As far as the insectoid races go. I doubt that we would be able to even "view" a hive queen. Most likely all negotiations would occur through an intermediary and not the queen.

She is much too important to risk. They would probably use a regular worker as they are imputed to be able to hive communicate anyways.

Why cant she be assassinated? gas the hive or something. Or be extra sneaky.

I was thinking of the event where the leader of a civ is assassinated while touring a factory on one of your worlds, causing war to break out. If it's like your standard SciFi hivemind, that would wipe out the entire civ. The queen is not a personage that ever goes anywhere near citizens of other civs.

Or an equal opportunity alien race that just happens to have a female emissary?

But what about non-humanoid aliens with more than 2 genders?

Or they could be hermaphoditic.

Isn't it interesting how all of these ideas have roots in what we see here on our own world? Perhaps we are being too narrow minded in what could be?

If all embassadors were replaced with androids, the issue would just go away.....hmmm...

Ha...Ha...No.

Well, that GNN robot looks pretty feminine to me.

Actually Hyper Malls could work as a way to spread youre culture through the galaxy I honestly see no reason why they shouldnt be added

Anyone notice that the Torian Confederation Ambassador looks... well like a giant penis? In keeping with the gender equality theme of this thread... perhaps one of other ambassadors can look more like a vagina? That said, perhaps the human race is the only race that has male and female species? For all I know, the Drengin are unisex beings that mate by rubbing each others ear lobes as they are genetically evolved from the Ferengue? .... someone pass that space bong... I'll brainstorm some more on this important subject.

I apologize if this comes off a bit harsh, but I'm a bit angry here.

We're not asking for much here. Just a little 2d picture at the race selection screen (used elsewhere during the game as well) that can alternately be a female instead of male, and for the various titles throughout the game to reflect the choice of male or female leaders... and you suggest that they'll be added in an expansion pack? I hope that was a joke (which it's a really bad one at that!), because if it isn't that's just sad. Nothing turns me off of a game faster than to find out that I cannot play a female (being one myself!). Please do not make me regret having pre-ordered GC2.

I think back to all of the predecessors to the GC series. Most of them didn't even have a name or face for the leader, thus avoiding the issue altogether, but those that did definitely included females. Even the original Civilization had Queen Elizabeth and Cleopatra complete with graphics as options, and that was 1991!! Here we are 14 years later, and you say you might include us in an expansion pack?! I just think how well (poorly!) Everquest or The Sims would have sold if they had decided that females were too expensive to model, and thus shunted them off to expansion pack territory. Sure, this isn't an MMOG or a "sim" game, but it's just as important to the female audience here, as it is there.

In fact, I do believe I hesitated in pre-ordering till I was assured by Carielf that unlike GC1, GC2 would include female leader options. I was -not- going to buy the game if I had to edit the files like I did in GC1. It also wouldn't be the first time I have opted not to buy a game because I couldn't play a female... and I'm not the only one. Sure, there aren't too many female players in the ranks of GC2, but there are a few. And I can assure you, there will be at least one less if we aren't included.

In all honesty, I'd rather see you get rid of the pictures altogether but include female titles and the like during the game, than to not have the option at all. At least then I wouldn't feel like an after thought!

I don't remember being female or male being a cosmetic concept in real life Why is it cosmetic in game?