Galactic Civilizations: The Prancing Pony (Fellowship of the Ring Empire Thread)

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Do you still think GalCiv 1 is fun even with GalCiv II out?

758 votes

1- Yes

2- No

The Prancing Pony (Fellowship of the Ring Empire Thread)

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#1600 by Citizen Matthew Downie - 7/12/2004 4:07:08 PM

I don't understand. Surely you're limited to offering the amount of money you have? And when has 50 years ever been the limit of anything in GalCiv?

(PS: 1600!)

#1601 by Citizen Naqmir - 7/12/2004 4:13:12 PM

I havent found a limit to the amout of money you can offer.Since version 1.51 I think.

#1602 by Citizen Weyrleader - 7/12/2004 6:48:00 PM

I don't understand. Surely you're limited to offering the amount of money you have? And when has 50 years ever been the limit of anything in GalCiv?

Yes, you are limited to the amount of money you have for the first turn, but after that you go negative if you don't end the game in that turn. So, no, you are not limited to the amount of money you have to the total cost of the bribe, just the current turn.

Time limit was put in place in the last update of v1.51.

#1603 by Ambassador Ray the Wanderer - 7/13/2004 9:04:52 PM

Hi all,

Missed all the drama about the cheating/cheesing during my absence this few weeks. Reminds me about the time when Staffa and I were accused of cheating by Frogboy. Always wanted to revisit that thread for a laugh but it was deleted. Personally, I'm leaning towards believing that Lothmorg didn't cheat. Like others have said, it's possible to get those kinds of scores using the strats easily available on this forum so there really isn't any reason why a player should risk expulsion by cheating.

Seems like there is a lot more excitement about MoM2 then Galciv on the main forum now. Even long gone players like Ellestar has reappeared because of this possibility of a MoM remake. I personally didn't get into MoM myself. Probably because I was undergoing military training during that period of time and only had weekends for gaming. I just downloaded the game again and after playing it awhile and reading the manual, I find that it reminds me a lot of Age of Wonders except that AoW had less city micromanagement. So I gave up on MoM and started to replay Age of Wonders 2: Shadow Magic.

I would definitely want to play a MOM game built by Stardock. Hopefully the AI would be better than the one Galciv had.

I mean Galciv's AI is good compared to other games in the same genre but you feel kinda frustrated when you see AI behaviour such as those described by Jack Sparrow in the main forum (indifference to terror stars, culturally incompetent, weak at waging war/conquering etc).

#1604 by Ambassador Ray the Wanderer - 7/13/2004 9:14:20 PM

By the way, my Drengin 1-year subscription is probably expired and is going to expire and I'm really not sure whether I want to continue it before it goes up to $99.

There really is too little information on why I would want to extend it considering that Galciv2 or Elemental is still some way off and I'm not interested in Political Machine or new updates to Galciv:AP.

Do I really want to play $70-$100 for the opportunity to download old games that I've played before but have thrown away or old games that I didn't play? I'm not really sure. Though this amount for a year for a lot of old good games could be a real bargain.

What do the rest of you think?

#1605 by Citizen musicfan55 - 7/14/2004 5:52:25 PM

Hi Ray. It is great to see you posting. I am still having fun playing Gal Civ. I haven't purchase the Drengin.net but bought AP not too long ago. I prefer the "a la carte" buying mode rather than subscription mode. AP sounded fun so I bought it. It is, so thanks Stardock. I hope to buy many more good games from them but have never done a subscription thing. Hope it works out well for everyone. Please continue to visit us on the forum whatever you decide to do. Bye

#1606 by Citizen musicfan55 - 7/15/2004 11:20:08 AM

The continuing saga of the FotR and unofficial movie reivew thread goes on. FotR remains in a steady fifth place and we have a ringer in 7th place until Captain Jack plays a game or Weyrleader picks up the pace.

