Turn off these "too powerful" Random Events??

from GalCiv2 Forums

To start, I love the game. I'm new to Gal Civ, but have been playing computer turn-based strategy games since Master of Magic. This game was worth every penny spent, and then some.

However, I'm finding some of the random events just too "game-changing" for my tastes. I mentioned in another thread that the appearance of the Ranger ship almost ruined a good game, as nobody (myself, the other AI's) had anything that could even remotely counter it. This Ranger easily destroyed fleet after fleet of medium hull ships (and myself and one AI had just gotten medium hulls, which I bankrupted myself to buy just so I could hold off this one ship - to no avail).

After 12+ hrs into an intense and close game, to have this happen... just... sucks. There was no way I could research fast enough to beat this thing. Hey, maybe it's me - maybe I'm just not good enough yet to have the proper techs I *should* have had at that point. But on normal, I was (barely) winning, and everyone had some strengths and weaknesses - in other words, it was a good, close game, and I seemed to be holding my own.

Then I read in another thread of a random event that turned all class 0 planets in a large area to class 12's. Dozens of planets. Say what???

Now maybe some people like this type of gameplay, but I don't, and I suspect there are others that don't like this level of "overpowered" randomness.

Don't get me wrong - a little randomness and luck is fine (and fun). Give someone *one or two* new class 12 planets. Or make a powerful, but not untouchable, ship appear. A ship that can maybe turn the tide on one front, but then succumb (as the civ that has it didn't actually build it, so they don't fully understand it, and it blows up after twenty turns or whatnot).

A little randomness makes it fun. But the types of events that are currently in GalCiv2 are really *way* too game-changing. I only like playing these kinds of games on huge maps, so I tend to invest a *lot* of time into one game - to think a completely game-changing random event is right around the corner sort of ruins it.

So, can this be addressed? Can't these events be turned off? Or have a toggle for minor / medium / game changing levels of randomness?

On a happy note, I found the cheat codes and killed the ranger with 2 battleships (which I then destroyed - I really don't like to cheat), so my game isn't ruined.
29,965 views 29 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Sounds like a good idea actually. While a bit of randomness is always good, being able to modify how much is in your game should go right in the vein of anomalies.

Besides, if you're ever in a mood for gal civ russian roulette, you can always turn the randomness factor to really high!
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
I reported the +13 ( ) PQ event that in a small game turned all remaining planets (0's) into class 13. That killed the game. But following someones suggestion, I went back half a dozen turns and had a different event. Instead of all planets in a 2 sector radius, only the planets in that particular solar system gained 13PQ. It seems the "ofrce" of certain events is random.

I like the events, but think that their effect coould be limited by the galaxy size in the case I reported or in the case of Owl's game, have the ship be ahead but not that much ahead, depending on the overhaul tech level of all players.
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
I totally agree on the Lucky Rangers. In my game (which was a close game too) i was given a Lucky Ranger and then yet another one ! I won the game too easily and undeservedly. I didn' t enjoy it although i won the game.
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
I believe that the Random Events are Just right. Life in our little mudball is already pretty unpredictable, why should the universe be any different. Now imagine if in that situation you were able to somehow destroy the ranger ship? To me, if the challenge was to destroy 1 uber ship and i was able to do it (maybe wave after wave of fighter squadrons because it would lose a little bit of health each time) I would feel pretty smug about myself. The PQ0 -> PQ13 event would be a great event because it'll set off a whole new "land grab" phase in the game.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
I believe that the Random Events are Just right.


which is why I think it should be able to be toggled. That way, everyone is happy. I like *some* random setbacks / advantages. But not the completely game-changing ones that many people are seeing.

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
To me, if the challenge was to destroy 1 uber ship and i was able to do it (maybe wave after wave of fighter squadrons because it would lose a little bit of health each time) I would feel pretty smug about myself.


I should have put this in my other post... sorry.

Anyway, I would agree with you if that were the case.

