Newbie: can I upgrade my ships without losing everything?

from GalCiv2 Forums
Hello all. I am brand new playing my first game with Gal Civ2 gold. I am really struggling to get the hang of things, and as such, I try not to change default designs on ships much. However, when I research new stuff, I want to be able to put it on the ships. Yet when I click "upgrade" everything but the basic ship shap goes away and I have no idea how to get the ship how it was when I just wanted to put on an ion drive or something. Or even if I want more information on what the ship already has so I can get an idea of what I should go for.

Anyway, is there a way to keep stuff on the ship and simply edit it?
7,258 views 7 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
There's an option that reads something like "keep functional components when upgrading" on one of the game's options screens. It's a game option though, not an option when you're actually in the ship yard (be nice if you had the option there, since I could use both types of "upgrades" in any given game).
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
AH, thanks, that should help my newbie moves a bit. Thanks.
Star Control: Origins
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Another thing: don't be afraid to build your own ship designs. Its entirely cosmetic except for the components you put in... the rest of it is just there for your to mess about with. One of the most awesome things about this game is how you can design your own ships and see them fly around.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yeah, check out the ship design sticky to see some awesome pics!
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
For you to upgrade your ship, you would need a new design made by you that has the components you want.

So, if you have a current ship and want to make it better, go to the shipyard, chose the current design and chose the option Upgrade.

There, you do your changes and save it. Usually I save with the same name of the previous model, but add the MkI or MkII name to the ship´s name. That way I know its a more enhanced version.

To upgrade your ships to the next new level, chose it and chose the upgrade version. There you will see that there is the option of choosing the new design.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Okay another question.

Now that I found the "keep the stuff on when upgrading" option, if I want to upgrade, say, my basic colony ship and I just replace the engine with 2 better ones (miniaturization and engine tech comes along) can I save the ship and keep its name or do I have to rename it to not mess up the "core template"?

Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You can't overwrite a core ship design. You will need to change the name.

Its usually not a good idea to overwrite a name anyways... just save a new design with a name like "Colony Ship M2" or something like that. You lose nothing in doing so... since you used the "upgrade" button, the planets making colony ships will automatically start making "Colony Ship M2"s.