Should I play GalCiv1 before 2?

from GalCiv2 Forums
Before ordering my copy of GalCiv2 I would like to know if I'm missing much by not playing GalCiv1 at all? Also is the Dread Lords campaign continuation from the first game?
4,620 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I don't think you lose much, but Galciv I is a different game and if you want to follow the story you'll had to get into galciv's addon Altarian prophecy. But the background of AP is less intresting than Galciv II.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
All you'll really miss is the campain story and you can just read that anywhere. I started out without knowing anything about Galciv and now im givin advice to people. If your worried about not knowing how to play you can always just get either the demo of the first game or the new one.
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Nah, I Loved GalCiv & AP, but, you know, just go straight through to the good stuff. I don't think there's anything much in I that's not in II.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
If your worried about not knowing how to play you can always just get either the demo of the first game or the new one.

I have not played GalCiv1 but from what I have read, game play is very different in GalCiv2. In GalCiv2, ship design plays a major part but in GalCiv1 is was all about getting larger hull ships.
Furthermore, game play has changed greatly in GalCiv2 since the Dec. 2005 Beta. In the Beta Mass Drivers were by far the best weapons; tech Mass DriversIII got you expensive weapons with value 4 and later in the tech tree Nano Rippers got you 8. Later it was removed and Nano Rippers dropped to 6 and then 5; armor has also been improved.
Prior v1.1, you would keep morale just high enough, say ~55%, to keep control of the senate. In v1.1, bonuses to production and population growth were added for high morale.
In v1.2, the first strike advantage was mostly removed.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
I, too liked GalCiv 1 & AP, (and still occasionally play) but there are sufficient differences in the mechanics of play that you won't gain an advantage in GC2 by playing GC1/AP first. Download the demo of GC1 and see if you like it and make the decision based on that.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Nah, I loved GalCiv I at the time, but GalCiv2 is like what the original wanted to be when it grew up. You can find the backstory around, but that really doesn't matter in sandbox games.

Concept is the same, the execution is just more elegant in Galciv2 with much better playability and eye candy.

Galciv1 is the proto Galciv2.