FarAway Galciv

Reply to Expansion Packs in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

I lean towards the traditional method (I'll almost never pay more than $20 for an expansion pack myself), although it's really up to you and your marketing teams to figure out the economics behind the different options. That does sound exciting. I get especially stoked about expansions that significantly alter gameplay in one or more ways. Doesn't have to be mind-bending, just something that enhances the replay value of the game above and

Reply to Keeping the research after each level of the campaign in Research GalCiv2 Forums

A simple storyline tweak would fix this as well. Something along the lines of "As the conflict with the Drengin Empire was warming up, humanity found themselves sending out colony ships to remote sectors. Different leaders will find themselves in different circumstances, facing different challenges, as they move through the unfolding campaign against the Drengin--and worse." You could integrate this into more of a persisting thread through

Reply to Results: Where did you hear about GalCiv II from? in GalCiv II News GalCiv2 Forums

Brad, in terms of that second poll, this is probably old hat to you and/or your marketing folks, but there's a pretty common measure that's all the rage among consultants right now: The guy that coined the original concept calls it a "Net Promoter Score". I'll spare you all the details--lots more articulate stuff in the biz journals out there, but if anybody's interested, they can start at <a href="http://chiefmarketer.com/crm_loop/roi/new-

Reply to It's M-O-R-A-L-E in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

Errant pedants of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your sense of civility... Sorry, I didn't think anybody had taken a Neo-Marxian spin on this original post! Some people here even end sentences with prepositions. That is something up with which I will not put!

Reply to Is it really that bad? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

In my playing of just the original (and then the patched version--the approved patch, not the betas), I've only noticed one glitch, and it's scheduled to be fixed as soon as the final version of the next patch comes out (less than 2 months after release, I think that is?). In general, I think a lot of the complaining is by people who downloaded the beta but don't realize it, or just malcontents. The fact that the board admins, lea

Reply to The Galactic Civilizations II Battle Plan in GalCiv II News GalCiv2 Forums

Feinan, you can allocate Espionage spend through the "Foreign Relations" window. It's a little slider--I think down in the lower Left hand corner of the screen, if memory serves me correctly. Hope that helps!

Reply to The Galactic Civilizations II Battle Plan in GalCiv II News GalCiv2 Forums

Brad, you guys have SO MANY changes published w/each patch, I've seen other requests to establish lists of tweaks by category . Maybe the above 5 categories would be an easy way to do that, so people can track what's changed and know where to look if they can't remember the exact nature of the tweak? I applaud the changes, and the transparency to the user community around the thinking in the changes you made. It's a level of openness

Reply to EASY way to make us fear the AI in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

One thing that MoO had going for it that you don't have in GC is Missile Bases, which made Planetary Defense awful easy once you got past a certain point. I don't think you necessarily need Planetary Bombardment to make it work, though--something as simple as a 50% reduction in income (not Production) and a 25% decrease in Morale would definitely create problems. Of course, it would also make it all too easy to strangle an opponen

Reply to GalCiv II: v1.1 BETA Change Log in GalCiv Journals Stardock Forums

Stardock rocks! The feature list is impressive, and in addition to the great support, I think most of us greatly appreciate both the transparency and the accessibility Brad and the rest of the team gives us. That said, after you guys get 1.1 out of BETA and into finalized format, TAKE A VACATION!!! If you guys are working this hard after the end of a long haul to get the game out on time, you and/or the staff must be exha

Reply to Playing with numbers in GalCiv II in-depth in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

Excellent explanation, Brad! Many thanks. I finally understand exactly how the bonuses apply, and when. As a spreadsheet geek and Corporate Finance weenie, you've satisfied the little whiney voice in the back of my head... You guys continue to blow me away. As for the "soul" issue, I know that you guys are receptive to constructive criticism a

Reply to Why this game bores me silly, yet I can't stop playing. in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

OK, my first post on this was about a billion paragraphs, and it got swallowed, so the Space Gods are telling me to try to simplify it. This is a very interesting thread to me. GalCiv2 is a highly abstracted game system. This allows for much more effective AI, and also promotes replayability (e.g., a Merchant/Diplomat plays very different from an Expansionist/Industrialist plays very different from a Militarist). Howev

Reply to 2 technological capitals in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

In case anybody cares, the Capitol building's dome is shaped "like a big, round 'O'"!!

Who is this Draginol character and What Did He Do with Frogboy??? :) in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Not a serious question, I'm just a bit puzzled from the posts from different folks and am trying to figure out who's who at StarDock. Avatar Frogboy's profile lists Brad's e-mail address and has a picture of someone whom I assume is Brad. Avatar Draginol's profile doesn't list squat for personal info, but everybody calls Draginol "Brad" and the posts seem to have the same content. Is he Brad's evil alter-ego? Another member of t

Reply to Technological Capital in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I agree that it's definately NOT applying its modifiers after the bonuses of the research labs. I find it hard to believe that that is working as intended... I'd tend to agree 100% w/this statement, though I don't know how often it happens. I think something w/at least some of the researc

Reply to STICKY: The Glitch Report in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

First off, AWESOME game! StarDock rocks, and GalCiv2 is very cool... Way to go, guys!! I don't know if this is the case in every game, but I definitely have a Saved Game (off the Campaign map) where the Research tile specials do not offer any bonus. In another thread, I saw a similar poster list the same problem--would be happy to offer the

Reply to Questions, possible bugs in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I have the same problem in a Saved Game of my own, but it's limited to Research Tiles only. Other tiles (esp. Manufacturing!) work just fine. In my case, I have 2 Xeno Labs built (one in a square with a 300% Research bonus), and the screen says that my total TP is 28. BUT, even with spend at 100% and my Domestic sliders set to 66%, I can only get 14 Research points (and when at 33%, I can only get 7). I'd be happy to pass along

Reply to GalCiv II v1.1 Dev log in GalCiv Journals Stardock Forums

As a consumer and avid gamer, I sing Stardock's praises to the rafters! As a conscientious human being, I wonder whether we all owe apology checks to the StarDock design team's families, pets, and friends!! The work ethic--continuing to offer such fast-coming and hard-hitting improvements--in the wake of such a commerically successful initial release is almost unheard of.

Reply to My Wish List in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

In terms of the standard 4X convention, I understand that setting your economy at one "throttle" and then leaving it to run can be a bit frustrating. Ever since I first played Civ I, that's the way I've managed my colonies. Those of us used to more granular control enjoy that fine-tuning. That said, I'm now going to venture onto some very thin ice: I'm going to try to compare the "realism" of various 4x control options for different types of building, etc. It's at least

Reply to URGENT HELP PLS - I CANT PLAY :((( in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Daggra, I'm in now way affiliated with Stardock or Nvidia, but you can download the Universal NVidia ForceWare by going to: http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp and following instructions. It's unclear whether your particular flavor of driver is supported, but it looks likely. The list of supported drivers covered by the Forceware can also be found at that site. Hope that helps! I don't even have my copy yet, but I'm hoping the karma works f

Reply to Game Example: Altarian Downfall in GalCiv Journals Stardock Forums

Awesome! Even more pumped about the game than I was before!!