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Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar Announced!

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Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar Announced!

Sometimes, evil wins...

https://www.galciv2.com/darkavatar/
from GalCiv2 Forums

This Fall Stardock will be releasing the Dark Avatar expansion pack for Galactic Civilizations II.

Dark Avatar is the first official expansion pack to Stardock's award-winning PC strategy game, Galactic Civiliations II.

The expansion pack goes far beyond the typical expansion. Not only does it add new units, new races, new maps, and a new campaign as is expected in an expansion pack, it greatly expands the feature set of the base game in very significant ways.

Here are some of the features that will be in the expansion pack:

  • Custom Opponents.  Just as players can design their own civilizations; in Dark Avatar they can design their own opponents to play against. This isn't just cosmetic either, players will be able to set up their intelligence, personality, playing style as well as what they look like, what ships they use, what dialog they use, etc.  These opponents are then saved for later use.
  • Agents. Players will be able to hire agents via espionage to wreak havoc on their opponents or to counter enemy agents operating in their own empire.
  • Special Worlds.  Worlds in Galactic Civilizations II will have an additional classification -- environment type. Different races will start with the ability to colonize only certain environment types.  Through research and technology, additional planet types can be colonized and conquered but it will totally change the way the initial colonization phase of the game plays out.
  • The Epic Generator.  One of the things Stardock has put out that people seem to like are epic stories of game play examples.  Dark Avatar will generate such stories automatically and export them as HTML so that players can share their stories with others and look back at a good game as the epic saga they imagined.
  • Asteroid Fields. The economics in Dark Avatar will be altered to make strategic control of additional kinds of resources important. Amongst those will be the asteroid fields which, when utilized, can help the closest colonized planet. In additional, asteroid fields act as a natural barrier slowing down incoming ships.
  • New Treaties. Diplomacy will get beefed up with the additional of new diplomatic treaties. These treaties not only provide mutual benefit but give players more tools to forge their relations with other players.
  • New Races. Two new civilizations will be introduced to the mix including the evil Korath who are bent on genocide at the galactic scale.
  • New hulls and ship components. A ton of hulls and ship components are going to be added. This really can't be overstated enough because not only are there going to be a lot of these components but the quality is far superior to what we've done before thanks to having mastered the art of making ship hulls and components.
  • The New Campaign: Dark Avatar. This time, the Drengin Empire are the good guys. You must make the galaxy safe for oppression and tyranny...because the alternative is worse.

The expansion pack will list for $29.95 but users will be able to pre-order it for $24.95.  The expansion will be initally released digital only via TotalGaming.net (and the store on GalCiv2.com). though players can also have a CD sent to them as well. 

The release date is this Fall.

128,766 views 123 replies
Reply #76 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
well 30$ or even 25$ I think its too much for an expansion


Yeah, I thought so too. But then again, it also has too many features for an expansion. You pay for half a game, and it looks like you're getting about half a game. I'll pay $25 for it.
Reply #77 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! An Altarian female. Other than that, OH MY GOD IT"S B-E-A-UTIFUL! Those ships are the stuff in my sci-fi dreams. Also good call with the espionage and destabalization. Also with the custom opponents. This pack is WAY better than Galciv 2 itself.

Korath are cool, kinda like a Galactic Nazi Empire.

What about different KINDS of Evil? Sounds like the Drengin wont get along with the Korath. Genocide isn't the same as the Yor evil. The Yor just don't know any better.

I guess Frogboy will be a DARK AVATAR now on.  
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Reply #78 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
2. What would happen if a civ's planet is taken oven through influence and the receiving civ doesn't have the tech to colonize it?


Good question. Same applies to invasions; what happens when one civ invades the planet of another that the invader normally couldn't colonise?
Reply #79 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Oh dear, if that's the problem, then I apologize.


Ah no, don't worry about. I was just saying, and that may not have been the reason anyway. Hum, I think the problem has gone now anyway.

QUESTION @ FROGBOY: Can you invade a planet that doesn't match your habitat type?

PS In GC3, can we have some better cut-scenes? The current ones don't make me feel good about winning or whatever I've achieved.
Reply #80 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Simply great. There is possibly everything I wanted to see in this expansion and then some. Hat's off to you guys, you've done it again. Superlative.
Reply #81 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
NEW SHIP PARTS!!!

That was enough to make me buy it when it comes out... hehe.

However, all of the other features look very nice as well... thanks guys for this awesome expansion!I can't wait to get it!
Reply #82 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Looks great. My only gripe would be that the game is only distributed digitally. I just like to have a game on a proper CD in a proper box, with a manual and a printed tech-tree and a giant poster and a pony.
Reply #83 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Wow, great feature list. I did not purchase the expansion to GalCivI as I am mostly a sandbox mode player and it did not seem to offer much to me. This expansion, however, looks like it will be awesome. I cant' wait!

Tony
Reply #84 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Sounds awesome - Count me in

Lord Herman you can preorder for download+cd as well as just download
Reply #85 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The #1 thing that annoys me about different planet "environments".

In games that did that, SE4, MOO3, etc. I found it incredibly annoying how it was impossible to tell an AI to not occupy your territory, or sphere of influence. I want to be able to claim a starsystem myself and say none else shall colonise it.

