Nah keep the forums, they're getting better. I love white text on black starry blackgrounds. I get sick to death of forums with the standard black text on white backgrounds.

the forum software is clunky and weird and lately has been giving me increasing trouble in firefox, but the content and sense of community and connection to our favorite developers is important.

i think some of that would be lost, switching to a 3rd party site.

switching forum software to something that works a little better (like maybe the software used by the sites you were thinking about switching to?) might help to cut down on user gripes?

I check the forum about every day, and have gotten a lot of good ideas. We probably get as annoyed with a "bad" post as you folks at Stardock do. Most of the time, we just ignore 'em and click on to a worthwhile post. I think you have a decent sense of community built up through this forum that is pleasant for us and, I hope, will prove gratifying to you (in both a personal and a business sense). And for the record, I have had no problems with the way the forum functions.

Thanks for your efforts to have this forum, and I hope you decide it is worthy continuing. Either way, GalCiv 2 is a great game, and thank you for it.

It's worth noting that since DG has been demoted, I am now the only *active* volunteer moderator left. If anyone has been a particularly upstanding forumer you may be able to contact Sd about helping out. Maybe. I know at the very least there are a number of people that deserve promotion to higher ranks (though not neccissarily moderator status).

Yes, there should be some upgrade system available, i.e. Modder(For people who make mods), Helper (For exceptionally helpful people), and Veteran (For people who played GC1), but Stardock has more important things to do on the boards. As for volunteer moderators if there is a dire need for them, why not put a message on the News area? I'm sure alot of people (myself included) would be willing to be a moderator. Some of the boards could be restricted to members with a cd key.

Well clearly we underestimated the use of the forums. We'll have to put more thought on how best to do things going forward. Based on all the negative feedback we get on the forums, I was getting the impresison that we'd be better off pointing things to a dedicated community site.

You could try an open source forum program and port over all of the accounts and the metaverse data. Try SourceForge.net. They will be more stable and there free .

Just keep the forums an integrated part of galciv2.com.

TBH, if negative feedback is your concern, you should definitely keep the forums here. People might complain about the issues (I've posted once mentioning the forum's dislike for Firefox...), but here you can not only allay fears but you're showing people that you do care about the game and your customers. By kicking the forums out, you'll make the few (though loud) complainers here happier, but those of us who contently browse and post and revel in the fact that you, the Dev team, actually pay attention to us will probably start flaming in the new boards (though, we don't all have the experience needed to effectively flame... there is an art behind it which seems to require a lack of common sense most of the time). Please keep the forums... nothing's perfect, but this imperfect forum shows us that your nearly perfect team is attempting to get your almost perfect game to an infinitely close to perfect status, something we should all be proud to be witnessing.

Well I'd love for FireFox to work with galciv2.com again... right now I'm using IE.

Without the forums, you would find it harder to do market research and to sdvertise new products and updates.

yea, keep the forums! like so many said, having a games own forum gives a sense of community.

yes there will always be ppl making negative comments, that's life since not everybody will be satisfied.

the forum does have its quirks, but I like this forum and it has been improved. plus it sounds like you guys have a new forum setup on the way.

I don't own a copy of Galciv yet and have never played, but I find these forums interesting. Rickety computer and lack of time is why I have not got around to getting the game. I'm hooked reading the forum, though. When I get the time to do a computer rebuild, it will probably be one of the 1st things I purchase to run on it. Having this forum here will be very handy when I do get started and it is great to see what those who made the game have to say about things relating to the game. The "small town" feel this imparts is welcoming.

BTW, I had problems posting with an old firefox browser, but use IE here without any problem, so it was no big deal. I mentioned these problems on another thread, but not to bitch, just as "bug reports" in case the info might have been useful to a sysop here.

Lastly, how about a poll on this question?

I couldnt agree more


oh and keep the forums

I may only have a few posts here, but I like knowing that there is always a source for strategies and place to put bug reports that will actually get to the development team; it is why I am not hesitant to download the public betas if I will have the time to test them.

