Similar kind of strategy game

It is a "real time" strategy game. BIG difference. GalCiv is a "turn based" strategy game, not a "real time" game.
I have a number of real time strategy games that I just can't play because they keep running away on me, like
"Sid Meier's Civil War", and "Starship Troopers". It all gets down to how fast you can react to what the game
throughs at you. That forces you into being reactionistic and is not my idea of strategy games. I see "real
time strategy" in PC games as an oxymoronic term.

Cheers,
Jack

I'm inclined to get John credit for his point of view. See, since the AI usually knows all about the lay-out of the game and is able to remeber every obscure rule of it - and is able to keep track of multiple things without failing, it has an enormous advantage over the human player.

In realtime strategy, especially at the higher levels, the only thing you have going for you as a player is those moments of inspired genius, where you're able to outsmart the game AI. But the AI will always win on the most extreme levels because you can't react fast enough to counter its actions..

Thus my preference clearly lies with turn-based strategy games.

IMO this game looks like a trade sim set in space. Something like the old "Space Bucks" rather than GalCivs.

PS: I do agree with John about the RTS games. They seldom have to do with strategy and should be called real time tactical games.

I like turn based as well. I'm used to hitting the space key in Black Isle's RPGs to pause the action so that I can set my wizard's spells, change weapons, etc, and I find that in real time games, I'm always hitting the space key, wasting valuable seconds.

I agree turn based games have a lot going for them. I keep pausing CapII so I can set up factories etc without the clock running away. It does even up the chances that you can blow the AI away

Turn based is definitely the way to go. I'm part of a family unit that insures that my time at the PC can be interrupted at any time for any reason. Turn based, I can get up and walk away as long as needed. Come back, play a turn, and leave again. Real Time, no way. More than once I've been playing some RTS game, and doing well. Then I get called away and return to find that years of game time have passed, and I am history.

After playing the Warcraft3 Beta my love for RTS has come back in a big way, since AOE there has been nothing to get me going till now. Don't get me wrong I still love turn base as a single player game. The main reason I like RTS games more then turn base is because I like to play online and you can't do that well in a turn base games yet* This is one of the main reasons Gal Civ doesn't have a multiplayer feature that's not saying it will never get one .
Their have been numerous arguments around the office about online play. Right now the way I see it personally there are no FUN turn base strategy games you can play online that doesn't take weeks to complete. IMHO

Now as for the single player experience I don't think anything can touch a turn base game, I don't think there is another game other then counter-strike that has sucked more game hours out of me then Civilization II and Masters of Orion I.

I think I can owe losing a girlfriend to Civ 2 or was that one of those Gold box games?
:notsure:

Lonnie,

Turn based is definitely the way to go for you and me. But there are others that can't stand turn based games.
I say live and let live.

Cheers,
Jack

I like both equally as well i think. Turn-based are great for spending a whole day playing, and RTS are better for the quick fix i think. the warcraft3 beta is amazing though... except it crashes every 7.5 min due to some xp incompatibility or something.

Nope not for me and I am running XP, it works great expect on some maps specifically the new one.

Agreed John,
RTS has it's place, and although I sounded like a turn-based only player, I actually like some RTS especially titles from Blizzard. Anyway, a good idea, well executed no matter what the genre is worth consideration.

I cut my advanced game playing teeth on old AH games like Luftwaffe and Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich, so turn based play is for me. Real time, I agree, has a place, but I have yet to find one which lets me use my joystick-now collecting dust- for what it was designed for. Why would I want to "fly" a starship with my keyboard?

Robert, try something like Starlords. A very old microsoft strategy game of space conquest / trading. The game was turn based on a galatic map. Battles in the game were 3D and you could use your joystick to play! Not a great game though,

Paul.

Hello - new to the site and thought I'd give my 2c worth.

A game with an innovative approach to RTS/TBS is Sir-Tech's Jagged Alliance 2. Their idea is to have real-time movement until an enemy is spotted, or worse, spots you and fires - at which point the game converts to turn-based combat. The concept works extremely well for the game itself, although I'm not sure how well it would work for a more immersive game like GalCiv.

I'm looking forward to the public beta of GalCiv - I've been wanting a decent trading sim since Privateer 2!

Jim