GalCiv II: User Manual Draft 3

Thanks great job!!!!

Just a few minor edits needed so far:

p6: under "The Campaign" section; ...that unveils the story... instead of ...that enveils the story... enveils isn't really a proper English word.

p10: a space is needed between entries for Courage and Creativity

P11: a space is needed between entries for Research and Sensors; and also between Sensors and Social Production.

Otherwise its really shaping up nicely. Great job guys.

Is there anything you guys think needs to be added?

There are no race descriptions.

May I suggest a tutorial in the manual, with screen shots and cross-references to the full manual? My kids (16 and 9) are both very PC game savvy, but neither of them have played a 4X space game before. They voted thumbs down on the game simply because it was too hard to get into. I think the game interface is fine. The problem is that the genre is complex; you can't just start playing without bothering to look at the docs. But most people don't want to read a big chunk of the manual trying to figure out which parts they really need to get started. A thorough tutorial right after "Installing the Game" would have been perfect for my kids.

I'd offer to write you one, except that I don't have time. I'm sure there are some budding tech writers out there in the 18-25 crowd that would be happy to whip you one up over the holidays.

Also would agree with tutorial for new folks, possibly a tutorial scenario we could walk through step by step ??

Another thing I was hoping to get info on in either the farming section or planetary section is how many people can a planet hold ? and how is that calculated ? I'd also plug for a tool-tip over the planet icon at the colony manager screen, where you've already implemented one for morale and influence.

Hello, great job on the game and manual so far, everything is really coming together!

I read through the second draft of the manual quickly while at work and found three errors:

p. 18 The cropped image of the display buttons contains a small white line on the Domestic Policy button. (It's probably left over from the full screen display on p. 15)

p. 37 "Temple of Balance" should be in quotations.

p. 56 There is no benefit description for "Omega Planetary Fleet."

p. 29 is a rather random place to put the government bonus table. It would make more sense to me back at either the political parties section, or the economics section. It could eve go later, on p. 33 where the main government section resides.

Page 14 - Understanding the Galaxy
Manual Reads:
Stars may be orbited by up to five planets, each rated from class 0 to class 15 (or higher when you've researched certain technologies).

What I've seen however are planets that often range above a class 15 rating, sometimes up to 18 or 19 near the early part of the game before I've researched planetary improvements. Which is wrong?

I will qualify this by saying I am a new player to the Gal Civ series, having never played I. I printed the manual and only found minor errors which I am sure will be caught in the final printing. However, I wanted to address a larger problem, if I could.

I have to agree with Citizen First Lensman. Having only been able to poke around on the interface until this first manual was offered, Playing Terrans, I would try to keep up with the expansion of the Drengin Empire. I assumed if they had enough money and income in the beginning to colonize four planets and set up two starbases, I should, too! But no matter how I do it, either paying cash up front or financing the ships over the longhaul, I constantly go so far into debt that my research stops and I never recover. There is no tutorial to show me how to make money and the manual doesn't give any sort of tutorial while the Drengi somehow develop space weapons and beat me into the ground.

Don't get me wrong - I love this game! The interface was easy to understand and use and I fully understand the mechanics - I'm just having trouble with economic strategy and keeping my funds in the green while still actually doing something to expand into space!

Oh, two other minor bugs - When I change the name of the Terran leader, it doesn't change any of the later screens that refer to him - his name is still the default. Also, my first save spot (usually considered game 0) crashes to the desktop anytime I try to load it. All other saves function normally, but game 0 is useless because of that bug.

Also, my first save spot (usually considered game 0) crashes to the desktop anytime I try to load it. All other saves function normally, but game 0 is useless because of that bug.

Consider Double-Saving your games, in any game, because of exactly this bug, ad others. I once had a corrupered save in "Evil Genius" (Great Game, btw). I just loaded my other save.

On the whole, agreeing with comments made by posters here, I re-read the manual and think its pretty good for the info it does have.

Some of MY concerns may be more along the lines of a strategy guide, but it sure wouldn't hurt to have a advice from the devs section giving tips on how to get the most of your game and how to play it effectively.

please please please consider this or consider a strategy guide for the game.