Will you be able to do something like that in this? If not then its going to be an incredibly annoying feature.
Reply #86 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Question for anyone who bought GalCiv2 Digitally: What exactly do you download? A CD image that you burn? Or just the executable to install the game? Just would like to know if I can burn my download and store it with my GalCiv2 CDs as a back up.
Reply #87 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Question for anyone who bought GalCiv2 Digitally: What exactly do you download? A CD image that you burn? Or just the executable to install the game? Just would like to know if I can burn my download and store it with my GalCiv2 CDs as a back up.



The stardock download manager downloads and installs all the game files, you can then back it up I guess, and you can download it again if you lose the cd's or reformat your drive etc
Reply #88 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Will you be able to do something like that in this?


You already can't do this when you and someone else colonize habitable worlds in the same system. Why would there be any difference with this?
Reply #89 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Question for anyone who bought GalCiv2 Digitally: What exactly do you download? A CD image that you burn? Or just the executable to install the game? Just would like to know if I can burn my download and store it with my GalCiv2 CDs as a back up.


It contains an install file that automatically installs its self. I'm not sure if you could burn it to cd.
Reply #90 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Question for anyone who bought GalCiv2 Digitally: What exactly do you download? A CD image that you burn? Or just the executable to install the game?

Only the needed files: If you haven't installed the game, it downloaded all files. If you have the game already installed, it will download only the new files. A pretty convenient way to have your game patched up-to-date.

Just would like to know if I can burn my download and store it with my GalCiv2 CDs as a back up.

When you have SDC (Stardock Central), you can do an archive and burn it on a CD. But you will need SDC you reinstall the archive, since they are some registry settings that are automatically handled by SDC.

BTW, if you have SDC, you can archive your current version of GC2 to reinstall it later.

Reply #91 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The features sound nice ant I think they will influence the gameplay to a much higher level in complexity and variability. But I also agree to the point that 30$ are a real steep price for an addon. I bought GalCiv2 on the first day it was published for a regular price of 28€ here in Europe, so I would spend more for the addon as for the game itself.

Maybe some guys at Stardock implement a nice little HotSeat-Mode or play-by-mail for the addon..

Ok, ok, I'm already quite! *gg*
Reply #92 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Are the humans still going to be playable?
I would really love for the force changing the Korath to be the humans, just to give 'em a reason to come back as the Holy Crusaders.
Were will the humans be in this anyway?

(P.S: For thos of you in Europe or England, try to find a compatible version in American Dollars, last time i checked it was around 1.70$ to a pound and 1.50 to a euro)
Reply #93 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Sounds Awsome too bad I can not get it for I don't have a credit card  
Reply #94 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
For those that dont have credit cards, I know you can get some type of gift debit cards that you put cash on and then use as a credit card. Im not sure if this is available outside of the US or not, but I given some of these Visa gift cards to people before. Something to look into
Reply #95 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Campaign: don't care
Any feature that can't be used in Metaverse: don't care
Everything else: sounds cool
Reply #96 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I just want to say. . . I love you guys, always and forever. Thank you.
Reply #97 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I wet my pants in excitment. This will really change what was already a living legend.
Reply #98 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Sounds great, if all these will ever be done

I have some proposals:

1. What about tactical battles? The poll shows that majority of the people wants them! Of course, this means a serious changes in game mechanics, but it also makes the game really GREAT!

2. There is no difference between different types of weapon in game for now. Only different countermeasures, that is all. I think, this must be changed.
A beam weapon will dissipates on range and do less damage, perhaps it can be overheated and have a cooldown time. And it can simply miss the target, especially if the target is a small ship. Missiles will always hit their targets, but can be jammed or destroyed on their path. Guns and missiles can run out of ammo during the battle.

3. During the battle, some of the ship components may be damaged or destroyed.

4. Small or tiny ship must have a great defence bonus due to evasion of fire from capital ships. For now, fighters are no threat for battleships and therefore useless. Also, the carriers must added for balance.

5. Some strategic resourses must be added. The possesion of these will allow civilization to construct the most advanced or specialized weaponry or buildings. (Perhaps, the construction of a Doom ray requires "neutroniun", which can acquired from a neutron star - if you have a mining base near). The presence or lack of such resources can totally change the strategy.

6. Some cool things on a map - black holes, radiation belts, nebulae, neutron star, double or triple star systems etc.. These may have some effects on nearby colonies or tresspassing ships or for just aestetic purposes.
Reply #99 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
6. Some cool things on a map - black holes, radiation belts, nebulae, neutron star, double or triple star systems etc... These may have some effects on nearby colonies or tresspassing ships or for just aestetic purposes.


I would love some of those. I can even think of some ways they could be used. Nebulae would reduce sensor range, but you could also hide ships inside. They would aslo be big: the size of an actural star system. On larger maps, they could be enen bigger, and might even have a stat (no planets) inside.

Black holes, radiation belts, and neutron star are much more realistic hazards than asteroids. And double star systems: Well, half of all the stars are supposed to be double star systems. You could have your own Tatooine!
Reply #100 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
There's an old tabletop game called Star Fleet Battles. If you had a black hole on the board, and you were within X tiles of it, at the end of the turn you were pulled 1 tile towards it. Ships that reach the black hole tile are lost. I can see it working the same way here.