What are Empires All About?

The following is an article to explain about empires.  Please do not reply to this thread unless you are the designated representative of an empire making a recruitment post.  For information about individual empires, visit our Empires forum.

Thanks.

Cari Elf

Welcome to the Empires of Galactic Civilizations!

We hope you've just become a proud owner of this fantastic strategy game - this thread is going to open up a whole new way for you to enjoy Galactic Civilizations (GalCiv). So...you've bought the game, registered it on this website and perhaps played a game or two. Maybe you've managed to log a game on the Metaverse, and seen your name up in lights, showing your score on the Metaverse players table. If you haven't seen that, just click on the "Metaverse" tab at the top of the screen - it'll take you right there.

GalCiv is a single player game, but Stardock and the Metaverse provide another way for us to enjoy a group gaming experience: by joining an Empire! Empires are teams of players that agree to belong together as a unit. Their individual Metaverse scores are combined to produce a total "Empire" score, which is then recorded on a separate Empire table. If you're checking out the individual players' Metaverse table, look at the tabs on the left hand side of the screen - click the "Top Empires" tab, and you'll get to see the empires in their struggle for ascendancy. It's important to know that belonging to an Empire doesn't rob you of the chance for personal glory, by the way - your score as an individual always appears on the players table, whether you're in an empire or not. Belonging to an Empire is a free added bonus to your enjoyment of Galactic Civilizations!

If you've looked at the Empires' table, you'll see a wide range of opportunities await you. Some of our empires are based around popular movie or book themes (Jedi Republic, Fellowship of the Ring), some are based on geographic locations (European, ANZAC and Canadian Empires), others have developed their own specific theme (Special Forces, Get Rid Of Slimy Aliens) and some groups base their empire on only allowing members who follow set alignments (the Evil empire) or agree to abide by an existing code of gameplay conduct (Realms Beyond).

Empires tend to collect groups of like-minded people who feel a mutual attraction for the theme as a basis for working together. That's where the fun starts! Your own game submissions add to your Empire's score as you strive to make your Empire the Number One outfit, although it's not all about being at the top of the tree. The Empire threads contain general advice, gaming tips and friendly discussion on practically any issue the members want to talk about, whether it relates to the game or not. Help with your gaming problems is never more than a post away. Of course, you'll probably also find the odd comment from your rival empires about your progress...or lack of it. Firm friendships are forged in and between the Empires and we find this adds greatly to our enjoyment of the game.

Oh, and you can always satisfy that rugged individual streak...and create your OWN empire! Even if...it's an empire of one, at least to begin with. Playing in a team, sharing stories and opinions and interacting with friendly rivals really opens up a rich new gaming experience.

Our advice is to head into the "Empires" Forum (click the tab on the left) and cruise through some of the empire-specific threads. You'll get to see them in action, get a feel for the sort of people who hang out there, what goes on and a taste of what empiring is all about. Post and say hello - we don't bite and it's obligation-free.

Joining an empire or making your own is pretty straightforward. Head to the Empires Metaverse table and if you're not already in an empire, you'll see a "Create Empire" button. Click, type in your name, motto and have a 32x32 jpg symbol to upload, and your personal juggernaut is ready to roll. If you have problems, post in the Empires thread - we'll help out. If you want to join an existing empire, click on that empire's name in the Metaverse table. This will bring up a list of all the empire's current members, and you should see a "Join Empire" button at the bottom of the page. Click, and you're in!

Empires are of two types:

Open - which means anyone can join whenever they want.

Invite-only - in which case you'll see a "Request to Join" button, rather than a "Join Empire" button. Clicking this sends an email message to that empire's emperor, who will then arrange for your admission.

If you're thinking of joining an existing empire, it's probably worth checking out their thread and saying hello to the current members before you join - but this isn't compulsory, it's just polite. It's worth knowing that you can leave an empire (of either type) at ANY time, just by going to that empire's screen and clicking the "Quit Empire" button you'll see there. Joining and leaving empires does not affect your individual Metaverse score in any way.

So...have we tempted you? Wanna come and have some fun? Many of the active empires have included recruitment messages that follow this introductory post. Take a look and come over to the Empires Forum, cruise our threads, stop in and say hello - we're nice people...and WE LOVE NEW RECRUITS!

Wild Wombat (Emperor, Special Forces)