I know Prima or Brady Games will probably have an aftermarket strategy guide, but I'm afraid that those having as much trouble as I am may never get to that point. Beginning strategy, at least to the point that one understands how the basic components work together would really help.

Beta Tesla, thanks for the tip! I did finally save a bogus game there and put all the other saves beyond that one, but it is a shame that that spot is where the autosave game goes. If I don't save frequently, I lose a bunch of turms back! It basically makes the autosave useless, except for previous autosave.

I've played twice more since the last post and lost to forces whose tech was over 7,000 when mine was 777...but I did finally have a positive cash flow! LOL!

TekGreg, I'm thinking of starting up a wiki for GC2 strategy and such, and posting summaries of the stuff here. Doesn't take much, just a question, and you'll be flooded with opinions.

TekGreg, I'm thinking of starting up a wiki for GC2 strategy and such, and posting summaries of the stuff here. Doesn't take much, just a question, and you'll be flooded with opinions.

Ooh, ooh...where do I sign up? LOL! I just tried a game taking tips from others here and using a different race than the Terrans. I did get my tech over 3,000 this time, and had four systems and two starbases with positive cash flow! But guess who I was defeated by....the TERRANS! With a tech over 32,000....if the AI can do it with the game set as "Beginner", I should be able to do it! Sheesh.

Popup:

At one time, former community member Psyringe and I were working on a GC2 wiki site, but when he vanished it sort of died off as I didn't have time to run it all myself. Let me know if you're interested in working on the site with me. I have the domain and the wiki already setup... just needs content.

I would suggest a "Quick Start Guide" in addition to the Manual, for players that just want to jump in and get started.
This way players get a feel for the game before reading a large manual which can be a little daunting.

Also, the "Basics" section of your manual could be broken down further into common groups or themes.
Eg.
THE BASICS
Start Here -
   Creating a new galaxy
   to...
   Understanding the Galaxy.

Controls and Interface -
   The Main screen
   to...
   Video Options

Planet Economics -
   Galactic Economy
   to...
   Influence

Ships-
   ...etc, etc

Keep up the great work.

Shadowdream, that's exactly what it needs. That's what I was trying to emphasize - just enough to get the general idea and start in the right direction!

Oh, and I'm sure it's because it's Beta, but I turned on the "Tutorial" option, but no tutorial was forthcoming. Depending on how well the tutorial functions will help decide how much would have to go into the Quick Start Guide. Also, when the tutorial is implemented, the game should default to the tutorial being On at game startup.

Updated to draft 3.

p. 20

Skip available internet test.

Some might interpret the phrasing to mean that checking this option is required to use the metaverse.

Page 22: Disable engine trails in full battles - Display the exhaust from engines. This effect is fairly GPU intensive.

Shouldent it say CPU?

Secondly it should also say: "Toggle displaying the exhaust from engines"

EDIT on page 33 - There is no such government as Dictatorship, Only the Imperial system

EDIT AGAIN, Page 42 - "Influencer" starbases should be changed to "Influence"
MORE EDIT: Page 45 there is 2 lines of text overlapping each other
EDIT AGAIN: More overlapping text on P49

Once more, An edit: On page 56, It says "Galactic Shocase" not "Galactic Showcase"

GPU = Graphical Processor Unit.  It's not CPU intensive in the least. But it uses a lot of video card bandwidth.

Imperial system is a dictatorship.

Rats about 56. That's a typo.  Influencer starbases are the correct name.

I don't know if it's an error in the manual or a bug in Beta5, but the manual says that the "Smart Drones" modules becomes available for Economic starbase with the Advanced Computing tech (mis-spelled, by the way, as "Advaned"). Anyway, in my latest game I have the Advanced Computing tech but the "Smart Drones" module is not available. Is Xeno Facotry Construction also required?

Do not see "Atlas Sling" and "Devastation Beam" in starbase weapons.

Manual says you need one Megaton of food for each miliion. I have a 10.98 billion planet that is producing 20mt and is still increasing. Manual should say 1 mt needed for each BILLION right?