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Things you would like to see in a Galactic Civilization expansion set

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Things you would like to see in a Galactic Civilization expansion set

from Stardock Forums
I know that there already is one suggestion thread up but I decided to start a second one anyhow. Post any and all ideas that are too outlandish or broad in scope to implement in a commercial patch. Let's see if we can give the developers some evil ideas and maybe, just maybe, improve the chances that there will be a GC expansion pack. I'll try to get this one started.

Things I'd like to see implemented in an expansion:

1) More good and evil technologies
2) Race specific units, technologies and events
3) More events of all types
4) Morality triggered events
5) A new (hard) victory condition only attainable by neutral civilizations
6) Larger than gigantic maps
7) More customization options for maps (more neutral races, better than abundant planets, extra star clusters, more/less anomolies, etc.)
8) A second scenario
9) Two-tiered maps
10) A simple fleet combat system
11) More permenant galactic features (astroid belts, gas giants, ancient junkyards and ruins, etc.)
12) Some additional empire building tools (cosmetic and meaningful)

More technologies and events:
Any expansion to Galactic Civilizations would have to include more of what has already made this game the true, spiritual sucsessor to the Orion series. The event library in particular could be easily expanded to make every game unpredictable and different. Granted, this is already one of the stated goals of the patching process, but what can be done in patches can be 'overdone' in a retail release. :) Adding more technologies for the good and evil civs would also be a likely addition, but would require some compensation for neutrals.

Race specific technologies, units and events:
A familiar idea to an RTS player. An ideal way to introduce race-specific items into GC would be to create 1-3 units and techs for each race, including the humans, and then allowing each player to chose one of each at the start of a campaign. Only techs and units that the player picked at the start could be eventially researched and built.

Not allowing the usage of every racial unit in every game would be a good way to ensure that one race is not automatically 'the best' at any one thing. If the Torians chose their heavy combat vessel they will be able to hold their own against the Drengins. The best part is that the human player will not know what choices the AI races made until later in the game. Did the Drengins decide to activate their Warlord-class battleships (for space superiority) or did they instead chose to use Mutagen bombs (for mutating other species into Drengin hybrids during planetary assaults)?

Neutral victory condition:
Create a United League of Planets and conquer or dominate the galaxy. The catch: The League of Planets cannot have any of the other major races in it -- only minor races (and Independant League) led by the human race. You need at least 4-6 minor races (depending on map size) on-board to win this victory condition. They all must be alive at the end of the game.

It could work like this: Once a minor race is convinced to join the League it becomes an ally of the lead race and every other member race. All member races get military access, shared exploration, trade and diplomatic bonuses with one another. All member races benefit from each others starbases. All minor races belonging to the League give a tribute to the founder but recieve a hefty scientic grant in exchange. League races cannot culture bomb one another.

This would be a very cool victory path. It would be murder build and protect a League of Planets, but it could be a very rewarding endevor. If neutral technologies were to be implemented, perhaps they could be intended to allow this style of victory? The first neutral tech could be League Alliance (allowing member states) and subsequent techs could improve economic and scientic ties between the member races. A full formed League would be an unstable but very wealthy ediface.

Under the right circuimstances, the Arcean Empire may even attempt this. Perhaps one or more of their racial units/techs could be designed with this victory path in mind?

More ahead...
25,951 views 529 replies
Reply #451 from Stardock Forums Top
As for being able to cancel out of wars you don't want to fight, your alliance is a military alliance as much as anything. And it generally is in most strategy games. If you back out of an allies war you aren't being a good ally. In some games you get the choice but your alliance will be cancelled if you choose not to help your ally

~SDC~
Reply #452 from Stardock Forums Top
I don't know if anyone has covered this since I haven't had time to read through every message. I'd like to see a mini map come up in the planet screen so I'd know where the planet is when I'm trying to decide what to build there. This is especially the case at the beginning of each turn when you have a lot of planets finishing production.
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #453 from Stardock Forums Top
Also, on Dark Assassin's idea on alliances, why not a choice of types of alliances, ergo, trade, military, research, tech sharing, maybe some others people could think of.
Reply #454 from Stardock Forums Top
Also, on Dark Assassin's idea on alliances, why not a choice of types of alliances, ergo, trade, military, research, tech sharing, maybe some others people could think of.
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I think this is a good idea. But it may take too much work to be done anytime soon. This doesn't sound that easy to do at this point.

