Only one question: will the expansion be fully compatible to the german game version of Galciv2(also as a preorder?) ?

If I don't have a serial number for my *sigh* Russian version of GC2 and I get the US version of the expansion, will it be compatible? AND, will my new (and legally acquired serial number) allow me to get future updates for the game?

Sadly the novelty factor has run down to a trickle for me and this game. Its cute but the limitation of only being able to play against AI opponents means the game has ceilinged - new campaign *yawns* - havent played the original one - care factor =0 more espionage - meh restrictions of planets colonising - more like MOO2 every patch was a shortcoming of the original the only challenge twinking micromanagement to outwit a number crunching machine - how much better can it possibly be throwing more money to defeat the computer - nah

  buh-bye!

Altarians being conquered doesn't necessarily mean that they are going to be exterminated. The Arceans and Torians were conquered as well in the original campaign. The Torians also had their homeworld demolished by massive orbital bombardment.

There has been some complaints in the past that none of the leaders (except the Thalans ) were female which is probably why SD took the opportunity to include a new female leader. The fact that the Altarians has a functional resistance IMO lessens the chance of them being wiped out but is ultimately no proof either way.

Excalidan:

Meklar- that is not a bug, it is by design. Either way some have found it somehow annoying, I just click the turn button one extra time.

Funny that Stardock has said that it's on their buglist then.

The social element adds a dimension beyond mere victory

Yep, like...uhm...I dunno...sociality? What in the name of cheese is so great about this "social element"? I've played MMOs, I've played multiplayer, and quite frankly it all stinks. There is no fun in it that I can see.

The fun lies almost entirely in overcoming the challenges presented by the game

Have you tried doing that by roleplaying your race rather than simply working the game?

I mean, wouldn't you rather play without the micromanagement?

I already don't.

ignuss- I've heard that extra turn called many things, but you're right, it's on the bug list. Somehow I recall it being called a feature to prevent cheese. Thanks for the correction

Lucian Gyiira sez:

The social element adds a dimension beyond mere victory Yep, like...uhm...I dunno...sociality? What in the name of cheese is so great about this "social element"? I've played MMOs, I've played multiplayer, and quite frankly it all stinks. There is no fun in it that I can see.

Actually, I'm talking about traditional (non-electronic) games. Stuff like Shogun, Junta, Settlers of Catan... and believe me, there is PLENTY of fun to be had there. Electronic multiplayer is another kettle of fish, however. I prefer solitaire electronic games, probably for the same reasons as you.

Have you tried doing that by roleplaying your race rather than simply working the game?

I suppose I could try roleplaying a race that's managerially retarded, or a race that doesn't care enough about its own survival in the galaxy to try its best to stay alive (i.e. win the game). I like to think of myself as a fairly imaginative sort of guy, but I confess, that one's a stretch. Even so, I don't see the point. Roleplaying with friends means I have an audience I can play off, who will (hopefully) enjoy it. Without an audience it's not as much fun.

I already don't.

Fair enough. If it doesn't bug you then I'm glad you're enjoying it. But would you enjoy it any less if excess production were carried over to the next item in your build queue? Would that ruin the game for you?

Like other features of the game that I would prefer to be different, I don't worry about this one. So what if the game is just a tad harder if I lose a little production between items? If I can't win in spite of that issue I try to figure something else out. Just like the cheesy tactics so many people use, I would consider this one item that isn't worth adding to my repetoire. If skipping these things makes the game harder, so much the better. I play for the challenge, not just the win.

While I see the merit in excess production being carried over, it's not very realistic is it?

I mean, if I build a house in Chicago and finish it two weeks ahead of schedule that doesn't mean that if I have a house to build in Phoenix that it will be two weeks along in construction after I finish the first house.

Does the extra money spent on excess production go back into the treasury? If it does then at least you're not losing money. I don't usually pay all that much attention to little details like that.

All right, I had a long, thought out response that included a little story about my roleplayed game as a peacekeeper-type civilization whilst all victory conditions were disabled, and how I never tried to conquer, just...peacekeep and help maintain a galactic balance of power.

But that got eaten due to an error. So...uhm...I'm not retyping all of that. ;

Lord Seyton: I can see why you would enjoy that element of realism. But is it realistic to have the ability to adjust production levels to within a single percentage point? Is it realistic that a galactic emperor would not try to run things as efficiently as possible (i.e. play with the damn sliders every freakin' turn) when the survival of their civilization is at stake?