I saw Godfather III and thought it was good and Al Pacino and Diane Keaton were wonderful. No, it was not as good as Godfather I and II but considering it was done 16 years later, and from the original cast was missing Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, and Robert de Niro - hey what can you expect? The editing could have been better - it was the only movie of the three (all were long) that would sometimes drag. The character sketches were so fantastic, I had to hang in there to see what finally happened to Michael Corleone. It was worth it. 5 out of 5 stars to Godfather I & II but still 3 or 4 for Godfather III. The featurettes were good too. I still have not listened to the commentaries but will save that for a later day. The Godfather Trilogy DVD package is a great gift - maybe to yourself.

#1607 by Veteran vincible - 7/16/2004 6:07:42 PM

I got Drengin.net in order to get Political Machine cheap. (Disappointing btw.) I will not renew it.

With any company that puts out a good game, you have to wonder whether they're actually good at making games, or if they just got lucky. While their hearts are in the right place, Stardock doesn't seem to have much understanding of how Galciv works, which makes me think that Galciv owed a lot to luck. I think the things they emphasize in their patches bear that out.

#1608 by Citizen musicfan55 - 7/17/2004 7:43:24 PM

Hi vincible. Good to see you post. Hard to know how much is luck and how much is skill on the part of Stardock. One probably needs both.

The patches are interesting in that, over the last year, they required tweaking of strategy in Gal Civ games. This is more than I can say for other games - even good games.

I also like AP and feel the $25 (I got the CD) beyond Gal Civ was a fair price for an expansion pack that I knew would be supported. Still enjoying playing after a year was more than I expected

#1609 by Ambassador Ray the Wanderer - 7/18/2004 2:22:50 AM

Stardock has apparently extended the subscription period for my Dregnin subscription to Jan 2005 so it will be a while before I need to decide whether I should extend it.

#1610 by Citizen damoose - 7/18/2004 4:23:49 AM

Stardock doesn't seem to have much understanding of how Galciv works

Hummm.... Really? Why do you think that?

Hard to know how much is luck and how much is skill on the part of Stardock. One probably needs both

Isn't that the way is always works?

Stardock has apparently extended the subscription

Yup. The Goddess mention that ove in the main forum in the 'wonderful' thread.

#1611 by Ambassador Ray the Wanderer - 7/19/2004 8:22:46 PM

So we are getting Disciples II, Orb and Celtic Kings as part of TotalGaming/Drengin.

Any comments from those of you who have played them before?

#1612 by Citizen littlewotts_ - 7/19/2004 8:23:45 PM

I haven't played them myself, but if they are good, I might be upgrading.

#1613 by Ambassador Ray the Wanderer - 7/20/2004 4:12:02 AM

I'm downloading Disciples II right now. The reviews I have read about it is mixed but I'm eager to try out this fantasy TBS game.

#1614 by Citizen musicfan55 - 7/22/2004 8:45:35 PM

Hi all. Any reports on those new games?

I am still having fun with AP. Today I submitted a game 18 points shy of 60k and a couple of weeks ago I got one 12 points shy of 60k. Could never do that if I tried.

.

Am watching a funny TV sitcom now on DVD that ran on ABC for 3 years called "Sports Night" (starring Peter Krause). It's amazing how much better something is without the advertising breaking up the show. If you have ever enjoyed ESPN Sports Center once, you will like this and even if you don't like sports, it is still entertaining with clever writing and good casting, especially for a TV series. Ok, that my pick for the day. Later.

#1615 by Citizen Matthew Downie - 7/24/2004 9:05:51 AM

Hey, I'm back. Now that I'm in [shudder] full time employment, I don't have much time for GalCiv.

Stardock doesn't seem to have much understanding of how Galciv worksHummm.... Really? Why do you think that?

I've long suspected that no-one at Stardock was any good at playing GalCiv, ever since I read this:

http://www.stardock.com/stardock/articles/galciv/gc_example1.html

Link
And there were all sorts of well-known flaws in the GalCiv AI that took ages to get fixed or never were fixed, even though most of them look like five minutes of work to take care of.

