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Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor BETA 1

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Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor BETA 1

Now available!

from GalCiv2 Forums

IT IS HERE!

The first beta of the second expansion pack to Galactic Civilizations II was made available today.

The new expansion pack, Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor

will give all 12 major civilizations their own unique technology trees which include new weapons, new planetary improvements, new civilization abilities, and more. In addition, players will be able to construct the star destroying "Terror Star". The graphics engine for the game has been updated and Stardock is overhauling the textures and other elements in the game to make use of the update engine.

The expansion pack is due for release by Christmas but users who pre-order it can get the beta immediately.

An extremely abreviated "what's new" is available in the journals for what's in this beta.

There are plenty of bugs in the beta. I know, I've seen them and some of them are mine. (like the Terran Alliance tech tree not having plasma weapons tied to lasers -- doh!). We will be releasing additional updates to beta 1 this week as we work through such buglets.

One of the things you'll notice are the planetary textures. Right now, we're just testing the new system so the planets generally have the same planet textures. But by release, there will be plenty to keep it unique.

Not only do planets look better but they use a fraction of the memory. When complete, we should be able to double the number of planets on "abundant" over what we have now for users of Twilight of the Arnor.

One of the big stories with Twilight of the Arnor from a technical point of view is that the new graphics look so much better while using so far less memory.

Example:

BEFORE (Dark Avatar) and AFTER (Twilight of the Arnor)

The second screenshot uses around 1/4th as much memory.

Now, if you're worried about running into bugs, then don't bother with these betas. There will be bugs. Lots of them. That's why we have the betas, to let players help us balance.

It's going to be an exhilarating ride! We're very excited to develop the game with you guys! To join the beta, simply PRE-ORDER the game. You get the beta and the final version.

More Screenshots:

[PRE-ORDER and JOIN THE BETA]

46,591 views 51 replies
Reply #26 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
LOVE the beta. (Sorry to all those that can't yet get in.) There are some bugs and crashes, but much fewer than I was expecting.

I got through about 90% of the Terran technology tree before I crashed. Some nice changes. I like the new graphics.

Terror stars don't seem to work, or at the least, I can't seem to figure out how to build them.

I got though 100% of the Drengin tech tree. (Though Ion Beams - Doom Ray aren't connected to anything and can't be researched.) The changes and descriptions made the races seem a lot different. Drengin seem to have a HUGE advantage in production, but it is offset by the amount of planetary tiles you have to use to setup all the production bonuses and by the decrease to influence.

The new "Immense" map is HUGE. I can't wait to fill it up with 9 civilizations. (No chance of using all 12 on that setting?)

As someone said, I feel like a noob. I had to dial back the difficulty setting a couple notches while figuring out new techs and buildings. LOVE the descriptions, well done!

This expansion back is going to be a HUGE shot in the arm for the lifetime of GC2. I'm already trying to formulate new strategies. Again, well done, and I can't wait to see the other races!

Off to try the Arcean!
Reply #27 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I can't buy the game now.           
Now does that mean that I can't be part of the beta later as in beta 2 or 3? *sigh*
Start11 - Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows 10/11.
Reply #28 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Phew eventually got the serial number, many thanks for that

Had a hairy time with sig.bins and the fact that the original Gal Civ II would no longer work, yes I still play it - came up with serial number or machine SID don't match, but all sorted now

All looking good to play - hope those that are waiting are soon sorted

Reply #29 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yihaaa!!!! thanks Stardock!

BTW, the german translation for the 1st Beta is in progress, soon up on I-Mod Productions!

-Stefan
Reply #30 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Terror stars don't seem to work, or at the least, I can't seem to figure out how to build them.
End of quote


Terror stars are not included in this beta. Apparently you can reasearch the tech, but you can't build them.

Sigh. We must wait for the sun killing atomic super novas and troops on the planet battle fields that have better than late 1970s era computer graphics.
Reply #31 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The terror star on the title screen looks sweet though!!!
Reply #32 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Terror stars are not included in this beta. Apparently you can reasearch the tech, but you can't build them.
End of quote


i've noticed a number of things for which this seems to be the case (the terrans' military academy things, i think?)
Reply #33 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I haven't received an email yet for the Beta, though there was a key when I first placed the order. After some monkeying around with my account (I changed email addresses at some point and SDC doesn't like that. Stardock hasn't been able to find a fix for me yet) I got that key to download the software. It seems to have installed, and I can get to the start screen...but then I got sidetracked and haven't given it a go yet.

