Compelling Features

[LDiCesare]

Ship design main interest in Galciv is that you have to chose which weapon and defense you want from a kind of rock-paper-scissors system. It forces you to make some decisions, such as adapting you fleet against a given enemy. The previous system(GC1) had little or no diversity in terms of ships, making fights and military research a bit silly. You just had to find the better tech or you'd be beaten. Modding couldn't change much except by creating big defensive ships. The only available diversity was the missiles, of which there was ONE (the AMM). To me, getting Dreadnought tech (AMM) ment winning the game. That was a bit of a pity.

[Kloreep]

BTW, unless this changes from Beta 1, you can fit multiple types of weapons on a ship. It's just a question of whether you have the space on the ship design to do so, and whether you've done the right research into that branch of defense/offense to have good enough stuff to bother building. It's not all-or-nothing where you must pick one type of weapon and one type of defense.

[Mart]

First, I have to admit, that after having the GalCiv (I) for a couple of weeks, I got bored with it and sold it. The way it presented the galactic environment did not quite suit me. As for the GalCiv (II), the first 3 features on that site will definitely enhance the game:

- ship design
- new unique planets
- new map system

Each planet having its own map has been already implemented in Emperor of the fading Suns. Quite nice idea. From screenshots I noticed it will be kinda Mercator view. There might be found some better graphical way to do it, but I have no idea now how to do it. Ascendancy maybe had something like that too, if I remember correctly, but it was a perspective grid with planet in background. Galciv is better here.

Planets on actual map, that is what I like maybe the most. After all, star systems occupy the same space as stars. It was weird like in Master of Orion, that planets were like "hidden" inside stars.

And one more remark. Probably the thing, which I did not like the most in GalCiv (I) was that special events were not unique at all. There was quite limited number of them, and I were getting many of them numerous times during the same game - it was killing uniqueness of them. If there are some unique animals in the Galaxy, it is strange that I see the same animals in many distant from each other places. If (II) might attend that issue, that would be great.

[DarkCloud]

Each planet having its own map has been already implemented in Emperor of the fading Suns. Quite nice idea. From screenshots I noticed it will be kinda Mercator view

Never heard of that game, but I seem to remember in Imperium Galactaca that each planet was different.
--
as for the special events- I think that people could design extra ones on the net and taht you could have downloaded them from his site.

However, they could get repetitive as you stated- if you've ever tried out nationstates.net, then you know that there are only a limited number of issues that arise when governing a nation.

I really suggest that Mr. Wardell looks at Nationstates and plays if for a while to get an idea of a broader group of issues to include in his game.

[CiverDan]

I agree with the previous comment on "molding" ships. compelling, but draws a fine line between adding to the game and making it too complex. If I am on a Gigantic Map, I dont have time to determine how I mod every single Corvette, even if features are included to make it less tedious, it takes away from the "global" parts of the game that made GalCiv good (trade, diplo, subterfuge).

I hope certain segments of the game are improved:

The beginning - always a bum rush to settle (same manner every time, less variety than in normal Civ)

Constructors - good concept. not enough done to reign is runaway growth though. Constructors->more production->more constructors. Yes you have to reign in your financial outlays eventually, but you get the point.

[Kloreep]

Originally posted by CiverDan
I agree with the previous comment on "molding" ships. compelling, but draws a fine line between adding to the game and making it too complex. If I am on a Gigantic Map, I dont have time to determine how I mod every single Corvette, even if features are included to make it less tedious, it takes away from the "global" parts of the game that made GalCiv good (trade, diplo, subterfuge).

It's not something you do for every single ship you build. You design a specific class of ship (for example, "Corvette") and it goes on the build queue. Then you build as many or as little of them as you like.

So you could play a game designing tons of different ships with which to have a varied fleet, but you could also stick to designing only a few mainstays at a time.

Originally posted by CiverDan
The beginning - always a bum rush to settle (same manner every time, less variety than in normal Civ)

I'm not sure if this will be solved, TBH. But all I've seen is Beta 1, so it's certainly possible.

Originally posted by CiverDan
Constructors - good concept. not enough done to reign is runaway growth though. Constructors->more production->more constructors. Yes you have to reign in your financial outlays eventually, but you get the point.

Logistics will be in, though I don't know if in quite the same way as GalCiv 1. (And to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how GalCiv 1 Logistics works; never played a full game with it. But I imagine having higher and higher costs to found and maintain each starbase will apply.) Also, starbases will be specialized in to different types; a starbase mining a resource can't do anything other starbase things like increasing production or culture, etc.

[ravagon]

Hmmm. So?
Anybody with thoughts on Beta 2 (released yesterday)?

ie: Regarding any new/altered features etc?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[Kloreep]

Beta 2 was released???

Ack! Must get and try tomorrow. Non-galactic civilizations have been keeping my attention off stardock.

[Kloreep]

I've played some of the Beta now (and caught a few more bugs ). Things are more polished now, but there are still features missing (diplomacy, starbases) so I still can't really make any review of the game.

[Kuciwalker]

It's the new map system that's got me sold. My main beef with GalCiv 1 was that space was so empty and featureless.

[DarkCloud]

...But that's how space really is

[Kloreep]

... and if we're talking about realism here, FTL drive is quite fantastic. Your leader character would die by the time you reached the next system.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by DarkCloud
...But that's how space really is

But it's no fun. It would be fine if the only way to get between systems was along hyperspace routes or something - anything to create something more strategic than straightline movement between any point A and point B.

[Sandman]

It would be nice if there was more strategic diversity. How about certain ship upgrades which depend on proximity to the nearest star? For example, solar arrays which give improved performance when the ship is close to a star. Or a cloaking device which only works in the depths of interstellar space.

[Kloreep]

Terrain would definitely improve things. We betaers have yet to see what terrain will be like, though; I guess that'll be a thing of Beta 3