Reviews of things I've seen recently:
Shrek 2. Excellent animation and some good jokes. If you liked the first one, you'll probably like this, although the plot wasn't particularly compelling.

Spiderman 2. Enjoyed it a lot - especially the way Peter Parker goes through so much suffering that it eventually starts to be funny every time something bad happend to him. Rather put me off the idea of becoming a superhero - next time a radioactive animal wants to bite me, I'll try to stop it. Better than the first one, though with a few dull bits, and it took too long to end. And how come Spiderman, who can lift cars, can punch Doctor Octopus (a normal guy with metal tentacles on his back) in the face without knocking him out?

Bionicle - Mask of Light (DVD). Children's computer animation set on a planet where everyone's a cyborg, based on a Lego product range, that I wouldn't have watched if it didn't relate to my current career. Some of it was OK, but I question the logic of the part of the plot where the hero confronts the local Hitler / Satan / Darth Vader figure, who says that in order to humiliate him before he kills him, he's going to beat him at the local equivalent of one-on-one basketball.

Games played:
Roller Coaster Tycoon 2. Fun management game, although the isometric 3D is too dated. It's very hard to make paths and cables meet up when you can't tell the difference between something that's high up and something that's far away.

Civilisation III. TBS with the best AI I've ever seen. The computer players trade technology and build up their cities every bit as well as I do, although their military tactics are nothing special. That means if you have less territory than your rival, the only chance you have is to get bigger through conquest. Unfortunately, this is where it goes a bit wrong. It's ridiculously hard to hold on to cities once you've captured them. I charged into my opponent's territory, grabbed hold of his best cities, made peace, and then a few turns later they decide they admire their original culture more than mine, so they switch back. Of course you don't like my culture! I didn't expect you to! That's why I sent in a huge army to seize control of you! A huge army which has now myseriously disappeared!
GalCiv has a similar culture-flipping mechanism, of course, but in Civ3 it happens without warning or anything obvious you can do about it.

I've never played (or heard of) any of the new games I can download through my Drengin account. Tell me if they're any good, OK?

#1616 by Ambassador Ray the Wanderer - 7/25/2004 2:53:00 AM

And there were all sorts of well-known flaws in the GalCiv AI that took ages to get fixed or never were fixed, even though most of them look like five minutes of work to take care of.

That's why I'm more than a bit worried about Galciv2's AI with the bunch of new features that are going to be added. If Galciv1 with its relative simplicity could have its AI so thoroughly exploited, what more Galciv2?

I charged into my opponent's territory, grabbed hold of his best cities, made peace, and then a few turns later they decide they admire their original culture more than mine, so they switch back. Of course you don't like my culture! I didn't expect you to! That's why I sent in a huge army to seize control of you! A huge army which has now myseriously disappeared!

People were complaining about this when I was playing Civ3. I think they changed it such that the occupational army would reduce the chances of flipping. Or at least not make it look like the city milita demolished an entire army which just kicked the butt of their regular army. Can't remember the actual tweak.

#1617 by Veteran vincible - 7/25/2004 8:46:05 PM

Hmm... culture AI (or lack thereof) was what I was particularly thinking of when I made that comment. It was thoroughly broken when I first played the game. In my *very first* game, I figured out that the AI wouldn't notice a cultural offensive if your culture starbases weren't in its sector. I initially chalked this up to me playing on a low difficulty level, but that wasn't it. The AI just simply can't play that aspect of the game, and it's never really been fixed. And meanwhile, Stardock has pushed through a bunch of (imo) tangential patches and questionable features. Sure, embargoes are cute, but who uses them? And who really really wanted logistics in the game?

Galciv can't compete with other games in complexity. It shouldn't try--it's not designed for it. What it has is simple but deep gameplay.

