Dark Avatar Beta on 11/16

Almost here!

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

The public beta of the expansion pack, Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar is scheduled to start on November 16th.  We have the main features done, still doing AI which will continue right up until release.

The main features of the beta over Galactic Civilizations II v1.4 include (but are not limited to):

  1. Planet environments. You can't immediately colonize all the good worlds. Now players will need to research the correct technology for that.
  2. Agents. Players can spend money on espionage to hire agents who in turn are assigned to defend planets or do harm to opponent planets (they nullify the activity of most planetary improvements).
  3. Custom Opponents. You can design your own opponents including what they look like and what their ships look like (i.e. you can assign what the AI uses for various classes of ships). A lot of modding support has been done so that modders can upload their own ship styles rather than replacing what's on disk.
  4. Templates. Players can design a template ship and use it in the future.
  5. Two new civilizations. Are now in.
  6. Tons of new ship parts -- hulls, and extras.
  7. Ship Intelligence center.
  8. Asteroid Fields. Players can now harvest resources from an asteroid field and send it to a destination planet.
  9. Lots of new planetary improvements and techs.
  10. Diplomatic treaties. There are some new treaties players can make with alien players.
  11. Graphics. Overall the graphics in the game are noticeably better across the board.

What's not quite ready yet but will appear somewhat in the beta:

  1. The Epic Generator. It..kind..of..works...but...it's really complicated. This is something the betas will help pin down since it's so subjective.
  2. Super-Abilities. To make each civilization truly unique, they've been given their own special super ability (i.e. an ability with code behind it). These..kind of work sort of but not in all cases. Still working on these.
  3. Mega Events. Same. We have some in, but a lot more need to be added. These are like regular events in GalCiv II except a lot more of them.

What's not in at all yet: The new stream-lined technology tree interface.  That should be in by December.

The beta will be available to everyone who has pre-ordered the game.  See the link below to learn more about Dark Avatar and how to get it.

 

36,846 views 45 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Cool, looking forward to testing it.    
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Good stuff I am ready to begin testing so hurry up please
Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
WOOT
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
BTW will the new race logos for the ships make it into the beta?
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'm not sure I understand that last question.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You mean the jewelry pieces with your logo on them DG?
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Wow, whatever you guys have done to the graphics...wow. From those two screens alone it looks like a massive improvement, yet at the same time it is really subtle. I gotta say, impressive.

btw: What exactly is a "Ship intelligence centre?"
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You mean the jewelry pieces with your logo on them DG?


Yup. Sorry for the confusion
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
btw: What exactly is a "Ship intelligence centre?"


That would be the second screenshot in Brad's post.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
That would be the second screenshot in Brad's post.


I like it!

Jeez, Medieval 2 on the 14th and DA on the 16th. Curse you time-space continuum!
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
For us beta testers will their be a dedicated forum site to respond with our findings? This would be the best way to help the developers!
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
LOOKING GOOD! can't wait to start testing! Few questions tho:

A. Any rough idea how large the download will be? <500Mb, >500Mb?
B. Are mods functional with DA yet? Will there be a seperate Mods folder for DA?
C. Should DA be placed over a fresh install of GC2?
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yes, you can still preorder now and get into the beta.
Reply #15 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
How is the pre-order -> beta invitation thing working?

Is it coming in waves, do you get a beta key when you pre-order, or what?

I've already pre-ordered but I know some people are going to be wondering.
Reply #16 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Wow Looks awesome! Really can't wait! Defiantely preordering this don't know why I haven't already.

I have a question though, will these updates change many of the mods that are out there? Like the new tech tree, will we have to redo any work we've done on the tech tree? Just curious, I'm sure its well worth it!
Reply #18 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
How does the beta test work exactly?

I pre-order and then get a copy of the beta version. I play and look out for problems.

I've always wanted to get in on one of these beta test periods.
Reply #19 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
This might sound like a stupid question, but will we be able to post Beta DA games to the metaverse? or will that provision come later?

I ordered this sucker back in August, I can't wait to download this guy and get into it...better get one last Gig Uni game in before this comes along!

Great work Stardock, I can only imagine the massive scale and ridiculous amount of work that you people have put into this - I hope your families remember what you look like...
Reply #20 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Personally I can't wait for the final release. Not much of a Beta tester so to speak. So I'll leave all that to you "experts". Ya'll did (doing) great job with GC2 so my pennyless 2 cents i'll again file 13...lol
Excellent game. One of the best Forums gamewise I've ever come across...Kudos!!!
Reply #21 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The end of year is a killer season for my banking account, I have to make some hard choices in which game to buy. Galciv's expansion was at the top of the list.
Reply #22 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
(Citizen)DrabNitramNovember 6, 2006 19:25:22Reply #18How does the beta test work exactly?

I pre-order and then get a copy of the beta version. I play and look out for problems.

I've always wanted to get in on one of these beta test periods.


If you have ever downloaded a beta version of one of the GC2 updates, its like that. Earlier DA builds are likely to have quite a few bugs cropping up as its exposed to the 7 trillion variables of our machines for the first time but it should be quite playable and by the sounds of things as stable as its going to be for initial beta release.

What you do is, you install smartexception if its not already on your comp, if you get any crashes that creates an error report file. You email that to stardock with as much detail on what you were doing as you can. This is the most direct form of bug hunting you can help with. as its almost certainy a stability issue you are helping to track down.

And then you play the game. If you see something odd (all the ships fly side ways and fire water balloons at each other) or something you dont like you report it on the forum and Stardock can try to do something about it. The trick about this process though is to make your reports clear and organised. Look to see if anyone else has reported the same issue already before starting YET ANOTHER thread on it. Add your comments to theirs.

In the first week of DA beta build 1 we will see 57 threads callled "It won't download!!!!!" 54 of which will be one line posts. Sifting through this garbage makes stardocks job harder and makes it harder for you to find anything, so keep it organised and think about what you're posting and where you've posted it.

You never know you might find something you suggest is directly implemented and your name goes on the credits. Other than that enjoy it!

Edit - The DA download will appear on Stardock Central but you will need "show pre-release versions" selected to see it. Then it just downloads as tyou would any other SDC program. Don't forget to check SDC regularly for updates, its pointless playing on an out of date version of the beta as you might find yourself reporting issues that have already been fixed.
Reply #23 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Just out of curiosity, will GC2 still be playable as-is if Dark Avatar (beta) is installed? I'm pretty sure that's how it worked with the expnasion pack for GC1, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask
Reply #24 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
This is great news. I'm a bit busy playing Battlefield 2142 at the moment though, so I may avoid downloading it on the first day, like everyone else is going to do (good luck with that, lol).
Reply #25 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Just out of curiosity, will GC2 still be playable as-is if Dark Avatar (beta) is installed?


It should be, yes.