GalCiv II v1.7 Beta 1 Changelog

Draginol

Join Date 03/2001

+137

GalCiv II v1.7 Beta 1 Changelog

What's new

Unlike many of our change logs, this one isn't as exhaustive in length but instead focuses on have fewer much more significant items in it.

Here is what's new:

+ NEW: Lease and Maintenance tab on the Economy Screen to manage your finaces better
+ NEW: The CivManager now keeps a log of events that have happened during the game
+ NEW: Governor that changes the Ship a colony is building
+ NEW: Governor that sends all ships of a specified class, and the colonies building that ship class, to target a given rallypoint
+ VERY IMPORTANT CHANGE: Made debug.err always go in user defined data directory. This is to deal with problems encountered by people with limited user accounts and for consistency with Vista.

+ NEW: Hitting CTRL + PRTSCN (Printscreen key) will save a screenshot in My Documents\My Games\GC2DarkAvatar\Screenshots
+ NEW: Made it so that the saved scoring information also saves mod name + description if mods are enabled
+ NEW: Local High score list including default high scores; files are saved in My Documents\My Games\GC2DarkAvatar\SandboxGames
+ NEW: Anomalies Randomly Reappear over the course of the game

+ TWEAK: Terran Alliance more inclined to focus on building larger starships
+ TWEAK: Optimized AI sorting routines (performance)
+ TWEAK: Spore module more expensive
+ TWEAK: Spore Weapons technology more expensive
+ TWEAK: Morale buildings more powerful
+ TWEAK: New lightmap for planets courtesy of Stefan and i-mod productions

+ FIX: Bug where ignored races still could be chose in the Opponentwnd
+ FIX: Reduced lag when clicking on a star ship caused by a function that was looping through ALL the ships in the galaxy and setting them to not be selected whether or not they actually were selected
+ FIX: Changed it so that the stacked ships and fleet windows recycle their entries so that they aren't constantly allocating and deallocating. The stackedshipwnd will attempt to shrink the number of saved entries if it hasn't used the last max number in awhile - this may need tweaking if it affects memory usage
+ FIX: Bug where notification icons were not showing up
+ FIX: Bug where the turn button was always green even if there were ships with moves left
+ FIX: Crash where code was still trying to access destroyed ships; they are now removed from the main list the turn they are destroyed so that nothing can access them
+ FIX: Bug where ignored races still could be chose in the Opponentwnd
+ FIX: The distribution of planetary tile bonuses so that there is a good number of them and that they are likely to occur on the starting homeworlds, but no more than 3 on the starting home worlds.
+ FIX: Bug where planet thumbnails were not being reused even if the planet surfaces were identical
+ FIX: Bug that was causing unnecessary information to be saved
+ FIX: Bug in the Dread Lords campaign when playing from Dark Avatar where it was not possible to continue due to it not finding the location of the next mission's files
+ FIX: Bug in the Dread Lords campaign when playing from Dark Avatar where scenarios with the Dread Lords would never end because they had the incorrect race ID
+ FIX: Bug where the graphs did not scale properly and would end abruptly without taking up the entire graphwnd
+ FIX: Bug with activation code on Win98.
+ FIX: Changed code that writes out debug messages to be more threadsafe
+ FIX: Made it so that the dxpacks are kicked out of memory after the screen has been created if there are not multiple instances of the screen, like custom list box entries, thus reducing the amount of stuff kept in memory.
+ FIX: Changed screen code to make sure that the textures created for the screens do not create mip map chains, which are unnecessary in screens and just take up more memory
+ FIX: Crash caused by not being able to find strings in the flavor text files (text that appears when the AI talks to you)

It's available on Stardock Central as an update to the Dark Avatar module to Galactic Civilizations II. The "check for betas" check box must be selected to see.

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Yes, I want a guard command that stays in constant effect until I turn it off. Sentry is the opposite of what I want.

Kind of a hold-position command. Would be nice for starbase defense fleets (although I really wish you could just add the starbase to a fleet to accomplish that...) and sensor arrays.

Similarly, it would be nice for a command for Miners and Survey Ships to have them stay put and then start automatically mine/survey when new objects come into their range...

One other little request... how about a little icon for Earth-like planets like the Special planets get (only always green, since everyone can automatically inhabit them)? Seems like it make it consistent that habitable planets have an icon next to them, and inhabitable ones don't. Certainly would make scanning the map for habitable planets easier.