It is important to remember that a few angry people will make a lot of noise, but the many happy people will remain quite. This is the principle of the silent majority, and the more people understand it, the better. This is why I do not post often: I am happy with the game, and I'm not a good enough player to contribute any real strategies.

There may be a few bugs (especially with Firefox), but this is one of the few sites I actually trust enough to view in Internet Explorer, and the other bugs can be worked around until you can fix them.

It would say worlds if galciv was not able to have a forum for it own game.

I find it speaks volumes if i am looking for info/help on a game and i have to go to a 3rd party fansite or not.

(Keep the Boards)

While I don't read the forums daily like I used to, I do feel like it gives me an avenue to speak directly to the developers and decision makers at StarDock by using these forums. My primary observation is that there doesn't appear to be a FAQ that covers the issues I see over and over again. For example, I want to submit an enhancement idea or possible bug but don't want to read many threads from the last 3 months to make sure that the issue hasn't been covered. The one FAQ that I found quickly was mostly relevant before the game came out. The other thing that I think makes these forums useful is that it demonstrates interaction between the game developers and the users. I'll admit that I don't play many other games, I don't visit many web-sites, and I don't spend a lot of time interacting too much on-line (between a family and a job, I'm generally too busy.) As a result, I don't have much basis for comparison as to the quality of these forums. Mainly I come here because it's the official, site and, as such, I assume it's the most practical location to come to get news "straight from the horse's mouth." If you were to take the forums away, I would like to see it replaced with something that would also feel like I'm speaking directly to the folks at StarDock (and have a reasonable chance of getting a response.)

Brad, these forums are kinda rambunctious as forums go, and I can imagine it would be a pain to have somebody moderate them more aggressively. I think that's why most game companies don't have their own forums, and/or police them so aggressively that very little discussion happens on those forums.

That said, I definitely think that the freewheeling nature of this forum--sanctioned as it is by StarDock--really helps to set the game and the company apart. The fact that you all have a public forum, where developers and the CEO of the company post and respond to the public on a regular basis, is very impressive to me and a lot of other gamers.

It's done more than any other factor (including the quality of your games, which is quite high, or the decision to forego copyright protection) to set StarDock apart from other development companies in my own mind.

Forums are a pain to run, and I'd understand if you want to shut them down. I'd be sad, but I understand that businesses only have so much time in the day and I want you all to focus on what you think is best.

Still, I'd be sad to see them shut down just yet.

While I'm not a regular poster, I chime in on a daily basis to get the latest blurb on the game and to stay up to date with other's mods, ops, strategies and the like.
It's good to have it all in one place, switching over to apolyton wouldn't do for me.

My comment? A large NO and a raspberry for even thinkingabout it.

The vocal minority is always a problem with forums. But with effective moderating it has been beaten in all forums I currently visit.

Sure GC2 forums have their technical hiccups but I find this place very enjoyable none the less. Atleast here if I report a bug or write about the game, I get a feeling that there is a chance some of the SD team notices it.

Man o Man bad idea.

I check the forums daily, but my primaru reason is first to get game update developer info direct from the source, and then get game ideas. I think this is a great fan resource. Hey, ignore us if you wanna, lurk for the feedback, but let this resource ride as long as it goes.

As an official site, it says a lot for your dedication for your support.

Plus its an easy like to all teh officical patches, downloads, library etc.

heck most of the problem requests are now solved quickly by fan posts.

Ignore the bitching adn bogus bug reports, those people will attrit out soon enough, just find the good stuff that may be useful.

Thanks for this resource. Its one of your competitive advantages. Don't thow it away. Directing the forums to other sites really wouldn't be the same, and would quickly kill the enthusiasm and would not attract the new posters.

Well I see I am definitely not by myself on this, please keep the forums. I check them almost evryday to read what you and others have posted. so there are some people who just cant be pleased, dont sweat it, they always get put in thier place by myself and athers who see such ungratfulness as rude and inconsiderate. Also the heart of this site is the forums if you where to remove them the site would dry up. so please dont close the forums unless it is absolutely neccessary.

