Is this game worth getting?

Yes it is enjoyable.

The gameplay is a turn based strategy in space. Similar to say Alpha Centauri or the old Star Control games perhaps. Its not a twitch action game. It's colonizing planets, diplomacy, technology research etc etc.

I bought the game online and have had no problems with bugs, crashes or features not working. The game is totally solid from my point of view

I just finished my first game. Was a ton of fun. Now that I know basics Im starting my second game and a higher difficulty.

The game is fun but it requires a bit of a learning curve especially if you havent played a ton of these types of games. Perhaps 3 hours before you really start to figure out whats going on.

The game is very rewarding though and is not as overly complicated as say MoO3 for instance.

Yes, check out all the reviews floating around the net. All are giving it at least 85% plaus and most have it highly recommended. I also concur, it is an excellent game, with excellent support and looks to have a bright future

~SDC~

Yes... I would agree with the opinions at stated above, however the game is not quite solid. Mostly equation value stuff, The game is hard, not the type of game where you can just hit the end turn button next without thinking. Takes me 3 to 4 hours to make it threw just 3 years and I'm playing on the normal settings!!

Lots of fun but if you are a micro management maniac like me you start to see some things that need to be fixed, it's not enough to spoil the game but a patch or two will be needed before I can give it a (it's pretty good) on the cyber poll.

I'd really recommend waiting for demo/ buying from a place with a good returns policy, ie thats what I really wish I'd done ho hum :notsure:

GC aims to concentrate on strategy rather than micromanagement but IMHO kinda falls between. It doesn't have the detail to involve eg planet type is defined by a single no. vrs eg stars! 3differnet parameters which suited differnet races, different mineral levels needed for different kit. Ends up as bland, arrive dump people if planet over 14 repeat. No descions such as well it doen't suit my race but if I put a holding colony in how about a trade with race X which its ideal for or 'garden world' vrs 'mining hellhole'. On the larger map sizes micromanagement still ends up as a problem particularly for starbase upgrades.
Bug wise- Not real bad (typos, exclusive events happening twice, menus not auto updating between turns unless you go out and in again) and seems v well supported on the forum (although manual is appaling and I couldn't suss tutorial) but some gameplay 'decsions' eg unused resources in a colony disapear but you've only got fairly global control over allocation, seem rather odd.

It does have some really good points such as multiple paths to victory you can actually achieve (tech poltical etc), intuitive interspecies trade.

After MOO3 crash and burning, Stars Supernova disapearing in to a publishing hellhole I really wanted GC to suceed unfotunatly for me it just doesn't have that hook to keep me playing.

Thanks for responding... I think I am going to purchase it and give it a whirl. MOO3 still has many things that really need tweaking (like the Viceroys changing the tax rates back to the level that caused unrest in the first place, after you have lowered them to get rid of the unrest)...thanks...!!

downloading now...hope it is worth the wait...48 minutes.

Only if you like:

a) Outer Space

Strategy games

c) Games with a personal and deep sense of compelling atmosphere.

d)Games that are so cool,you have to play them now!

e)Why are you still reading this, you should be downloading the game by now. Or order it next day air. It's well worth it.

Ok. that might not have been very `mature'. LOL

Here's some real info.

The random events can crash your empire, but is that stopping me from playing? GalCiv right out of the box will keep you playing one more turn.

The coolest features are the Star Bases that you can build anywhere in free space, plus over space wonder `bonuses' that are randomly placed.

The opponent AI's are all unique. Without spoiling anything, they all have their own music that plays in the diplomacy screen. They also have cool taunts that will make you want to crush them good.

There are also random floating space debris that your survey vessles explore for, and collects, that give you empire wide accmulating bonuses.

It is all very nicely presented with professional finish. Especially considering it's a small developer, it's very impressive.

I noticed you said you're downloading now. Good. Come back and tell us what you think.

I think its a great game. Buy it, and if you like it tell all your game playing pals to buy it.

olaf

Well I do have to say that there is a long list of things that I am not happy with. I just read through that massive suggestions list and here are a few of my own.

