justkevin

Reply to Metaverse Scoring Revealed in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

My metaverse score changed yesterday(?) and the starweb formula doesn't seem to work for my scores (nor does the official formula).

Reply to Metaverse? Very frustrating scorewise. in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

The formula for the metaverse causes your score to drop a lot at your 6th, 16th and 32nd game (probably at each power of 2 after that as well). Game scores also "decay" after 30 days.

Reply to Metaverse Scoring Revealed in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

After a certain point the divisor switches to 4 (probably game 32). I just put my scores into Excel and using the Starweb's formula with a divisor of 4 (and the 5% decay) it calculated my Metaverse score to within 1 point. I think it's safe to say Starweb's formula is the correct one.

Reply to Answers to questions about the Metaverse in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

I agree with Kaz, that formula doesn't look right. 100^4 is 100,000,000. So playing 100 games with a score of 1,000,000 each would give you a Metaverse score of 1. (Sum/NumberOfGames)^4 doesn't look right either, since that's just your average score raised to the fourth power.

Reply to Pet Peeves? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

A pet peeve of mine is not being able to build the less advanced farming developments. If you build the most advance farm on a 300% bonus tile, you'll end up with a large unhappy population.

Reply to Question: When is 100 billion worthwhile? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

For maximum revenue, go with low pops plus lots of stock markets. But revenue isn't the only reason to want population. High population planets are harder to capture, produce lots of soldiers for invasions, and generate lots of influence. If you're playing a pacifist conquerer strategy, having high populations on all your worlds is key.

Reply to Woah! Strange Random Event in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I had the same random event late in game I was almost winning, except that instead of a few hundred ships, the Arceans got thousands of defenders: It wasn't much of a windfall for them-- I sued for peace and the maintenance cost on the new fleet bankrupted them. Within a dozen turns they were at -50000BC and had scrapped all the ships.

Reply to Buying Resource nodes? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

As of Beta 4, the AI would trade anything away at the right price. I was able to get a fully developed resource for around 50k, but I was way ahead of the AI in terms diplomacy which gave me a huge advantage. I agree something seems strange about how the AI values property trades-- even at high diplomacy ratings I'm never able to trade a planet for a similar class planet. Here's what I think happens: For everything in the AI's inventory, it sets a BC value. "Intellectu

Reply to 1.1 - AI still not challenging :( in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

According to the wiki, no, the AI won't get any smarter as you turn up the difficulty past tough. But it will get more powerful, which will give you more of a challenge. You have the advantage of having a brain developed over millions of years of evolution, capable of learning, pattern recognition and abstract reasoning. We're a long way from getting that into a computer. To compensate for your evolution enhanced brain, handicap yourself by playing at a level above tough

Reply to Is it just me or are Star Bases way too weak in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Starbases are strong at the beginning of the game, when a couple modules can make them able to destroy any fleet that tries to attack. During the mid game their relatively low hitpoints make them weaker than a good sized fleet. Eventually they get pretty powerful again, but at that point their still no match for the most powerful ships you can build. I think their hit points should scale up, either with the number of modules installed, or with the development of the various starbase

Reply to Forced to attack starbase in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

I've had this happen and been able to get out of the loop by clicking no repeatedly. Not sure what the number of times was, maybe the number of moves remaining for the ship?

Reply to Sensors? Really needed? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I agree that the way sensors work now, I haven't found much use for them other than the rare scout. I hate wasting precious bc's/space putting them on combat ships. Plus, by the time the enemy has fast enough fleets I need to worry about surprise, I've got the eyes of the universe. If the eyes were harder to get I might use them more.

Reply to Would you purchase a $20 multiplayer-only expansion pack for Galciv II? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I've played and enjoy multi-player games, but I don't think GalCiv2 would be one I'd enjoy. For multiplayer I like quick pick-up games like FPS or card games.

Reply to Are military starbases worth it on "tough" difficulty? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

My opinion is that starbases are important in the early game, when you have fleets of small, relatively week ships. In these cases a starbase offers a huge benefit. A fleet of 1-0-0/1-0-0 ships can easily turn into a fleet of 2-0-0/4-1-1 with a couple modules. I believe it also helps your military rating so you appear less weak. When you get up to ships like 60-0-0/9-4-4, the starbase bonus is much less important.

Reply to Fleet Speed in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Speed is important for the following reasons: Allows you to strike first and the attacker enjoys a large advantage. Project power: one fast moving fleet can protect the same radius as several slower fleets. Multiple attacks: a fleet with high movement can attack more than one target per round. I usually put 1 engine on small hulls, 2-3 on medium, 3-4 on large or huge.

Reply to Iconians in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Races can't be bribed to attack others whose military is too much stronger than theirs. The solution? Bribe the Iconians to attack everyone else. The effect is the same as all the other races ganging up on them.

Reply to How to get an influence victory? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Flipping planets tends to be an all or nothing strategy-- either you have a lot of influence and the planets fall like dominoes, or they don't fall at all. To win with "soft power" try the following: Make sure you have large populations on all the worlds that can support them. Influence is predominantly generated by population. Get the restaurant of eternity development. Research all the techs that give influence bonuse

Reply to How is military power calculated in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I'm not sure how the system determines military strength. I'm frequently rated last because I have fewer but more powerful ships. Two suggestions: 1.) Get the most powerful military in the game to attack the next two most powerful (do this through the trade screen by offering them cash or tech). This will knock all three of them down in strength and keep them busy for while. 2.) Research total majesty (this takes awhi

Reply to Those are some damn fine agents... in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Nope, I won tech victory that round. AI apparently can research tech victory, but not win. I believe this is true for all the victory paths, i.e., they only apply to the human player.

Those are some damn fine agents... in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

These agents are getting a raise:

Reply to How do I improve my score in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

I see you're on the beta which knocks your score back quite a bit. Galaxy size has nothing to do with score, other than to allow for more stars and planets. The same number & quality of planets on a medium sized map should produce about the same score as on gigantic.

Reply to Big zippy dreadnoughts versus slow mini fighters?... in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

The game does scale engine size with hull size, so the same engine component takes more space on a huge hull than a tiny hull. Your point is correct if the engines work like rockets (Acceleration = Force / Mass). But according to the game text, their main function is folding space. Since we don't know the physics of folding space, we're free to invent our explanation for how it works. Perhaps the amount of engine necessary to fo

Reply to Priceless? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Well, maybe he actually takes the money and puts up all of the Iconian Refuge in 5 star hotels for the rest of their lives. "Emperor Iso, this is the reason we're the Iconian Refuge ."

Reply to I don't understand how influence works in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Influence is currently one of the most mysterious aspects of play in GalCiv2. No one (besides the devs) knows what the formulae are for determining it, and the Wiki entry on influence starbases basically asks the same question you do. Building starbases seems to create influence like a planet, so if you want to flip alien worlds, you should put them close to their planets. But it's not clear if it also modifies your own worlds, in w

Reply to Counter culture strategies in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

well what else can I do? Maxed out on influence tech, maxed out on all influence starbases (both types) got all the fruity achievements, the map was ALL red and still very few defections. I think in high lvl dificulty games influence cannot be relied upon. I don't think it's difficulty, I was able