Hi, I am new!

[Urban Ranger]

New to this section, that is.

Just got the game and played a couple of games. The best thing so far is there is no copy protection. Right on Brad

Has anybody done an analysis of Good vs Evil? I have searched this section and the ones done previously are for the Gal Civ I, and the tech tree appears to be different.

In other words, are there any real down sides to being Evil? Since Evil gets all the good stuff in all those ethical dilemmas I have seen so far.

By the way, does anybody know what a "starship bounus is" (something you get if you deal with the pirates...)? Does that apply to all my ships or just ships built on that planet?

[Illuminatus]

In other words, are there any real down sides to being Evil? Since Evil gets all the good stuff in all those ethical dilemmas I have seen so far.

Not sure about accurate analysis but it is more about playing style. Note that Neutral is also a perfectly legitimate choice.

Being Good will give you 25% bonus on trade with good races and also a diplomatic bonus with them. You'll get defensive components and technologies. Hall of Empathy you can build has a nice effect (doubles the chance that a race will surrender to you although tricky to use). The advantages work best if good races are strong in your game, otherwise the trade and diplo bonuses are wasted. As I said, I rarely go good unless the good races are also strong.

Evil is great. They are freed of starbase upgrade costs and can build the No Mercy Invasion Center which will eliminate cost of special invasions. Throw in special weapons and this is the conqueror's choice. Note that United Planets may come up with a resultion to decrease your trade routes.

Neutral will make your upgradeable tiles instantly available (a big bonus). Your citizens are more content, you get a bonus for instant buying of ships and you can get Neutrality Learning Center which are the most effective research buildings in the game. They can research Neutral shipping for more trade routes, they get a bonus in ground fights versus other alignments. Neutral is my builder's choice.

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
By the way, does anybody know what a "starship bounus is" (something you get if you deal with the pirates...)? Does that apply to all my ships or just ships built on that planet?

I think it should apply only to the planet you've found it like the other random events.

[Solver]

Evil is the best one. Free starbase upgrades, alone, are a huge bonus that can let you win the game almost by itself, if you use it properly. So as far as bonuses go, Evil is the best.

A disadvantage lies in the fact that the UN might cripple you, and there are special anti-Evil events. Plus, other civs generally like Neutral or Good civs more (with the exception of other Evil civs, of course).

UR, read the thread .

[Thoth]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


By the way, does anybody know what a "starship bounus is" (something you get if you deal with the pirates...)? Does that apply to all my ships or just ships built on that planet?

It took me awhile to figure this one out, but this has become one of my favourite planet bonuses.

The starship bonus multiplies the attack and defence values of all ships built on that planet. It stacks (additively I think) with the bonus from military resources and race picks.


Anytime this bonus comes up in my games, the planet immediately gets an "SY" after the name to remind me to build nothing but warships out of this planet's shipyard.

[Urban Ranger]

Thanks for the answers, guys.

One more question: can I jump to a star system by name? How? I got a message saying a minor race settled on Nester IV. The trouble is I can't seem to find that dang system by scrolling around.

Eh, actually two more. What's a little yellow circle with a sort of an up arrow in side? It appears on the upper right hand corner of a planet on some displays.

[Solver]

I don't think you can jump to a system by name .

Little yellow circle with an arrow? Maybe with a hammer? If so, a hammer means there are empty, unused tiles on the planet. There's also an icon with sort of a ship on it, yellowish, that means the planet has a ship in orbit.

[Hansolo88]

One other quick thought on Ethic choices and AI behavior... I don't have a ton of GalCiv playing experience, but I just finished a massive Giant galaxy game on Painful difficulty with all 10 civs. The three AI races that went good all formed a powerful alliance bloc very early and fought a series of wars together against a large Drengin Empire. I was Good as well, but I didn't intervene as I was interested in keeping everyone fighting each other so I could win a tech victory (which I did, and the AI let me do it too easily). I did make huge amounts of money from trade with the other Good Civs.

Bottom line: Good civs will stick together and actually form power blocs, unlike neutrals and evils, so if you are in a difficult game and notice some other Good Civs that will be powerful players it can be worth going good just for the allies.

[Urban Ranger]

One quick question. How do you use trade goods? Do you just finish building them and they work automatically for your whole nation, or do you need to move them around?

[Thoth]

As soon as you have completed construction of a trade good it's effects are felt throughout your empire. No further effort is required.

You can exchange trade goods with the AI, but be careful who you trade to. Trade goods are a "one shot" deal, once you have traded it to an AI it will receive the benifits for the rest of the game. I generally only exchange trade goods for other trade goods unless the AI is a close ally.

[Hansolo88]

The nice thing about a trade good that you control is that you determine exactly who gets its benefits, unlike technologies which can proliferate beyond your control.

For example, if you trade a technology with a friend there is nothing to stop that friend from turning around and trading that technology to your worst enemy.

On the other hand, trade goods are, as mentioned, "one-shot deals" that help each civ you trade it to the rest of the game but have no effect on any other civ. So you don't have to worry about it proliferating its way to your enemies. The only major downside that I see to them is that the AI never seems to be willing to pay very much for them, so I usually end up giving them away for free to help out civs I want to do well.