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SVoyager
Join Date 08/2006
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First impression comments

August 18, 2006 11:00:15 PM from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Hello,

This is my first post, i dont know if this subject had been already discussed but i wanted to give my 2cents on my experience with the game so far.

I must say that i really love this game so far. I previously played games such as MOO series, Space Empires, the first galciv, quite a bunch of strategy games, etc...

Being able to go in open space is quite nice, we could do that in space empires but with a nice 3d engine, its even better. Management of the planets is excessivly easy and straitforward. I tend to love micromanaging stuff but the simpler way is quite cool too. Very well done, no head banging as to know what stat affect what. I also love the humoristic technology reports. I was used to jumping strait to the stats when researches were completed but in this game, i endup reading the whole stuff the bot is saying. Very appreciated change!
Also, the biggest feature that struck me in this game is of course, the ship design section. Being able to modify the look of your ship as you see fit is one awesome innovation. To me, just that was enough to buy the game. I love game devloppers that actually work in doing new stuff, innovate. Not just adding prettier graphics or tweaking gameplay here and there but actually change some fundamentals of the game. Great job!!!

However for all positive things there can be a negative too. Right now im playing the campaign (just done the mission where you kill the dread lords (dont know yet if there will be a comeback but i killed them once so far). Im not really into this campaign. There is something missing in there that makes me unable to really enjoy it. Maybe the lack of "sub" objectives, small quests, things like that. I feel that i first start my mission with a bit of story and then get to kill or capture whatever was needed and then wait for the next mission to continue the story. Its a bit empty dont you think?? One can do more with a campaign. ALOT more.
Also, the fact that technology is more or less following the campaign also kills the feeling of continuity, of advancing in the story, in the timeline. I endup always having to do the basic researches at evry game start (stellar cartography for example) wich makes me wonder what was it that i accomplished in the previous mission. Feels like my civilisation got brainwashed back to the stoneage. Limit the technologies that can be researched by missions (so to not go to the highest tech at first mission) but make it so the game remembers wich technologies that were researched.

Add subobjectives to the campaign, mini quests, different paths depending if you go good, evil or neutral. Make different paths to the story depending on user action during the campaign. Give choices when capturing a planet (like we have sometimes about the good-neutral-evil alignement but instead with story repercussions). Give technological paths, choose something but that decision prevents the choosing of another tech because they are in conflict. more. more. more.

However, having said that, it doesnt mean that i dont appreciate the game. On the contrary, the innovations made just with the ship design is to be commended, the general feeling of the game is great too, good 3d engine, nice humor, efficient interface, good performance overall, clean and understandable stats, good ai, etc etc. This game is great, but damn it has so much potential, i hope the expansion will do something good with it. Make the campaign more interresting!!! Dont just keep it in the briefing screen, go further with it!!

,02$
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SVoyager
Azrune
Join Date 06/2006
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Reply #1 August 19, 2006 3:58:38 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Dude have you seen the omega ship pack downloads in the library? ya gotta see them, they rock!  
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SVoyager
kryo
Join Date 05/2003
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Reply #2 August 19, 2006 9:27:15 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
The campaign is really not the main feature of the game (the sandbox games are). It's really there mainly to move forward with the game universe's background story. And as to the 'not saving research' complaint (which is common): you do gain a small bit of research pre-researched each mission. But otherwise, it's not unlike every other strategy game campaign ever made where you have to get through the tech tree every game, over and over. So it's really not something to be expected that your research would stay.
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SVoyager
SVoyager
Join Date 08/2006
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Reply #3 August 19, 2006 11:30:34 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
agree with you kryo about the fact that this game was built mostly for sandbox and i expected such too because all the other games of the genre usualy went for sandbox too.

but i got pleasently surprised with a campaign and a campaign in such a game was quite a nice change. Thing is, im not saying that the game is ruined for not having a too good campaign, on the contrary, but despite the game being built for sandbox, the fun factor could be even more increased with a good story and good campaign continuity. Campaign that makes you want to see whats gonna happen next. Plus it gives more reasons for adding more expansions to continue and devlop that story further.

thx again for the reply!
SV
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SVoyager
Fuzzybunnies
Join Date 08/2006
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Reply #4 August 21, 2006 12:44:34 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I just finished the campaign as well, and... well... meh.

I almost gave up on it a few times but decided to finish it just for the sake of finishing it before moving on to the sandbox games.

The campaign just feels really tacked onto the game, more like the first 5 missions of any RTS (ie first mission is build 2 farms, 2nd mission is build 5 villagers, 3rd mission is kill a small camp etc). Some variety would definitely have spiced up the campaign but I can understand the benefits of just having something simple that does nothing except create a map and fixed alliances using the sandbox engine.

A couple interesting scenarios that could be interesting with a small (?) amount of campaign only changes:

Huge map, Torian homeworld in the bottom left, Terran homeworld in the Upper right, a string of torian and terran colonies between them. A horde of Drengin fighters surround the Torian homeworld and a fleet of 10 colony ships is launched and must try and get to the Terran homeworld. The colonies between them can try and build fighters to slow down the Drengin or constructors to build starbases with speed boosters etc. Engine techs probably need to start out at basic engines to make this interesting... the drengin capturing the Torian homeworld early on should put them initially on par with the player. Game is won when a min of 5 colony ships enter Earth's radius.

Standard Alamo type scenario. Isolated star system with 3-4 planets and a ring of distand starbases with sensors, waves of attackers start to approach from all directions that you have to fight off etc for a certain amount of time.

Many others that other people can think of, I'm sure...
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