Notes on exploration in GalCiv2

from GalCiv2 Forums
There are a couple of problems I see with exploration in GalCiv2, that I would like to see fixed:

1) You can see where the enemy's territory is even if you haven't explored the map (by turning on influence in the mini-map).
2) You can see exactly where an enemy's PLANETS are even if you haven't explored the map (simply look at the trade routes. If there's three of them going into one space in your grey fog of war... congrats, you just found the enemy capital.)
3) You can automatically go directly to all anomalies in the area by clicking the auto-survey button, even if you haven't found them yet.

Because of these three (what I consider) bugs, the exploration aspect of the game is greatly hindered.

I suggest fixing the above issues and here's a gameplay feature I'd like to see in an expansion to improve on exploration:
Stars hidden in nebulae. These stars/planets don't show up on long range scanners and can only be found with exploration.
ideas
9,381 views 14 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hi Simplicity2

These have all been noted before but it is good to see people like yourself who obviously enjoy the game come up with some ready fixes for the problems found

Keep up the good work and enjoy the game
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
These quite obviously aren't bugs. You know this, because they're big fat deliberate features. It's like calling the ship designer a bug. I can understand how you might not like it, but it's not a bug.

I like the current set-up. Your civilization is picking up radio signals and other traffic that indicates where other civilizations are. You have a map of trade routes easily available from the Merchant's Guild or from some suborned freighter crews. And planets, being humungous piles of metal orbiting nuclear reactors of unimaginable size, are VERY EASY to spot. I mean, us Earthlings have spotted Alpha Centauri without going there. We've actually seen over 100 planets in our galaxy already. On a gigantic size map, I appreciate not having the headache of manually searching everything out.

You don't know, however, which planets your enemy is colonizing, and you don't know what quality they are. So, there' still a random element there.
SoundPackager - Customize the Windows sound scheme
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
These quite obviously aren't bugs. You know this, because they're big fat deliberate features. It's like calling the ship designer a bug. I can understand how you might not like it, but it's not a bug.

I like the current set-up. Your civilization is picking up radio signals and other traffic that indicates where other civilizations are. You have a map of trade routes easily available from the Merchant's Guild or from some suborned freighter crews. And planets, being humungous piles of metal orbiting nuclear reactors of unimaginable size, are VERY EASY to spot. I mean, us Earthlings have spotted Alpha Centauri without going there. We've actually seen over 100 planets in our galaxy already. On a gigantic size map, I appreciate not having the headache of manually searching everything out.

You don't know, however, which planets your enemy is colonizing, and you don't know what quality they are. So, there' still a random element there.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
GC2 really isn't about exploration. Unless you play as human, you already know where all the planets and stars are, anyway. And humans not knowing about them doesn't really make sense, since it's not like you can hide a star (even if visible light is blocked, they are still detectable through a variety of means).
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Easy "work around" for an exploration game : turn all the planet stars options down to minimum, gigantic galaxy, evenly spaced stars, slow tech progression, small number of AIs
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
also if you dont want to know where the other civs start, dont turn the "show influence" button or whatever it's called you basicly have th ebutton there as a "option"
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
It's interesting how many people aren't reading my post before replying. I'm fine with knowing where stars and planets are. That wasn't my issue.

also if you dont want to know where the other civs start, dont turn the "show influence" button or whatever it's called you basicly have th ebutton there as a "option"


Actually, this doesn't help because you can still see the trade routes, which *still* tells you where they are.
There's a button to turn of trade routes in one of those patches, but while I'm at it, why don't I just turn off all planet graphics whatsoever. That way I can fly completely blind and not even know where my *own* planets are...

The information is useful. I don't want to turn off useful information that I've validly scouted. I want to turn off the information that I shouldn't have.

These quite obviously aren't bugs. You know this, because they're big fat deliberate features. It's like calling the ship designer a bug. I can understand how you might not like it, but it's not a bug.

I like the current set-up. Your civilization is picking up radio signals and other traffic that indicates where other civilizations are. You have a map of trade routes easily available from the Merchant's Guild or from some suborned freighter crews. And planets, being humungous piles of metal orbiting nuclear reactors of unimaginable size, are VERY EASY to spot. I mean, us Earthlings have spotted Alpha Centauri without going there. We've actually seen over 100 planets in our galaxy already. On a gigantic size map, I appreciate not having the headache of manually searching everything out.

You don't know, however, which planets your enemy is colonizing, and you don't know what quality they are. So, there' still a random element there.


I think they are unimplemented features. It's easy to implement showing influence without masking it by the fog of war. It's harder to mask it. I think they didn't bother to mask it.

I know exactly which planets my enemy is colonizing. I can send my ships across the map straight to those planets having never explored the area. I have no problem with seeing the existence of planets in the mini-map. I never said that I did. I DO have a problem with knowing exactly what my enemy is doing without scouts or sensors. Because they are a strategic element, and the lack of such an element is a detriment to the game.

I *like* the game. I just think I'd like it better if I weren't quasi-omniscient.

Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thats funny, most people would like to be quasi-omniscient, but then I am talking about real life here.

I happen to agree. It would be nice to take a nice quality planet in some corner of a huge galaxy that my enemy doesn't know about. He may be able to find it if he sends a scout over, or sees my ships coming from that direction, but otherwise it can be a nice hidden gold mind. But if he magically can see all my influence then it ruins that fun.

On the flip side of course, you don't want to spend all your time searching the galaxy trying to find that one planet you missed of your enemy...

Secondly with the trade routes, it is odd that you can see the route through the FOW, and the see where the trade line suddenly stops. My first thought was that well, trade routes aren't exactly secrets and so that information may be available anyway. But then if that information is available, then you would probably also know about the planets they are leading to.

But as for being bugs, well no.. Mostly I think they are design decisions. Not necessarily agreeable ones, but decisions nevertheless. Except for the survery one, I think that was an "unintentional design decision".
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
There's no need to scout the galaxy like crazy to find one lowly planet. That planet will still have an influence boundary. All I need to do is scout for the influence boundary. Once I've visited an area with my scouts, then I don't mind seeing influence there.

I don't mind seeing influence in the "grey" fog of war. Just in the totally "black" fog of war.
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thats funny, most people would like to be quasi-omniscient, but then I am talking about real life here.


Being omniscient is only fun for a little while. Then it gets to be a real bore.
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Being omniscient is only fun for a little while. Then it gets to be a real bore.


Is that from experience?
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
These quite obviously aren't bugs. You know this, because they're big fat deliberate features. It's like calling the ship designer a bug. I can understand how you might not like it, but it's not a bug.



Sorry, I think 3 is a bug. Since you haven't detected the anomoly by any means how can your auto-survey work?

#2 is just good data analysis.

#1 is likely an oversight, since GalCiv1 didn't work this way. I dislike it a lot. There should be an exploration phase, where you find out where your enemies have influence.

Is the permanent sensor view on death an intended feature too, in your opinion?
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
GC2 really isn't about exploration.


Possibly only of semantic interest, but can it then technically be considered a 4x game at all?