house developed Galactic Civilizations for the PC, says the company`s Founder and President. Brad "Frogboy" Wardell made this announcement early last week. [We are going to] treat [GalCiv] and [sequel] Galactic Civilizations II[: Dread Lords] as very seperate things. The idea has been to ensure that gameplay, strategy, and other elements are different enough between games that people who like strategy games, particularly turn-based ones, will find reason to play GalCivI or GalCivII depending on their mood at the time.

As such, Stardock is commiting to keep enhancing GalCiv once there`s enough development resources available to do so. [B]ecause the games are so different, Wardell adds, we think that GalCivI may have a long-lasting appeal to strategy gamers.

Wardell served as Project Lead on the first GalCiv for the PC, and is now doing the same on GalCivII. - DanQ

GRAPHICS `HIDEOUS`, BUT OTHERWISE `GREAT`
(26 August 2005, 22:33 | GalCiv) In the second season of Video Game Radio now archived, show co-hosts David "GoldLeader" Swan and Jeremy "StoneGold" Goldstone host a one-and-a-half hour awards show for the best computer and video games released in the year 2003. In the `Turn-Based Strategy` (`TBS`) category, Galactic Civilizations is up against Age of Wonders, Heroes 4 and Shadow Magic. GalCiv comes out on top. Below is the transcribed exchange on the game between Swan and Goldstone:

David "GoldLeader" Swan: Heroes 4... was an astounding game, but [this] really stood out in my mind because it really combined all the great elements from other games like Civilization III... Warcraft... from every classic game out there and kind of combined them in one gigantic mess of a great game.
Jeremy "StoneGold" Goldstone: "[I]t sacrificed display for gameplay.
DS: Oh, the graphics are hideous. The graphics are hideous as of, like, 1994 standards, you know. I mean it`s just disappointing looking, but...
JG: ... how good the game is...
DS: Yeah...
JG: With the graphics as bad as they are.
DS: Well yeah. The game is astounding. I mean, it really has everything you want. It has diplomacy where you actually have to get along with your enemies and your friends alike. You have to worry about trading, researching new technologies. [..]

You gotta worry about so much at once, it`s a great challenge... a great game.

GalCiv was developed by Stardock Systems and published by Strategy First, today a wholly owned subsidiary of Silverstar Holdings Ltd.. - DanQ

PUBLISHER PARTNERS TO STREAM ON DEMAND
(26 August 2005, 22:25 | GalCiv) The publishers of the Stardock Systems developed Galactic Civilizations and its Altarian Prophecy expansion have partnered up with Stream Theory Inc. (STI) to provide a "Games on Demand" (GoD) service for their titles. Broadband Internet users will now be able to play Strategy First (SF) published titles including GalCiv for a monthly subscription fee.

STI and SF are wholly owned subsidiaries of Tadpole Technology plc and Silverstar Holdings Ltd. respectively. - DanQ

SURPASSING COMPETITORS AND PREVIOUS LIMITS
(25 June 2005, 22:58 | GalCiv) It's been some time since game developer Stardock Systems released its Altarian Prophecy expansion pack for Galactic Civilizations, and a new review published this past week may be seen by some as better late than never. GamesFirst!'s Chris Martin gives the add-on four out of a possible five stars, saying that this has enough surprises to get a [GalCiv] fan back into the swing of things. Further, as it retails for $20US it won’t break the bank and all that it has to offer provides players with more than reason enough to pay up and boot up. If you’re a fan of Galactic Civilizations, [AP] is a no-brainer.

Martin also takes a brief moment to compare the state of GalCiv with its primary competitor in the computer space-strategy field, Master of Orion. MoO has had enough time to develop into a space-strategy one-stop through two sequels, he holds, while the comparatively speaking newcomer has been able to take what MoO does and improve upon it, effectively creating a tighter, more playable space-strategy game. - DanQ