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Well its only fair the AI is forced either to choose to honor the alliance and declare war, or dissolve it as the human player has been when the human player is allied with both parties of the war.

That's not true. You aren't asked to declare war on your allies. I checked the code.

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DivineWrath

Join Date 05/2006

+135

Kind of a hold-position command. Would be nice for starbase defense fleets (although I really wish you could just add the starbase to a fleet to accomplish that...) and sensor arrays.

I don't care about the name, call it what you want, I just want the command. I was using the term fortify, because I grew up with the game Civilizations 2, a game which had a fortify command. I don't understand why you ever want a sentry command that causes ships to frequently "un-fortify" themselves.

One other little request... how about a little icon for Earth-like planets like the Special planets get (only always green, since everyone can automatically inhabit them)? Seems like it make it consistent that habitable planets have an icon next to them, and inhabitable ones don't. Certainly would make scanning the map for habitable planets easier.

It would. Class 1 planets are really difficult to find regardless of if you are zoomed out or not (they look like class 0).

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DivineWrath: Isn't the option you're looking for the 'sentry' command (wakes up on hostiles AND friendlies)...or are you requesting that the guard option stays in constant effect until the player turns it off...not just when the first unfriendly ship is sighted?

Yes, I want a guard command that stays in constant effect until I turn it off. Sentry is the opposite of what I want.

The version of this that I would like to see would leave the designated stack on guard when hostiles were in sensor range, but would include that position when cycling through ships with potential moves. Player wouldn't have to DO anything, just cycle to next stack. That way, you would be alerted to the situation, IN CASE you wanted to intercept or take other action. Also, it would be nice if ship focus only cycled to the top ship or fleet (or the one with the longest sensor range) in the stack under these circumstances, so you would not have to click past 40 ships in an assembly area stack when one enemy raider passed by at range 6. Call it "Alert" status, or "Overwatch".

Also, ships in orbit should provide this same form of early warning.

Also, there should be a way of giving planets themselves the highest sensor rating held by their civ ([ahem] without using a tile or an orbit position.) It could happen automatically upon achieving the sensor tech, or, more interestingly, player could be required to social build "Global Sensor Net" upgrades onto the colony tile. Consider making each Sensor Net upgrade fairly expensive, but worth +5% influence for the planet. This would make the whole Sensor tech branch more interesting and worthwhile.

drrider

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edit: removed old post, issue already addressed.

Really nice update. Looking forward to playing it!

Vilgan

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What's the difference between ships doing nothing and ships on your style of guard then if they get cycled through?

Personally I'd very much like a fortify function like in Freeciv. Hit F key, unit holds said position until you cancel it or unit gets destroyed. Set'n'forget.

Similarly, it would be nice for a command for Miners and Survey Ships to have them stay put and then start automatically mine/survey when new objects come into their range...

Very much needed with 1.7. In my latest game I found myself to press the automate hotkey for survey ships on every single turn to check if there might be new anomalies.

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That reminds me... Space Miners have an automate button on the little window at the bottom of the main interface in place of the Construct button... this button is grey-ed out for Survey Ships. Why not place an automate button there? That alone would save many keystrokes and the like for resetting the Survey Ships back to surveying...

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It sounds like not all your files got updated. You can try going into the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Stardock\Drengin.net\GalCiv2 and change the version for DarkAvatar to something earlier than 1.7 and then re-start Stardock Central. That should cause it to let you download the beta again. Try using US-1 if you're not using that server.

I tried this fix the other day and it didn't seem to work,I'm still getting "string not found message".Any other ideas or should I wait till the beta is updated again?

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I'm still getting "string not found message".Any other ideas or should I wait till the beta is updated again?

Can you please go into your debug.err after you see a String Not Found and copy the error messages for string not found into an e-mail and send it to carielf@stardock.com ? Also please send the install log for Dark Avatar, and I'll see if I can figure out what's going on.

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forgive me if this has been gone over but i could only spare a quick skim over all 59 responces... but im very sadned that the space station upgrades were left out of 1.7 i was really looking fowerd to many more hours of exciting conquest, but i guess ill have to wait till TA comes out

i kinda out played GC2 untill some new features come out... but im psyched TA! not so about the wait

so all i gotta say is you beter make my waiting worth it (wich i have absolutly no doubt what so ever that it will be

)

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DivineWrath

Join Date 05/2006

+135

forgive me if this has been gone over but i could only spare a quick skim over all 59 responces...