I still haven't figured out if I like Betas or not yet. They give you just enough to get you all amped up for the final release - and then you have to wait! Argh! Between this and SoaSE, Stardock is freaking killing me. Come on, guys: Why do you have to be so awesome and forth-coming with your gifts to us?
Reply #34 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I just got access to the game and it is loading as I type this, I am so excited about this new game! About a year ago, I got the Gal Civ 1, and it was awesome! Now recently, I learned that there was a second! I was excited beyond words. I got the game about a month ago and now look what I find here last week? A new expansion in the works! You guys must work hard to make all this happen! I must say though, YOU HAVE DONE A WONDERFUL JOB OF EVERYTHING! WELL DONE! I hope that you can create more of these games to come!  
Reply #35 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
question. You said on the opening part of this thread that the new planet textures are only 1/4 of memory of the old ones. Do not see how it is possible.
Reply #36 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
cant install the beta. it downloads gc2_Twilight.sdc over and over again. when it finishes at 100% it starts again at 0%. ive started it this morning and wanted to start playing now, but its still downloading gc2_Twilight.sdc @ 800kb/sec.

somethings wrong over there. latest stardock downloader.

restarting the downloader/computer dont fix it.
Reply #37 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
cant install the beta. it downloads gc2_Twilight.sdc over and over again. when it finishes at 100% it starts again at 0%. ive started it this morning and wanted to start playing now, but its still downloading gc2_Twilight.sdc @ 800kb/sec.
End of quote


Make sure you have 'show prerelease versions' checked, then start it.
Reply #38 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
im trying to reinstall the whole application from scratch lets see what happens...

edit: thanks for your advice ill try to find a solution.
Reply #39 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
question. You said on the opening part of this thread that the new planet textures are only 1/4 of memory of the old ones. Do not see how it is possible.
End of quote


The old ones are randomly generated (unique per planet if you let it) uncompressed raw bitmaps, with mipmaps to boot. They can get surprisingly large very quick.
Reply #40 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
kryo:
your advice is likely the solution... with the box checked it says "Installing GalCiv2 1 of 7" and not "1 of 6" anymore. Weired that Twilight showed up in the first place
Reply #41 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Well this explains it. I somehow ordered the gold edition instead. Time to contact sales


Ouch. Thats a kick in the nuts.
End of quote


Yeah. The purchase link just send you to the page with all the stuff on it, with the complete edition being on the top. I just assumed they would be putting the newest on the top. I hope sales gets back to me soon. I want to play the beta.
Reply #42 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
"Pain Amplification", "Agony Coordination Grid"

I don't normally bother with Beta's (too many games to play, too little time) ... but for that I might just change my mind.

I have just have to know what follows on - "Technology T...".

No, don't tell me - my mind is going into overdrive - and after the day I've had at work, it's placing certain people into numerous nefarious devices. Gnash, gnash ...
Reply #43 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The old ones are randomly generated (unique per planet if you let it) uncompressed raw bitmaps, with mipmaps to boot.
End of quote


I was sorta wondering that also, as many games have used procedural generation in limited environments. There's a 96KB game made by some Germans that looks like it should be much larger, because they did everything procedurally.

Thanks for the explanation. I take it the new ones are compressed, with less mipmaps?

Of course, one shouldn't confuse disk size with memory size - that 96KB game expands to 300MB in memory. I guess the benefit only really comes when it's done on the fly rather than stored as a bitmap.
Reply #44 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I know this is just a beta, but what happened to the Drengin economy buildings? After the black market they just revert back to the bland, regular buildings. I'm sure this is just a part of the tree not completed yet(I hope so). I just want to know how the Drengins twisted ways will be shown in this part of the tech tree.

PS: if you don't know it yet, reseraching evil xeno ethics gives psyionic beam right off the bat.
Reply #45 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
cant install the beta. it downloads gc2_Twilight.sdc over and over again. when it finishes at 100% it starts again at 0%. ive started it this morning and wanted to start playing now, but its still downloading gc2_Twilight.sdc @ 800kb/sec.


Make sure you have 'show prerelease versions' checked, then start it.
End of quote


Thanks, that worked.
Reply #46 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
PS: if you don't know it yet, reseraching evil xeno ethics gives psyionic beam right off the bat.
End of quote


Oh snap.
Reply #47 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
PS: if you don't know it yet, reseraching evil xeno ethics gives psyionic beam right off the bat.
End of quote


I never needed an excuse to play evil...thats just me, but damn!! with this i cant see me going to neutral anytime soon. It's a little cheese maybe, but hey, i'll takes what i can gets.
Reply #48 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I felt the full fury of evil ethics earlier tonight, when i sold it to the Drengin...now that my main plan (to test the Terror Stars which I eventually found to be absent) has fallen through and I've been forced into war, I'm feeling the power of several Dominators, Vengances and Heavy Fighters with Psyonic Beams >_<
Reply #49 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Will the minor races be improved in TA? As it stands, they are just meat on a stick. I wish they could be like the way they were in GalcivI. They could band together as the I-League and be a serious power, and they had the brains to build warships. Right now they just sit around scratching their *sses while your transport is heading right towards them. They always spam constructors and scouts but after that they don't do anything. They also never build colony ships, I know they have the capacity because they build tons of constructors. In short, their AI is completely broken.

Thank god the major races are smart.

Since they are a minor race they should strive to become a major race and compete on their level. It has been said many times that the minors should be upgraded into a major race if they get powerful enough. Ofcourse since their crappy AI never amounts to anything they would never get powerful enough in the first place!  




There, I'm done ranting.  

Reply #50 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I've been playing the game since it was out, and I found a problem. After about 10 hours of broken play (I saved and exited it many times) it closed and said that the game had an unexped error and quit.