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GalCiv II: v1.1 preview

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GalCiv II: v1.1 preview

Here's what's in store..

from GalCiv2 Forums

Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords v1.1 is in development.  We've got a lot of new features planned.  The list below is by no means comprehensive. It's just some of the things we're focusing on:

  • The ability to set a given planet as a technology, research, ship building or balanced planet, . NOT like the overall focus. It would literally add a 9% boost to a given type (or 3%, 3%, 3%).
  • Color coded the hammers/etc. based on whether they are bonus or not. Then on mouse over, which by then should be very nice, we can display where these numbers come from.
  • On game setup, have an option to simply set up how many players you want to play against and have it randomly pick who you’re playing with.
  • On game setup, have a checkbox that says "Randomize intelligence". The result would be that the game difficulty would be used to distribute the intelligence points. Example: I could select "Tough" and then have this checkbox selected and it would look at the # of players and the total number of intelligent points it takes to have tough and then distribute it out so that some are smarter than others (up to a 30% difference between intelligences).
  • Lots of tweaks to the context window UIs which we’ll be discussing how best to do it.
  • Fleet Manager screen.
  • An option to show auto pilot ships destinations on map with a very very faint line (dotted preferably if possible) where they are going. Ala the trade routes.
  • When selecting a constructor, have a very very faint circle that shows the area of effect a starbase would have.
  • MAJORLY updated AI (not to make it tougher, to make it smarter at higher levels and dumber -- i.e. poor strategies -- at lower levels)
  • Additional ship extras for more ship options
  • Bug fixes of various kinds
  • Approval Rating > 75% gives you a 5% boost to production. Approval rating < 40% has a -5% affect on production. Players won't be charged for this bonus production.
  • Ability to rotate ship components in the Ship Designer
  • Dynamic logo components - brand your ships with your insignia
  • Enhanced context menus for managing stacked ships and fleets
  • Starbase modules pruned/tweaked
  • Unused Social Spending routed to military spending (or back to treasury if nothing is being used)
  • New ship components
  • UI for selecting MODS/Total Conversions
  • Updated Scoring System
  • No Tech Trading option
  • New maps and scenarios
  • Various tweaks to economics, costs, etc.

Update: Free-form ship component rotation and resizing after being placed added. Very cool in action!

We expect to have this out by the end of the month. It'll be free for all customers of Galactic Civilizations II -- now at a store near you.

115,236 views 223 replies
Reply #201 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Ok, I've just read your argument for having social spending money not added back to the treasury, it's a decent argument however I do find the money wasted one of the mosty annoying things in the game. It is especially annoying when I'm struggling to make ends meet and the planet I have designated as a starship building planet has 40 bc being wasted on social production each turn (despite being focused on military). I could tone down the social production but then all my other planets would struggle to build anything.

One solution could be to have one button to focus on a particular area (like we do now) and another button to transfer virtually all funds to a particular area, so you can really specialise your planets in one area.
Alternatively have a button (that could be used in conjunction with the planet focus button) to cancel all funds for one area so that if one of my planets has built everything I can build I can cancel it's social funds.
Either of these solutions would mean that there would never be any huge unexplained jumps in any areas and I don't think that the extra micromanagement would be too much hassle.
Star Control: Origins
Reply #204 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'd like a fix for the race creation bugs.

I've also come to realize that the shipyard really needs a "Hide obsolete components" switch (like Space Empires IV had). When I'm designing ships late in the game, I hate having to scroll past all the dozens of old components I'll never use again. (MOO2 had it right here - instead of making you research, say, 5 different Lasers with the only difference being how much space they use, it just automatically made your Laser smaller as your physics tech got more advanced.) Having the "hide old components" switch would still be a good solution, though.
Reply #205 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
To avoid discontinuities for the morale production bonus calculation, I suggest using a linear scaling calculation with rolloffs at the max and min values:

max_bonus = 5
max_morale = 75
min_morale = 40
range = (max_morale - min_morale) / 2
offset = max_morale - range

morale_rolloff = (morale > max_morale ? max_morale : (morale < min_morale ? min_morale : morale))

bonus = (morale_rolloff - offset) / range * max_bonus

Alternatively, you could use a non-linear scale that rolls-off at selected set points.
Reply #206 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Maybe somewhere in the 200+ posts here I may have missed it, but do we know when 1.1 might be availiable?
Reply #207 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Maybe somewhere in the 200+ posts here I may have missed it, but do we know when 1.1 might be availiable?


