Interview with Brad Wardell containing a little 2nd expansion info

Brad's taken up beekeeping? Does that mean that soon we'll be able to buy Stardock brand Clover Honey through TotalCondiments.net?

I'm going to wager a guess Expanded Universe = Multiplayer ... and it's listed as a 2007 release... nice   

I buy some lol  i like my Honey.

Same here.

I'm a bit new to the series...but doing a quick goolge search on "Galactic Civilizations: Expanded Universe" I find that this was a free expansion back for GalCivI.

See the article found here published in 2003 for example: http://www.gamershell.com/news/9295.html

It would seem odd that they would give the exact same name to an expansion pack for GalCivII in terms of potential for marketing confusion.

Perhaps there is some kind of mistake in the gamasutra article?

Hmm, maybe it's a mistake in the article then.

What I got from the article was that this 2nd expansion would provide better graphics. Maybe this would mean more/better ship pieces?

"What was the inspiration behind the recent graphical revamp? Was that in response to fan demand?

For the most part, we wanted to future-proof the game. We know we won’t get to a Galactic Civilizations III for some years and we wanted to make sure fans of Galactic Civilizations II wouldn’t feel like their game was dated.

We’re working on a second expansion pack that will take this concept further."

What sounded really interesting was this new game they are developing. Part MoM and part X-Com? Yummm!

"Most of our game development team is working on a new fantasy strategy game with a 2009 release date; public beta next year. It’s a turn-based game with tactical combat which is also turn-based. One could describe it as part Master of Magic, part Populous and part X-Com. "

Here's hoping that the X-Com part has a full automation option. I miss my MoMmy a lot, but not enough to get sucked into some RTS style clickfest.

Xcom is turn-based tactics

Corrected that for you.

Great game, even now... though my WinXp machine hates it for some reason.

Get DOSBox, XCom and Terror From The Depp run perfectly on that.

And personally I think that the original XCom is still one of the best (if not the best) TBS game ever made.

Ah, apologies for confusing a TBT game with RTS; my main recollection of X-com was not liking it, which doesn't help me retain details. I still hope that the not-MoM tactical interface has an Auto option for battles where you have overwhelming superiority and are not concerned about minimizing losses.

But back to nattering about the fresh interview: the last answer where Brad talks about the main view being able to zoom from a "cloth map" of the whole world down to a leaf on a tree is a *brilliant* bit of teasing/proto-marketing. The notion also makes me suspect that we'll be able to see folks waving out of the portholes when we zoom in on the GC3 map.

No accounting for taste. . . oh well



I'm waiting for the day when you can start at your tactical map, zoom in on a planet, see your starport and factories being built on the surface of the slowly turning world, zoom in further to see the construction vehicles building your new Restaurant of Eternity, then the guy sitting in the bulldozer, then see the magazine he's reading on break, and finally notice that he really needs to trim his nose hairs

Anything remotely like Master of Magic has me intrigued. That has to be my favorite game of all-time. Go Stardock!

If its a multiplayer pack, I hope its MP only. Don't mix it with single player stuff.

I think if it were just a mulitiplayer pack then they shouldn't add anuthing new. That would alienate those who couldn't or wouldn't play mulitplayer.

Now they could make it for both but i never really saw enough interest in these forums to make them change their minds (if they EVER would on this topic). They had reasons for not wanting to do multiplayer and i agreed with them. For that kind of programing effort Id rather the game as a whole get deeper and more complex.

anyway hope they read the thread even if it is unofficial. I cant imagine another release by the end of the year. wow

i agree that'd be a better policy. i've never been big on MP TBS games; they take too long.

but even if the expansion is just new jewelry and MP, i'll still pay for it.

with the amount of feedback they've been gathering, i think we can fairly expect a more.

as tempted to speculate as i am, i think it'll be better to hold off until they release more details. besides, i've got the simpsons movie to be obsessed with for now (i saw it at midnight this morning... i want to see it again... NOW! stupid work)

edit:


i know, i think that's what most surprises me. on the other hand, they have been rather quiet lately... i'd written it off as focus on other game projects, but if they've got another expansion brewing up, that'd be so far beyond my expectations.

I still have trouble believing that they would be planning a second expansion pack within a single year...and that they would name that expansion pack the exact same name as one that was released for the predecesor game (GalCivI: Expanded Universe was released sometime in 2003 I believe).

See: https://www.galciv1.com/download.asp in which it says: "Galactic Civilizations 1.2 [Includes Expanded Universe expansion]"

Having not played GalCiv1, perhaps I'm way off base here?

What exactly are the perks of this new expansion?

I'm a MP buyer (I have a friend that I like to challenge in those kind of strategic games).

BUT, if I have to choose between a MP expansion and one that gets the game really deeper, more complex and more strategic, well there is no question for me (no MP please). I'll even buy two or three to thank them

Brad really shouldn't wear a white shirt and tie, it makes the Frogboy look too much like a professional businessman.

I really miss the days when IT folks thought they could abolish the waste-of-money corporate dress code. I want to be paid for my skills, not my taste in clothing. Cover the naughty bits, keep your scent neutral, and that should be enough. Well, and if you move equipment, you should wear closed shoes.

That's actually an old picture (at least a year and a half old, probably more than two).