~SDC~
Reply #455 from Stardock Forums Top
It's not that I'm not supporting him, it's that he's been stupid, fighting wars he can't possible win. He took on the Torian without having Corvettes. That's idiotic especially when the Torian is pushing past Battleships. I'm just saying that when allies are concerned I think the computer should be a little concerned with the consequences of his actions have on his allies.

-Dark
Reply #456 from Stardock Forums Top
I'm just saying that when allies are concerned I think the computer should be a little concerned with the consequences of his actions have on his allies.
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Maybe he does it BECAUSE he is weak. He figures you will give him techs, give him ships, or fight his wars for him.
Reply #457 from Stardock Forums Top
I think this is a good idea. But it may take too much work to be done anytime soon. This doesn't sound that easy to do at this point.
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Actually, I sort of figured it would be too late anyway, since they are far along on the beta, and there have been so many good ideas to work on as it is.
Reply #458 from Stardock Forums Top
Better splash screen when you manage to reach Trade Good or Galactic Wonder first. Also a special clip for converting star system culturally would be cool.

Some of these great achievements are appearing a little lame at the moment...you may even miss the fact that you did them!!
Reply #459 from Stardock Forums Top
I think you should be able to hire heroes(pilots and governors) like you could in MOO2. But don't forget the lifepods then, you don't want em to die in combat all the time! :HOT:
Reply #460 from Stardock Forums Top
Slider locks on Destabilization and Espionage.

On the main screeen with the treasury value have the current net income for the month. Maybe in brackets.

mo.
Reply #462 from Stardock Forums Top
*** THIS IS A BIG ONE! Goes easily ahead of anything I have asked before ***

Some kind of UI assist for the 3 sliders so we can lock the Military and Social spending to the MINIMUM amount that will still complete the FIRST project due NEXT TERM.

This would effectively allow you to say: "Get me Constructor on planet 1, Fusion plant on planet 2, and put the rest on Research."

I spend loads of time adjusting those sliders. If there was this kind of mechanism available, that you could also turn ON and OFF, it would save tons of playtime for more exciting things. Just hoping it wouldnt be too bad a monster to program.

For instance, clicking on something next to the Mil or Social slider. That would turn it on and adjust that spend. If you didnt have anything in reach for the next turn yet, it would either not adjust at all, or it would adjust to get it for you in the next N turns, with current spending level. Thats hopefully a minor detail already..!
[Message Edited]
Reply #463 from Stardock Forums Top
I would like to see the ability to lock slider bars at a particular point and the ability to type in values instead of clicking on the sliders over and over. Also it would be nice of the Galactic map in the upper right hand corner was always visible. It seems that on some screens it gets covered up and I have to close the screen I am looking at in order to get back to it.
Reply #464 from Stardock Forums Top
For instance, clicking on something next to the Mil or Social slider.
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Here's some further ideas on the Spend Master, after thinking it thru a little more last night. It would actually be perfectly fine just to handle the Next Turn situation. Otherwise it may just get too complicated, for no good reason. It also seems to me that 99% of the use case is about deciding the Next Turn anyway.

Maybe it could be a 3-option switch, with these possible settigs:

1 Lock to complete the nearest project only
2 Lock at the current setting (where the slider is now)
3 Unlock

It would also unlock (or reset) after the turn.

One further major selling point for this feature: I believe it could help many newbies handle and understand the game much better also!
Reply #465 from Stardock Forums Top
How about the ability to find objects easier. A system like they had in Star Wars Rebellion would be Awesome. Being able to locate ANY planet regardless of who owns it would be a start. I can't count the number of time that a planet defected and then I couldn't find it. and how about adding the same icons to the planet database that are on the planets themselves (i.e. unhappy planets, rebellions, eco-capital, etc.)

Reply #466 from Stardock Forums Top
There is a search planet function in the Xpack. Just key in the system name and the map will centre there.
Reply #468 from Stardock Forums Top
I'd like the game to have a 'Hall of Fame' or 'High Scores' page that keeps track of all of the stats from previous games played (like the Civilization series, Crusader, etc.)
Reply #469 from Stardock Forums Top
I'd like to see races move from major to minor status and minr to major status depending on over all relative strength, of course that would mean writting new AI's for all of the current minors.

A more dynamic senate, maybe one that can pass legislation that would effect your empire in various ways, right now the senate is almost pointless except as an additional incentive to keep your morale up.