You know, I don't think anyone's asked that. But with all the requests we keep bombarding them with, probably sometime after the we've constructed that Stargate for the Arceans...


This man knows what he is talking about. I suggest you all reread what he's said and make love to his brain, which overflows with brilliant goodness and little debbie cakes.


So that's what keeps falling out everytime I lean over...

Don't forget we need to be able to cancel alliances with minors.... Ran into that problem last night.


I second that. I don't bother to ally with them period. You should also be able to ask Ais to un-ally with other Civs.
Reply #208 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Does "additional ship extras for more options" mean the component code has been significantly reworked to allow greater modding flexibility?
Reply #209 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
First off, I want to thank you. Thank you very much., for creating such a great and open game!!!I have been a Moo, Civ, and Xcom fan for years. I started gaming in the Ultima Days. Moo was definately one of my favorites. However, when At*&^ released Moo 3. At first, I was so excited, and then all I wanted to do was send them a bomb. For ruining such a good franchise, and treating thier customers with such blatent disrespect. I made a mod for Moo 3, but became so frustrated with it. With the lack of support, and terrible programming I decided to abandonded the game after the beta. Ata*& in fact made me so made by thier arrogance and greed, that I, to this day have not purchased an At*&^ game. Nor will I ever. This should show you the level of gamers that our out there, awaiting a great game like this. For I am not the only one!! I for one am rejoicing this year...It is the year of strategy games!!!! and possibly RPG's. Thank you so much..The improvement to 1.1 sound right on. If you keep up support like this, I will purchase window blinds and maybe another copy of Gal Civ 2. This is a perfect combination game of Space empires 4 and Moo 3. I do plan on making a mod, maybe some people would be interested in getting together.

Reply #210 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Can't wait to lay my unholy hands on that. And hope AI would value techs more and won't sell it to everyone)
Reply #211 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I may just have missed someone proposing this earlier, but I would like being able to disable the "major" events. By these I mean the galactic economy boost periods and everybody getting +50% speed with the new superdrive, as well as the random discoveries of precursor ships.

In my opinion these can really mess the game when they occur (especially the permanent ones) and are generally annoying. So, if at all possible, could we have a chance to turn them off?
Reply #212 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I hope there will be alot more ship components. More special weapons and armor. Right now weapon, engine and shield configuration is way too simple. How about adding weapons with ammo, and engines with fuel. And how about special equipment like drones, psychic weapons, jump drives and fightersbays.

But i must say that update looks realy good
Reply #213 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I hope there will be alot more ship components. More special weapons and armor. Right now weapon, engine and shield configuration is way too simple. How about adding weapons with ammo, and engines with fuel. And how about special equipment like drones, psychic weapons, jump drives and fightersbays.


I think some of these are a bit much...but fighter bays would be awesome....I love watching my little bees of death swarm the bad guys.
Reply #214 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Disabling tech trading may become 'optional' but its still been nerfed a bit from the release already.

That's been my biggest beef. I never, never feel like I ever get a fair shake from the AI. We want Extreme entertainment and we'll give you missile weapon theory !?!? Oh geez. I've got news for the AI. I'd rather shoot them with a plasma gun (which is why i didnt bother with missiles). Not to mention the tech they want me to give up is way harder to research. The value of techs overall must be pathetic. It's hard to sell tech(s) for a few hundred bcs in the early game. Will you be able to buy a colony ship if you sell off ion drive to every one? No. It's best to keep it and be the only fast one.

What is the point of trading if you're going to get ripped off?