It appears I'm in a tiny minority in this. Everybody seems to prefer having to babysit the sliders (or else neglect them and suffer economic and industrial penalties as the de facto result). On to Heroes V, I guess. I hope you all continue to enjoy GC2.

Jonathan the reason you are in the tiny minority is that most people don't micro management, frankly I think they should kill micro management as well, it would make it so I could make the jump to suicidal without wasting my time doing exactly what you do.

Multiplayer would vastly extend the life span of this game. People just drool over tactical combat.

So long, fellow. I'll keep right on enjoying the game I'm playing, and you can happily move on to another game for you to work.

I think it sounds good and i am going to Pre-Order this one for sure.

Lucian:
That's cool. H5 isn't really work though. GC2, in its current form, is (too much management required for optimal play). Which is why I've kind of lost interest in it.

I'll keep checking the developer journals periodically to see if they do the production carry-over thing. If they do, I'll be right back with you all. I'll buy the expansion too; the features sound great.

Have fun conquering the galaxy!

See, I think optimal play in anything is work, since there's always something you can adjust to be better, something you can enhance, move, position, etc. to improve your chances just one little half percentage point more. I play games to have fun, and I do only as much micromanagement as is fun. I don't worry about the little details that could be optimal. But we're all different, I guess. Some people become novel writers, some become accountants.

what the hell was this thread about? oh yea, the new features of dark avatar

playing custom races ... loving this!! i hope we can set our customs up as major and minor races (would be nice to see my beloved boffin in action) ... and on this point, will they set up a place on the forums where we can trade our custom races with each other? that would be kewell

espionage/counter epionage ... sounds promising

and astroids .... sounds very very cool ... i have no idea how this one is going to work, just sounds very cool

Frankly I don't think the expansion adds enough to the game to be worth $30. Most of the changes are relatively small/simple modifications that won't drastically make the game more fun. If they were planning on adding to the tech tree, or perhaps renaming/reworking some of the techs to not be so linear and so useless at times (Laser 1-5) I might consider it some more.

From what they've said about espionage it doesn't seem like they've beefed it up enough to be worthwhile. So what if I can spend money to decrease my enemies production in some tile? I could use that same money to be building an army instead. I think making spying more like it is in many other games (where you actually have to train the spies and you pay a small upkeep cost for them rather then just paying a sum of money every turn and being able to choose whether they should steal research/sabotage/root out enemy spies in your empire) would be more of a step in the right direction.

And as for asteroids, it would be nice if Brad got a little more specific about this. Right now it seems like an unneccesary addition to the game. What people want, and have asked for repeatedly, is the ability to use the multitude of class 0 planets that exist. If you could mine/terraform those, it would be a worthwhile addition, but simply adding a few asteroids which offer yet another means for the player to obtain a bonus to his colonies doesn't seem very worthwhile.

I think if you guys at Stardock want people to take this expansion seriously, you need to add some serious improvements to the game and not these small perfunctory things which are seem designed to lure die-hard fans of the game to funnel you another #25-$30.

Most of the changes are relatively small/simple modifications that won't drastically make the game more fun.

I think if you guys at Stardock want people to take this expansion seriously, you need to add some serious improvements to the game and not these small perfunctory things which are seem designed to lure die-hard fans of the game to funnel you another #25-$30.

Good lord, have you looked at Civilization IV: Warlords? You seriously just described Warlords with that last part of your post -- "small perfunctory things which seem to be designed to lure die-hard fans of the game to funnel [Firaxis] another $25-$30". Dark Avatar will give the game about as much as Play the World and Conquests combined gave Civ III, and I for one paid $40 for both of those, more including taxes. $30 for the expansion is quite good, in my opinion. I mean, maybe you don't take Warlords seriously either, but there are sure as heck enough people that do to make certain it'll sell well.

Besides, it's almost entirely the diehards that buy game expansions, anyway.

Lucian:
Dude, if I wanted to be an accountant, GC2 in its current state would be my dream game!

Apologies to everyone else for sort of hijacking the thread. I didn"t mean to, I swear!

then stop it ....

The picture about the resistance oh my... that really got my attention I'm going to pre-order it as soon as I can.

The expansion pack sounds promising. I very much like the new planet feature and hopefully it eliminates the initial colony rush. I really hope they tweak combat viewer and planet invasion graphics too.

As for the cost, I think Dark Avatar has a very reasonable price.

I would think $20 is a good price for an expansion pack. $29.99 is like buying another stand alone game. I might pay that much for a Collector's edition expansion pack.

Then play to have fun. Isn't that the entire point of a game?

winning is fun, whereas losing is well...rubbish