But (at least in my game), that wasn't the case. I *did* send fleet after fleet of the best I had, and it didn't matter. I mean, four fleets of my best ships, and it went from like 55hp to 52. The smaller ships couldn't scratch it - four other fleets of defenders did no damage at all. That's WAY too strong. It would seem that this one ship could have easily beaten every ship on the board.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
My two cents on this one. The random events need to be toned down. I got *4* Lucky rangers in one game! That seems a bit off. Not to mention, that same game, I ran into an AI player that had *9* Precursor corvettes. Fortunately, Rangers are so slow to move, you have some time to plan to counter them.

In my most recent game, I found 2 Rangers, Accidently Assasinated the most powerful AI player's leader *TWICE* (once I can understand, but c'mon, twice in the same game? LIke I needed hordes of pitiful 'revenge' ships suddenly sprinkled throughout my sphere of influence twice in one game!), had to deal with the same manticore tree moral question twice, taking a double hit on it's outcome, experienced a 1 week economic boom, and then another that lasted for months and months, I dunno.. I think the degree of some of these events should be toned down, and there ought to be a check in place to keep the same events from repeating again and again.

Personally, I still think you should have the option when you find a 'Lucky Ranger' to just dismantle it for 1-3 random ship related technologies (miniturization, weapon system, defensive system, perhaps a hull type, sensor tech, engine type ... something like that..) It seems far more feasible to me that a race would be able to salvage something from the wreck of a millenia old precursor ship, rather than that ship being actually spaceworthy after all that time...

However, yes, I think some sort of option to limit the degree, or turn on or off 'galactic events' should be available.

(Not that I didn't make full use of those rangers, but really, I hardly earned them, you know?)
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
The PQ0 -> PQ13 event would be a great event because it'll set off a whole new "land grab" phase in the game.


that was not really a new landgrab. There where about 60 - 80 new class 13 planets. Even if that could be "interesting" it is so much micromanagement that there will be almost nothing else left. I would still be at it now, 2-3 weeks later... Though I admit there is people that would like that. But I chose rare/uncommon habitable planets, and usually start with 2 or 3 and end up with 6-10 and 3-4 other civs with +/- the same number of planets I have, due to the other civs disappearing, minor civs, new civs, and events. I think that makes an interesting game, not too long, not too short.

And still, having an event that turns ALL the planets in the galaxy into habitable planets, that's not an event, it's a miracle
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
I hate to say the name, but MOO3 had the worst random events of all time. If anyone here played that they should remembe. It seemed like every random event was terrible, and they happened more often in that game. I remeber one game, I was finnaly doing fairly good (rare on that game). And there was a industrial accident on my home world that decresed its PQ buy half(i don't think it was called PQ in that game, but it was the same concept).
-That was the last time I played that game with random events
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
Personally I like the random events. Yes, they're often inconvenient, even disastrous, but I enjoy the challenge of trying to adapt in time to work around them, even if I don't succeed. (And I remember that they were a big part of what kept the original GalCiv interesting for me after I'd had the game for ahile and fell into the habit of using the same basic strategy every time.)

Though I agree that some kind of toggle would be nice for those who don't feel the same way. (And as TBS games in general often encourage the player to indulge their inner control-freak, I'm betting there are a lot of people who would prefer to do without a high level of randomness...)
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
I've only gotten the rangers on a couple games, Im not very fight oriented though but it was the backbone of my fleet
I do remember it being decimated shortly after by those uber mini-races...
Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
Never, ever, got a ranger random event, and I have been basically living at my computer for the last week or so. You know, between eating and working, lol.

Sounds like I am getting jipped. I did see an enemy faction leader get offed, and a very cool event when some dudes showed up and started conquering the Torian, who at the time were all fuzzy wuzzy peace loving and starting to influence my Terran planets. That was a good time.

I don't see a whole lot of random events, maybe I have just been unlucky.
Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top
yeah i got 4 lucky rangers in just a two month time span, too bad my enemies ships were huge and had huge defensees against mass drivers!