Reply #215 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yea, tech trade now mean ifone know something two turns after everyone would get it. Kills athmosphere( such as warlike guys with backward econ - now they got both\
And hope now I'll see Pirates.
Reply #216 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I know this is probably too much to ask, but I also wish there were more ways to affect my alignment than random events. When you think about it, it's kinda silly that random events are the ONLY actions my empire can take to get a good or evil rating before Xeno Ethics.

In the GalCiv universe, Hitler and Stalin and bin Laden would probably be neutral, at worst. And why not? You can wage invasions until you've put every other race in the galaxy to death, conquering world after world with exterminations literally thousands of times worse than the Holocaust, and STILL be considered "good", even if you were the aggressor every time. In reality, blowing up colony ships and freighters would probably be considered a war crime (attacking non-combatants), but that's not an alignment issue, either. Nor is it bad to trade with evil races (death furnaces, 30,000 of oppression, agendas to subjugate all organic life, whatever, we're getting MORE MONEY!), or use your insane diplomacy mod to treaty-rape minor races by trading outdated techs for obscene amounts of cash.

Okay, you could argue the trade/exploitation is morally indifferent, but I'd love to see alignment shifts for starting wars against other races, at least if they're good/neutral or had friendly relations with you. You know, things you would EXPECT evil empires to do.

It'd also be really cool if there were other alignment things you could do. Like, if you wanted to be good, you could go to your domestic screen and fund a homeless/poor relief policy or whatever - it would eat money every turn, but slowly shift your alignment towards good. Or you could go the other way, and set a policy of slave labor and draconian laws - that would also cost money (all those guards and secret police don't pay for themselves), but shift you towards evil and (keeping with the game's stance on evil helping you in the short run) maybe give you a loyalty/production boost.
Reply #217 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Something like unique ship for every race would be great (only one can be build, and stats are not the same for each unique ships)
Reply #218 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
DIG IT FROGGER!!!

Love it so far (v1.0), can't wait for 1.1

"some are smarter than others (up to a 30% difference between intelligences)."

Would this be a 30% difference or a fuzzy-math 30%/2 difference, I wonder?

Could we have the math at least a tad less fuzzy? If I were me (and, come to think, I was the last time I checked), I'd like to have at least a bit more indication that Cause A resulted in either b or B. You could keep it cute and furry, but "Hey, doing X will make Y raise ______ (a little if it's less than (?)5%), (some (5-10%)), (quite a bit (10-15%)), viscious rodentloads, Tim-loads (but only if it is over 100%) etc.

Thnx 4 da humor. It really blindsided me.
Reply #219 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thanks for the great game!
But here's a few bugs that I noticed that I did not see posted, maby it's under the "bug fixes of various kinds" catagory.
The three weapons at the end of the three weapon tree's are flawed.
The BlackholeEruptor has the same picture and model as the Positronic Torpedo II, and it's name I would think should be named Black Hole Eruptor.
The Black Hole Generator has the same picture and model as the Neutrino Bullets.
The Doom Ray has no picture and the same model as the Plasma III.
A sugestion I have for the game is when moving ships and fleets have it so you can hold down the right mouse button and see the path that the ship will fly and the eta.
Thanks again for the GREAT GAME!!!
Reply #220 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Minor little thing: If morale is over 100%, could the popup show it's actual number in addition to the 100% (if it calculates to 170%, show 170% at the pop-up.) Would make it easier to know if a colony is really over happy and can use more people, or if it's just where it needs to be.
Reply #221 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Well, we've genocided populations as well- and we're considered a "good" civilization (not trying to start a political debate)

What we do to bugs/Yor/Thalans doesn't have anything to do with how we perceive our morality- Morality is more how you treat your own, not the buggers.
Reply #222 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
With regards to the economic system: Have you thought about making social and military production actually carry over to the next project? (Just like it is nicely done for research, not 100% sure for social production, but military productions is definitely not carried over.)
Reply #223 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Will I need the Stardock central to download it or will Ibe able to take it directly from the download page here in the site?