1) Change the ground combat...how it is now is very lame. There needs to be some way to build ground defenses/space defenses.
2) Get rid of that 'cultural influence' stuff. I am sick of having my planets go over to the other side (even when they are not happy).
3) Planets should not become unhappy just because they have more people on them (if they are over-crowded yes). Populations should not breed out of control until there is just standing room only. There needs a population limit on the world or techs that will give you the ability to limit the population.
4) I have played 5 games and in every single one I have had one of my diplomats insult some foreign leader and start a war b/c of that. I was given the message about needing to invest more in diplomacy/espionage to find more about alien cultures (I did the next 4 games...did not matter).
5) Definately do away with lame votes in galactic U.N. (or whatever it is called) to share all the tech! What total b.s.
6) There should be automatic trade between your planets.
7) There definately needs to be a way to assign escorts to your frieghters.
8) The A.I. diplomacy screen is too hard to figure out. I would like to see a much more simple diplomatic screen. Like: I click on a race and offer them a tech as a measure of good will (there also needs to be a window when you are in the diplomatic screen so you can see what your relations are with this race), or "Ask (politely, beg, etc) for a non-aggression pact or mutual-defense pact.
9) A way to control or limit the minor races. I wanted to explore the game so I set all the races on Pure Good and Fool level. I just wanted to see how the game worked. Needless to say I am getting swamped with the minor races stealing my planets (the only way to avoid that is to build starbases with max cultural bonuses in each sector that you have planets in). Then when one of my ambassadors insults one of the leaders...they declare war on me...then all of the other "good" races declare war on me (because of treaties) and then bam..I am dead.
10) There needs to be more than just one response (again in the diplomatic window) when an alien race contacts you.
11) Battles are way too simple. There needs to be a battle screen like at least Stars! or something. If I had know the battles were just going to be *starship A moves next to starship B and shoots...then if B is not destroyed it then shoots A...repeat* Very discouraging...
12) Starbases need to do what they are supposed to. I had built up the military add-ons (fighter support etc) so that the base was *supposed* to help any of my ships in that sector that came under attack (or any enemy ship in the system), nothing...very bad.
13) Too many "events" in the game that boost nothing planets up to planets of 35 or so. Totally unbalances the game.

I am sorry to say that I would return this game if I could (but I bought it over the internet). I can only hope that future patches correct the many deficiences that are this game. For the record I do like these type of games. I was not expecting 3-D graphics or player controlled Quake style ground warfare. I have told my two neighbors not to buy this game until it has undergone significant patching.

I would have to give it a 65 out of 100. Sorry all.

Please see my thread on this topic: http://www.galciv.com/forum.asp?BID=GF&id=29541

Oh I forgot one.
14) All ships when produced need to be able to be sent to a rally point. It is really tedious to have to pull each ship out of orbit.

Yin,

While I can't really disagree with any of your 'pros', I still feel strongly negative about this game. I will be waiting for the patches to come out. Other than that...this game is going on the shelf (well since I only have it on download..on the back HD then).

Again, I am sorry to give it such a negative review...I am not saying that there is not any promise to the game...there is a ton of room for improvement...just that by all the reviews I had read...I had thought this game was much better than it was.

Eichen:

Fair enough, and there's no surprise that different players value things differently. I'm happy, though, you are waiting for patches because, as I'm sure you've seen, Brad and Co. are dedicated in a real way to improvements based on fan feedback.

If you have problems with the core system, of course, this is less likely to be of use to you, but I definitely think you should keep checking back in!

Not sure if this will help, but:

"1) Change the ground combat...how it is now is very lame. There needs to be some way to build ground defenses/space defenses."

Yes, this is on the simple side. While there are troops adjustments to be made through tech, etc., the only space defenses I see are having ships in orbit and getting plantary defenses. I guess I see the battle as already won more or less if I'm allowed to hover in your space, though I can see your point.

"2) Get rid of that 'cultural influence' stuff. I am sick of having my planets go over to the other side (even when they are not happy)."

I actually really like this part! I use starbases as a 'culture creep' strategy. Yes, it's annoying to lose a planet, but you can see how much influence is had by each civ in a sector, so this allows me to focus more culture starbase stuff as needed. I can see, though, that it might bother people. I know you can turn cultural victory off, but maybe culture entirely can be turned off for people who don't like it? Still, try to look at it as another strategy to employ!

"3) Planets should not become unhappy just because they have more people on them (if they are over-crowded yes). Populations should not breed out of control until there is just standing room only. There needs a population limit on the world or techs that will give you the ability to limit the population."

Well, you can keep pumping morale inducing improvements/tech. to your planets. You can also spend money on propaganda--it's on the 'Details' screen. This one really helps but it's a kind of hidden function! There's a big thread on this now, though, so who knows what will change?

"4) I have played 5 games and in every single one I have had one of my diplomats insult some foreign leader and start a war b/c of that. I was given the message about needing to invest more in diplomacy/espionage to find more about alien cultures (I did the next 4 games...did not matter)."

Wow. I've never seen that ever! Of course, I tend to focus on cultural type stuff. It sounds like your focus is on war type stuff, so it makes sense your diplomats are more warlike!

"5) Definately do away with lame votes in galactic U.N. (or whatever it is called) to share all the tech! What total b.s."

Again, if you are a war-monger (not sure you are, but just *if* you are), it makes sense that you'd not have enough influence or support in the UP to keep them from trying to level the playing field! Maybe this could be looked at as a challenge: They see somebody (you?) so powerful that one way to deal with it is share tech?

By the way, you can leave the UP!

"6) There should be automatic trade between your planets."

Not sure what you mean here...trade routes and the actual freighters themselves represent the fragile nature of trade between countries. It's another important element of strategy in the game ...almost a core element, really...so if trade micromanagement or trade fragility bothers you, I can see where this point is a problem.

"7) There definately needs to be a way to assign escorts to your frieghters."

Agreed! Absolutely!


