Proud new owner

[MrWhereItsAt]

Hello all - a forum I hadn't yet visited

However, all that will change now as I have just now received my copy of GalCiv in the mail.

I look forward to trying it out sometime I have time (not for a while probably), but I'm sure I won't be able to resist at least testing it sometime soon (perhaps tonight). What I'd like to know is, well, is there anything a new owner of GalCiv SHOULD know before starting? I will check out the topped info pages sometime, but what I mean is a basic starting guide that doesn't give away too much yet tells me what I need to know, whether there are any patches that are crucial and whether there are some bugs or major issues to avoid/be aware of. That sort of thing.

Thanks in advance!

WIA - new soon-to-be GalCiver.

[Trifna]

1st thing to know: it may be impossible to stop playing for hours.

After that, well... drink water, don't forget that meals, sleep and work are an important component of a balanced life.

The rest of the list would be Starbases are important, don't forget that happier people make more babies (so lower taxes = better demography) and suffering at first by lower taxes and forced early expansion will pay later. You have to evaluate wether you expand more or less depending on the situation around you: what is the potential gain (situation and level of planets) and what is the potential loss (threats: who is around you, how well-armed they are, how acessible are planets to them, are they occupied elsewhere...). One last little thing: no one is going to be able to invade anyone until transports are invented.

[MrWhereItsAt]

Thanks.... haven't managed to test it out yet, but there IS a weekend in a little under 24 hours... ^_^

[LDiCesare]

Remember these things too: Expand and do not forget that diplomacy is important. Also, evil may look like a good way to go, but it may harm you in the long run.
Trade is very important too.
In diplomacy, don't ever try to trade for a military tech, they won't sell it.
That and minor races are there to be conquered.

[Trifna]

You automatically conquer minor civs?... I tend to believe that they are sooooo useful when I seel them techs. They give me lots and lots of money in the long run. I actually finance MOST of my research by the money I get per turn from selling other techs.

Tech selling is my major business.

[LDiCesare]

I don't automatically conquer them. But on the hardest level, they won't give you money for anything, at least not the starting minors. Tech selling just doesn't work at the hardest level, and that's the only one I play. So minors are only useful to trade tech with and to trade with. Trading is much better with major races because they will like you more if you trade with them, so after the inital game, minors' trading usefulness falls down. Same for the techs. And then if I don't conquer them, they'll either culture flip or fall to someone else.

[Trifna]

Oh I see... well I very seldom play now (and don't have a computer to play with anyway), so I didn't see the highest levels all that much.