I've been reading this thread since its creation, and I don't recall reading much about space stations in here. Not a whole lot has been done with space stations except maybe for the recent addition of a repair kit module not to long ago. Hopefully, we might end up with a fortify command soon, so it would be more practical to protect space stations with ships.

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The solution might be to allow the space station to be the part of a fleet. The speed will drop to the slowest ship = 0 pc. But space stations weapons will not become useless.

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3. Could we get a auto-survey standby mode? In this standby mode,
if any new anomalies become available, the ship will wake up and switch to auto-survey mode.

Seconded... And I have been asking for that for miners too.
This would be one of the greatest reductions in micromanagements

The survey mode standby would also help when you run out of anomalies in YOUR part of the galaxy, and then when you expand your range the ships could automatically get new anomalies... It would also be nice if ships on "survey" would automatically explore the map while they have no anomalies left to find.

Also, anyone notice that survey ships go to find anomalies that you CANNOT see? IE, they will set on a spot far out of sensor range as having anomalies and just zoom right there to pick it up. all survey ship, yours and the computers, just know where every anomaly is on the map. (and they decide there are no anomalies in range when there is MUCH empty and unexplored space in range...

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Also, anyone notice that survey ships go to find anomalies that you CANNOT see?

This is to be fair because the AI can do this.

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I don't know if this is a feature that could make it to the full 1.7, but i'd really want to be able to force other races to break up alliances with each other(allied races don't show up in the "attack race" options..). It's really annoying when i'm allied with someone, and i get attacked by a race who is allied with my ally, and i can't tell him to assist me in any way. Infact, i think it is a bug.

I was allied with the Krynn who in turn were allied with the Terran Alliance, when the Terran Alliance declared war on me the Krynn did not declare war on the Terran Alliance, and i could not convince them to attack them since they were allied..and due to this i lost a game as my military couldn't stand against them alone..

You realize, I hope, that the only logical way to implement this would be to give a chance that the power currently staying OUT of the fight between two of their allies, would be insulted by a demand that they repudiate one for the sake of the other and would therefore ATTACK the whiner instead.

drrider

Unless you have closer ties to them than the other oponent, such as ammount of money passed over to them as a friendship or ships given to them or just the ammount of time you have been allies could also effect the outcome.

I could see both AIs turning on you if you werre the "new guy" in the alliance, but if you and say the Krynn are allies for about 30 turns then the Krynn ally with the Terrans and the terrans declare war on you...I would expect the AI Krynn to say "wtf" and slap the Terrans back into place for their treachery

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When I am playing the campaign, the game regularly crashes. I think it has something to do with the autosaves. The savegames are empty (Files are size 0).
I cannot reproduce the crash, but it happes about every 15 minutes.
A first fix would be to not move "Autosave" to "previousAutosave" if "Autosave" is empty. This way I do not lose both savegames.

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Danke...

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Have you sent in any crash reports with your debug.err file? If not, please do. Also, have you checked to make sure that you have enough disk space?

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Also, anyone notice that survey ships go to find anomalies that you CANNOT see?

I've noticed that there are some anomalies I can't see at all on the main screen--but I do see on the mini-map if you zoom in enough. I then take my survey ship and either scroll around the main map til the text for the anomaly appears or right clip on the mini-map and have the survey ship go there.

Perhaps the anomalies on the main map might be visible if I zoomed out the main map a lot.

I notice the ai's on tough often misses anomalies in their own areas.

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On the most recent build, I noticed that there were a lot of weird graphics artifacts, like squares around ships, bizarre explosions that are basically colored static, etc. I reverted to the older version to avoid this. I have noticed the AI missing anomalies as well. I'm not sure, but it seems like they may be popping into existence. I play most of the game with the map zoomed out, and every once in a while, an anomaly will appear where none were before.

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I have noticed the AI missing anomalies as well. I'm not sure, but it seems like they may be popping into existence. I play most of the game with the map zoomed out, and every once in a while, an anomaly will appear where none were before.

Yes, that is one of the major announced and anticipated features of this update. It is in all the preliminary announcements and in the initial Change Log.

From the top post in this thread:
"+ NEW: Anomalies Randomly Reappear over the course of the game"

drrider

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