"8) The A.I. diplomacy screen is too hard to figure out. I would like to see a much more simple diplomatic screen. Like: I click on a race and offer them a tech as a measure of good will (there also needs to be a window when you are in the diplomatic screen so you can see what your relations are with this race), or "Ask (politely, beg, etc) for a non-aggression pact or mutual-defense pact."

There *is* a relations bar...red is hostile bright green is close. Maybe you mean something else? I like your idea, though, of being able to posture your messages...

"9) A way to control or limit the minor races. I wanted to explore the game so I set all the races on Pure Good and Fool level. I just wanted to see how the game worked. Needless to say I am getting swamped with the minor races stealing my planets (the only way to avoid that is to build starbases with max cultural bonuses in each sector that you have planets in). Then when one of my ambassadors insults one of the leaders...they declare war on me...then all of the other "good" races declare war on me (because of treaties) and then bam..I am dead."

I have some reservations about minors as well regarding how much they'll pay (lots!) for tech., but I see them also as interesting ways to keep the game fresh. Perhaps minor civs could be an option as well?

"10) There needs to be more than just one response (again in the diplomatic window) when an alien race contacts you."

I think that would be fun, too! I think diplomacy is rather simple (fun, in my view, though). Perhaps in a patch?

"11) Battles are way too simple. There needs to be a battle screen like at least Stars! or something. If I had know the battles were just going to be *starship A moves next to starship B and shoots...then if B is not destroyed it then shoots A...repeat* Very discouraging..."

Well, this one is a 'core-issue,' I think. It's clear in some ways you really want a more tactical game. Not sure GalCiv can be patched in that direction...

"12) Starbases need to do what they are supposed to. I had built up the military add-ons (fighter support etc) so that the base was *supposed* to help any of my ships in that sector that came under attack (or any enemy ship in the system), nothing...very bad."

Hmmm, I always see the improvements in attack, defense, etc. I *would* be nice if that information were easily noticeable however, otherwise it looks like there's no effect! Good point in that regard.

"13) Too many "events" in the game that boost nothing planets up to planets of 35 or so. Totally unbalances the game."

I haven't seen too many of those in my 30 hours of play, but I see some of this stuff as a fun way to keep you from running over nearly-dead civs. Here again, perhaps an option to shut off events would be great?

several issues are fixed already, and some you are wrong about, but some will never be fixed. So it's really up to you.

Tactical Combat: Brad has stated that this will *not* *ever* be a part of GalCiv. It's supposed to be "Civilization in Space", not "Master of Orion Clone". You didn't have tactical combat in Civ either. So, if this is a must for you, I'm afraid you have the wrong game. But do try to enjoy it for its strengths.

Diplomacy: On the right side are the AI's assets, on the left are yours. If you click on an asset on the left, you are offering it to the AI. If you click on one in the right, you are asking for it. If you choose something from both, you are making a trade proposition. It's simple, really. And on the main diplo screen you get a "relations" bar. Plus, on the diplo screen itself you can click on the three buttons over the center area (below the pic) to see reports about the AI, including what they think of you. As you see, what you want is already there.

Cultural Influence: This is one of the main four ways of ending the game. You want to take it off? Might as well take off those spaceship thingies, they're getting in the way by attacking me

Starbases: They are not supposed to attack spaceships, the help they provide is by bonuses to combat when fighting in their sector. They help a LOT, trust me.

Minor Races: Are you aware that you can also trade/have diplomatic relations with them? There should be a "Minor Races" tab on the external relations screen that allows you to turn a minor into an incredible boon to your civ. Try it.

UP issues: This is there to add some variety. You can turn it into an advantage if, before a metting takes place, you buy/extort (on the diplo screen) influence from the other races. This will give you extra votes in the UP, allowing you to cream the other races. Besides, the "share all tech" issue has already been toned down in a patch. Get that

Too early events: This has also already been fixed.

I hope I managed to demonstrate to you that the game is really not as simple as it appears, but almost everything has a reason for being there. What mistakes Stardock makes (like to too early events, or using selling tech as an exploit) are usually fixed within a couple days (the patch that fixed all these issues was published on a Sunday Night, fer chrissakes).

So please, give the game another shot, and try to see it for what it is, not what other games are (tactical combat)

Have Fun

Astro

~SDC~

Worth getting.

I will try that...I just wish that for $5 they would mail you the manual (I hate when they have manuals in PDF format). I know they have to maximize profits, but I really hate having to exit out of the game to look something up.

I do have the latest patch.
Starbases should attack spaceships (enemy) in that sector...I know they were originally designed for supplementing ships...but they should be able to fight on their own as well.

Okay, I can deal with the no tactical combat..but at least slow down the combat as it is and give us something like "your Frigate USS Zapper hit the (insert race and ship name here) for 15 points with its phaser. or somethign like that...

"your Frigate USS Zapper hit the (insert race and ship name here) for 15 points with its phaser. or somethign like that..."

Great idea! Do like they have it in Wizardy 8 with lost hitpoints each strike come floating up off the attackee and fade with text report coming simulateously at the bottom of the interface screen.