A lot of people don't like the galciv2.com forums. True. Given the expense involved in maintaining the forums, we are considering eliminating the forums entirely and pointing to Civfanatics.com and Apolyton.net (just like Civilization4.com does). Also true. An increasing percentage of "bug" reports are ending up not being about the game itself but related to the website and in particular the forums here. Most users, myself included, don't think the forums here are particularly good, especially compared to what else is out there.

Again true.

But it doesn't tell the whole story I think. While the basic 'forum' functionality could be filled by another site, such as those mentioned above, another site could not, without changes, deal with the Meta or the medals or a couple of the other GalCiv specific features.

No need to go into all the issues and changes that have been suggested, I seem to remember a very lengthy thread on the topic a while back.

I am of two minds on the the whole thing... I like having access to the Dev team, I like the Meta, I like the empires, I like... But I don't enjoy them because I dislike the the forums more than I like things I've mentioned. Hence I've stopped coming to the forums it's just too painful, annoying, however you want to say it.

So bottom line... If the forums were shutdown... I probably would not miss them. If the forums stay up in their current incarnation I still will not miss them. If the forums are changed to address issues that have been mentioned (in many threads) I would enjoy them. I don't know how many others feel the same as I. I don't do a lot of posting outside my empire thread and consider myself part of the silent majority, a lurker if you will.

As you say Brad... it's an expensive proposition.

If you did do this you should have a very prominent galcin2.com link to the new forums and have a trolling lurking presence there with Stardockies.

It would also be nice to have a archive copy and link to the old forums where someone could link back to the old thread or at least refence it or something.

Your openness of an officially santioned forum is a great asset.

Any waste of your employee time will naturally mitigate as time goes on, just think of the feedback you will receive on the next release or expansion. responses here will naturally attrit over time, faster for the complainers.

And for the recent comments and complaints about the boards, those have been mostly ended since the latest update and the corrections to the character line break methods. I think most complaints were people trying to help.

The forums and your website in general are contributing to your success. Don't change to many things for your devoted dans or you could accidently screw that delicate balance up.

You have a great competitive balance because of you fan dupport and loyalty and perceived level of support. This forum and the easy links to info on progress contributes to that.

Having the MV medal info gives credibility to the info of the poster. So would number of posts.

You can always empower frequent credible posters to be moderators to combat the trolls.

You could also empower moderators to watch the boards and give you summary e-mails or voice calls to solve specific technical issues.

As it is, many game play and already discussed technical issues have been solved by forum posters, like the guy in Kuwait that couldn't get the game to run, even before you guys could get to it.

Plus the forums give immediate feedback for info on your beta releases, as the frequent forum posters are also the ones giving you feedback on the betas.

As a company I would think that a personal link to your customers and what they think would be invaluable. The ultimate question is, does the cost of "extras" pay for themsleves in the long run? Word of mouth goes a long way and to just yank these forums for a quick fix in stopping the "negative PR" as it was put is a bit drastic. How much do you think that letter by a fan in this months issue of CGW is worth in advertising dollars? How much do you think it will cost if the next one that appears is a complaint that SD yanked their forums because they were affraid of a little bit of criticism by their fans only wanting to see things improve? As a consumer we "complain" to help get the most out of our purchase. It doesn't mean we hate the game or think we should expect things. As mentioned, the "negative PR" has come from a lack of acknowledgement from anyone at SD after they had spoiled us by being here when we needed them.

Its your site, your forums. Figure out if it will cost you more in PR than it does in dollars to make your decision. Those of us who stop by daily will survive with them gone as there are plenty of game fourms out there that will eventually grab our attention.

Man, go away for work training one day and I miss all the fun. Personally, I don't see what the problem is. I read about the first 20 posts here, and still have no idea why these forums are 'bad'. So what if some whiney moron wants to complain? I have no trouble identifying the total lack of merit in his rant, iqnoring it, and quickly going on to another post that may be of real interest and value. I have found alot here that qualifies for that second type of post too, though maybe not as much as I would like. But that is not the forums' fault, just that of us, the players.

Consider too that if you kill this, you lose most if not all control of what is or is not posted on the 'official' forum, and cannot moderate, remove posts, or banninate the extreme trollers.