It would be nice if there were a way that the player could draft UP proposals. UP meetings should be more involved and have the potential to include all races, not just the majors but the more powerful minors as well.

A more elaborate combat system, ships could have strenghts and weaknesses vs various other ship types. as well rather than simple attack, deffence, and HP. Fleet combat should be developed more. Right now a fleet is only useful for moving large numbers of ships.
For example, (the numbers here can be changed of course) perhaps a fleet of maybe 30 starfighters would takeout a single ranger but would be defeated by a fleet of 4 or 5 battle crusiers, though the fleet of battle crusiers might be defeated by a single ranger. This would reflect the effectiveness of fighters as a group against a single enemy.

In fleet combat, retreats should be possible. The fleets should each take a certain amount of damage distributed throughout the fleet in some manner or another though not evenly. The fleet that lost the greater percentage of its initial power (calculated somehow from a combination of attack, defense, and HP) would move off a space or two. Of course it should be possible for a vastly superior fleet to totally destroy its opponent.
Reply #470 from Stardock Forums Top
GCSQL

Like every single empire building game, GalCiv comes down to the ability to manage massive amounts of information, and choose the correct strategy. Unfortunately, the only way we have to see the information is to click through dozens of screens which can get boring and distracts from the real fun.

My thought is that since SQL is so simple and widely known, building it into GalCiv would allow players to get back to playing the game, instead of massaging our wrists all the time :) I think it also fits into the philosophy of Stardock, which has always catered to the power user/tweaker.

Ex:
SELECT SocialProject, SocialTurnsLeft
FROM Planets
WHERE Quality > 20

Select MilitaryProject, MilitaryTurnsLeft
FROM Planets
WHERE MilitaryProjectType = 'AttackShip'

Statements would need to be able to be scripted and bound to keys...

Either this or, GalCiv needs a scripting API of some sort. If Quake players can grasp scripting, I don't see why GalCiv players, who are presumably more cerebral :D would have any problem with GCSQL. Might even help get a few players a job :)
Reply #471 from Stardock Forums Top
I think that we should have hot keys. For example if we want to see the military projects being built on all systems press 'M' and it'll show you the projects and months left. Just an easier way to keep track.

-Dark
Reply #472 from Stardock Forums Top
Have an explored planets report/screen so I can choose where to send my colony ships.

Offensive modules for star bases, not just for support of ships in the area, but to attack incoming ships. The AI has a ship moving toward my planet. I want to shoot at it and at least weaken it so that my Planetary Defenses are more likely to prevail. This would make for strategic choices(Do I attack the base or the planet?). I liked someone's idea of a missile SB mod. This would give you something like 5 missiles to shoot at whatever. When the missiles run out, you have to send another constructor to refit it. This would be a little less cumbersome than the SB supply lines idea, but still give some advantages. And we can make a range for the offensive capability of the SB. This could be the sector or a given number of parsecs from the base regardless of sector.

Since we're making the SB's offensive, how about allowing them to be built anywhere, BUT the special locations having only bonuses(mining).

Advanced notice of UP topics and/or selection of topic in turn.

Reply #473 from Stardock Forums Top
I'd also like to see more upgrade pics for starbases. I would like to be able to look at a starbase and know if I need more factories or whatever. Also, I think that starbases should specialize in something, like economics, culture, factories or military base. I doubt there would be that big a draw for the Waterpark at a big military installation. I would also like to see morale boosters for planets in the sector when you put in things like the Waterpark.
Reply #474 from Stardock Forums Top
I second Grathocke's suggestion. It would be great to be able to visually see the upgrades without multiple clicks into the SB info screen.
Reply #475 from Stardock Forums Top
Make it possible for the PLAYER to PRESENT PROPOSALS to the UP! Kinda sucks that you can't, I hate having to wait and hope for a certain resolution. Maybe make a window open before each UP session asking if the player wants to make a proposal out of a list. If not, default to random. Of course, certain proposals only become available as certain techs are reseached. This would make the UP a lot more "fair" to the player and certainly increase it's usefulness. Also, make it possible to rejoin the UP after leaving -- otherwise who would EVER leave? Make it cost something to rejoin, though - or - even better, make members of the UP have to pay a per-turn fee of, x% of their income and for membership they have trade ability AND the trade federations freighter protection; also allow trade outside of UP membership, but no federation protection... just some ideas ;)