As actual Stardock users, we, the players of GalCiv, know that SD is not going to abandon their games and will try their best to fix any problems that come up. BUT, for those that are asking for an earlier date partly for *new* buyers for the holidays, take into consideration that Stardock is not as widely known as the major companies and if TA did have bugs (which all games, no matter how good, do of course) then new players could end up with a bad impression and it could actually hurt Stardock more than help it.

Also for proper saturation in a holiday market, SD would have to release TA by the end of next week (so that it could be on shelves for Thanksgiving in the US, which I think we can all agree would be rushed. Push later into December and you're already missing a large portion of the holiday sales and at that point, well, there's no point. Better to release a great game, with less competition, in January and let people use their gift cards.

Its important to have a quality product, and its our jobs as consumers to inform others how Stardock is not like those "other" corporations and help sales even more with our word of mouth.

So unh...January, if that wasn't quite clear LOL

Hard to go wrong with more time, so later release

I bought this game originally by lurking around and seeing the quality of Stardock's commitment to proper releases of games and satisfied customers, not just the bottom line.

Continue that tradition, Stardock - release as late as you have to and BLOW MY MIND WITH AWESOME.

-Ax

OMG Stardock = greatest company ever. That is all there is to say.

I think the mere fact that you can say you are on track to release 2 expansion packs in 1 year shows you guys are just making them as quickly as possible with a limited number of features. Dark Avatar, for example, added no gameplay value for me.

The only difference in my games were that there were asteroids that hardly made a difference and some planet types which are more of a slight gameplay change rather than something major.

Obviously, if Stardock had wanted they could have worked on the gameplay flaws for these expansion packs, of which there remain many, rather than tweaking things and then playing up the changes like they are earth-shattering.

Content equivalent to everything that was packed in Beyond the Sword is what I'd like to see from Stardock.

January

January sounds good to me. But I have yet to get Dark Avatar so I'm way behind.

Wow, just wow. I normally dont post on any forums, cause im too lazy to type, but seeing what DrSpock wrote about Dark Avatar and stardock has forced me to respond.

First off, the fact that stardock is able to release two expansion packs in one year does show that they are indeed working very quickly, however this only impresses me, because I have actually played the original Galciv II and its expansion and am aware of the quality of both games. Which by the way, is damned good. Second, you obviously dont know much about the two, seeing as you dont describe the expansion correctly.

The expansion did have new planet types yes, but saying this only causes a slight gameplay change is quite simply wrong. Say for instance you start off in an isolated corner of the galaxy, as has happened to me before, and the really good planets near you are radioactive, or barren, or water, or heaven forbid, all damn three. This will force you to make some early decisions that will affect how the whole game will play out, mainly the decision to make a dash for the required techs to colonize said worlds, or to build some spacestations to reach some more desirable worlds that would be too far away to colonize right away. So clearly, that alone affects the gameplay quite a bit right there.
Of course, we now have what you said about asteroids... You say they make no difference? Damn, I would like to play a game against you where you arent able to use them and I can, we would see how much of a difference they make then... Trust me, you would not like the outcome.
And finally, we have what you left out of it completely. One, you failed to mention the new spy system, which, by the way, is pretty damn cool. Its nice to drop a crapload of spies on drengin worlds and totally shut down their production capability. Another thing you failed to mention, is the upgraded AI. Its like trying to take down someone who knows exactly what im gonna do before I do it when you have it on max. And another thing not mentioned is the whole new faction, or did you not notice that the Korath exhisted?
Well, my rant is done, and as for the original topic, which i have gone way off of, I think Stardock should not release the expansion until they feel it is good enough, since they have quite ably proven to me that they know what the hell they are doing. If that means an extra month of testing, then by all means, please do so. It just means an even better quality of game in the end.
One final thing, that little comment at the end of DrSpock's post makes me wonder if maybe he works for the Civilization team... And if so, does that mean that they are fealing threatened by GalCiv? If thats the case, the grats to Stardock, that would be quite the ego-boost I would think

Later, the better the AI the better the game

Amazing BlacShade normally I just read the original text and reply but I read Yours and stardock should pay you for advertising cause now I am getting DA and Twilight of the Arnor

With most companies, I would say definitely wait. With SD and how they have been supporting the best space strategy game ever, I actually think they can release it in december. You can bet if the game is released in december, they will follow up with a strong patch anyway. I am going to vote december because I think SD can pull it off. If this was a full blown sequel I would say wait but GalCiv2 is already a solid proven game. So any patches for ToA will probably be just balancing patches and/or minor glitches. So go ahead for the christmas rush! Either way though, I will be happy. I am going to pre-order it soon anyway. I also really like how SD asks the whole community this. Thumbs up once again and the ToA pack is not even out yet   

The Civ4 and GalCiv teams helped each other out, so there's no agenda.

Thanks for sticking up for us, BlacShade! I'd like to think that DA was more than 'Useless asteroids and some crappy new planet types'...but I suppose everyone's entitled to their opinion

A later release seems necessary with these drastic changes in gameplay.

I voted for January. I'll pretty much always favor delaying a release if it will mean a more complete game in the end.   

January. Since you are not distributing to stores, no need to push for Xmas release. I think gamers in general would always rather wait a little while for a polished product.

I'd have to vote For January or later because the extra time on the AI is always worth it.

the new expansion could be new years first resolution "Must buy that awesome game I didn't buy before GC2+DA+TW!!!"

twilight arnor is shutting down, say's it has a problem . What shall I do for this help me please this is a high end computer

Take all the time that is needed. It wont be out in time for Christmas, but hey, it will force people to be creative with their gifts. Thinking never hurt anyone!

Notepad++ or XML notepad 2007 use a search engine to find either to download

I have preordered but would be more than happy to wait for it to be right!

You hardly need my approval, but of course you get my vote. Take your time, espceially sinec the time taken will be spent directly on us - the fans.

Keep up the great work, Stardock!

And...guys...do try to remember to take a breather once in a while, will you?  

P.S: DrSpock, you are indeed entitled to your opinion, however my opinion is that you are simply ungrateful to Stardock efforts and that's just uncool.

Hell ya! You're right! Thanks...

Until just now, I didn't know that a new expansion pack was already so close. I'm really eager to see it, but I think I'd rather wait the extra month to have it done right. It will be more fun that way.