I'll tell you what though, i have not yet seen this 13 PQ event happen, but it does sound to powerful. The ranger stuff though, its all part of the game. I've had a AI wipe me clean with one, I've seen struggling AI's get back into the game. I lvoe the random events.
Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top
Although the PQ event does sound a little much, if you're not happy about getting the rangers, you could always just scrap them for cash and go about your game the old fashioned way. Of course if an AI gets it, then thats a whole 'nother story...
Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top
I *did* send fleet after fleet of the best I had, and it didn't matter. I mean, four fleets of my best ships, and it went from like 55hp to 52. The smaller ships couldn't scratch it - four other fleets of defenders did no damage at all. That's WAY too strong. It would seem that this one ship could have easily beaten every ship on the board.


Lead the Ranger ship into a kill zone. Setup a zone with overlapping military starbases and place large fleets of tiny fighters loaded with an optimal attack type. The Ranger may have mega firepower but it will only be able to take out one fighter per attack. If the first fleet does not succeed in taking it out then immediately attack it with another, until it is destroyed!
Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top
That's is right! I want traditional 4x events like '1 irrelavant factory destroyed', they are so much better.

Err NOT.
Reply #17 from Stardock Forums Top
I would agree that somehow the random events need to change. What would be best, imo, is to be able to specify which events you want to happen, and how good they can be, and after how many turns (or discovery of a tech?) the specific event is allowed.

kinda a pain to create UI for all of that, so maybe just some kind of XML file we can throw in the mods dir?
Reply #19 from Stardock Forums Top
I got an event the other day where a new minor race emerged after some evil actions by me. "Evil Fundamentalists have risen up." Half my planets were taken. I was not amused, but I did enjoy the challenge and overcame those evil frog men.
Reply #20 from Stardock Forums Top
Haven't seen a Ranger ship yet... I really don't like having really strong random events. It invalidates all the effort I've put in if the game is suddenly just handed to me.

Anyway, an editable XML file would work.
Another approach would be a slider to control the frequency of events and another to control the magnitude of possible events.
Reply #21 from Stardock Forums Top
To be fair the Ranger class ship has been around since GC1. But it was not so common. It seems to get out of control when you have the luck Ability. (even though you can get it without it)

Just needs to be toned down a bit I think.

In one game the Fundametalist came in and attacked all evil empires... By 50 turns in they were gone. In GC1 you feared them...
Reply #22 from Stardock Forums Top
The only people who dont seem to support putting some sliders or options on the degree of random events are the poeple who havent had game-ruining events yet. So I am definiteluy in favor of some sort of option, slider, or limit on the power of the random events. THis is a strategy game after all, and while flexibility to respond to new threats is important, If I wanted to play whack-a-mole I'd go to Chuck e Cheeze.

MG
Reply #23 from Stardock Forums Top
Oh I forgot to mention I ran into a Random Even couple days ago where I got a message that such and Such found a new powerful Device that Increases there power everyturn.. If you don't do something about it (like attack them) they will soon incompass the game.

Well It just happened to happen to my ally on the other side of the galaxy. He soon grew, and grew and grew and grew. I ended the game cause that was kinda of strange. Its like one of those you have 2 years to finish this game or its over kinda even. Did not like that one at ALL.
Reply #24 from Stardock Forums Top
I really don't like having really strong random events. It invalidates all the effort I've put in if the game is suddenly just handed to me.


I fully agree.

I like random events but I don't want a random event to totally alter a game. I don't want an easy win from a random event any more than I want an unavoidable loss.
Reply #25 from Stardock Forums Top
I've haven't done this, so it is just a theory, but I think all of the shipclass files for the in game ships are exposed to us. So, theoretically you could replace the files for the Lucky Ranger with an average (or above average, or below average, or whatever) ship that you feel wouldn't ruin the balance of your game. I can't say the same about the PQ event though, but the ranger seems the most imbalancing (since anyone can land grab, on one race gets the ranger).