GalCiv vs AC

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by The Templar
The movies I really liked were in CTP and CTP2. Not saying I liked the games (would have been good had they worked)...

Modded CtP and CtP2 work pretty well...

About GalCiv, I have only played half a game for the moment but there are a few features I didn't liked...

- The colored resources lost in space you have to build a space station around to exploit... like building a mine on top of a hill in old Civ2...

- The fact you can't zoom out the main map to have a more strategical view of space (the mini map is not detailed enough to fulfill this purpose IMO)...

OK, these are minor issues and I will certainly give this game a new try in the days to come...

[MichaeltheGreat]

Tamerlin - use the F9 key to switch the main map view to a strategic map view. It toggles, so you can either hit F9 again, or F1, to go back to the regular main map view.

The galactic resources are very different than mining hills in Civ2. There's nothing like a city radius, so you can mine resources anywhere - including right under your enemy's nose, if you've got the wherewithal to defend them.

Especially if you play on large, gigantic or huge galaxies, there are a large number of resources out there for the taking, and being able to project power across the galaxy (or not) is largely a function of being able to control those resources. Depending on the mix you get, it makes the game approach much different. On a couple of gigantic galaxy games I still have going, the differences are extreme - in one, I have 5 military resources fully mined out, so I can attack anyone, any time, with a quarter of the forces they have, and plunder at will. In another game, I have 6 cultural resources, but only one military, and my ships are barely at parity with enemy ships of the same class.

The patterns of techs to research, diplomacy with the other races, manufacturing, everything is different between the two games, because of the difference in resources I was able to gain control over.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
Tamerlin - use the F9 key to switch the main map view to a strategic map view. It toggles, so you can either hit F9 again, or F1, to go back to the regular main map view.

Thanks for the tip MichaeltheGreat, you are addressing an issue I considered as a major drawback in GalCiv (I have not spotted the feature in the manual, which does not mean it is not inside it... )...

The galactic resources are very different than mining hills in Civ2. There's nothing like a city radius, so you can mine resources anywhere - including right under your enemy's nose, if you've got the wherewithal to defend them.

I understand this has nothing to do with mining hills in Civ2 but I still find these resources odd (at least the way they are implemented)...

The patterns of techs to research, diplomacy with the other races, manufacturing, everything is different between the two games, because of the difference in resources I was able to gain control over.

You have convinced me this game is worth a new try...

[vee4473]

Originally posted by Tamerlin




- The fact you can't zoom out the main map to have a more strategical view of space (the mini map is not detailed enough to fulfill this purpose IMO)...

I hear that.

The fact that you can change the main map to an enlarged strategic map is nice, but I would love a zoom feature on the main map...

I haven't heard any responses from Brad on this request.

[Draginol]

I saw a comment about the AI sending ships into a well defended star base.

That is because the AI levels actually mean something. On "Intelligent" the AI tactically evaluates the situation and will bypass fortified star bases much more often.

Similarly, at lower levels, the AI doesn't escort its transports or constructors, it just sends them out there.

At higher levels, on the other hand, you'll see escorting, ship shadowing, etc. The intelligence levels of the AI aren't just about cranking up resources, different algorithms and such get called.

When I see someone say "The AI in GalCiv isn't anything special, I saw them send endless streams of ships into a stabase" that just means they played the AI on a low level and they shouldn't be surprised if the AI plays like a newbie.

A lot of the coding effort on GalCiv's AI went into making it so that the different intelligence levels translated into different styles of play. In addition, there are actually SIX different computer player AIs. One for each major race and one that handles the minor races. Each one has its own tactical and strategical strengths and weaknesses. Some AI opponents don't pay attention to whether a resource they're sending a constructor to has been already taken while others will immediately switch to another one. Some AI players can intelligently retarget colony ships better than others when a planet they want has been taken.

Some AI players form battle task forces and assign them to control different regions of space. While others will just send small groups of ships (And at lower levels they'll just send ships one at a time at a planet).

[gwillybj]

Re graphics vs gameplay:
If I see two sunsets and two sunrises and am surrounded by a mound of empty Doritos bags and my head hurts more from thinking than lack of sleep and the end of the game is still nowhere in sight, I wouldn't care if the pictures looked like checkers in a bed of sand, and I would celebrate the expenditure of that $40.
On the other hand, if the artwork had been done by a team with all the talent of Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Monet, and a dozen others, but the game was over in an hour and a half and I felt as satisfied as a satyr in a convent, that software damn well better have been free!

[gwillybj]

re Alpha Centauri vs Galactic Civilizations:
I will play AC when I want to dance naked among the trees.
I will play GC when I want to dance naked among the stars.