Also Stardock occasionally catching people "cheating." I don't have an opinion about the Lothmorg thing since I haven't really been following the forum recently, but the earlier one with Staffa was just absurd. Brad just couldn't figure out how Staffa was researching things "out of order." It turned out Staffa was just trading for techs, like any sensible player would.

I don't want to badmouth Stardock. They're still head and shoulders above most other companies I have experience with. But I don't think they play Galciv much.

It's ridiculously hard to hold on to cities once you've captured them.

Yes, this was definitely patched.

Other games:

Disciples (from Drengin) looked promising. I downloaded it yesterday but I didn't have time to do more than play three turns on the first level. It got some nice reviews though.

I've been playing MOO2 in my scarce gaming time. The one thing which is driving me *nuts* is the lack of a Galciv-style governor. (This is one of the best features of Galciv imo--reduces micromanagement enormously. I hope every 4X TBS game ever made from now on copies this feature.) Otherwise, MOO2 is still the great game I remembered.

#1618 by Citizen Matthew Downie - 7/26/2004 5:01:20 PM

No, you're an idiot! MOO1 was the good game, MOO2 was a disaster!
Just kidding. I loved MOO2. I'd be playing it now if I hadn't destroyed the CD. It's fun to design a specialised race that's entirely dedicated to, say, capturing enemy ships.
Simple build-queue governors work well on GalCiv (and would be even better if you didn't lose the queue when you restarted), but wouldn't be as good in some other games. Deciding what to build is more tactical in Civ3, (eg the corruption-reducing courthouse is more important in corrupt cities, the harbour can't be built at all except at the coast, etc.) and it mixes military units with social improvements in the same queue.

#1619 by Citizen Primus Ordines Aaberg - 7/27/2004 7:11:47 AM

Sure for busting in on your discussion, allthough i agree that i would have been nice if Stardock had looked more into making the AI more competitive - in regards to Tech, Culture and Alliance victories (instead of just nerfing the scores) -i still think GalCiv has one of the best AI's i have ever seen.

I'm currently playing EUII and allthough the game is pretty complex, and therefore interesting (IMO) the AI's has got nothing to offer.

Besides its great to see the Drenginnet convertede to gamingnet and extended for another year.

#1620 by Citizen Matthew Downie - 7/27/2004 12:27:52 PM

would have been nice if Stardock had looked more into making the AI more competitive - in regards to Tech, Culture and Alliance victories

It's not that good at war either. It never does surprise attacks, never defends itself properly against your surprise attacks (unless you leave your fleet hanging around too long), it will sell you its entire fleet for tech (leaving it entirely at your mercy), and the way it sends fleets around is pretty unfocused.

(There's also a lot I like about the AI, especially the personalities of the aliens.)

#1621 by Citizen musicfan55 - 7/31/2004 4:01:19 PM

Hi all. Finally got around to playing a game but have been busy with real life stuff.

Saw a decent sci-fi movie last night, "Minority Report". I guess I expected more with big names like Spielberg and Cruise. It could have been great with less gratuitous special effects and better story telling plus better editing. Doesn't hold a candle to the great ones like Blade Runner, Alien, Terminator, etc. but worth a rental. Later.

#1622 by Citizen Matthew Downie - 8/1/2004 5:46:28 AM

Yeah, I saw that when it first came out. It had a lot of cool bits, and the look and feel of the near future was pretty convincing, but it was also unsatisfying. For one thing, they kept seeming to promise things and then not deliver on the promises. Like, Cruise's character was addicted to some kind of drug, but that never seems to have any impact on the plot. The underground doctor who was performing the eye surgery on him reveals as the anaesthetic takes effect that he has a serious grudge against him, doesn't do anything much about it. He's told his new eyes must not be exposed to light for a period of time, but he is forced to open them, with no noticeable consequences. We're told that the psychics need to stay in their nutrient pool, but when he takes one out, she's fine. It's all like that.
Also, the moral dilemma at the heart of the story seems to be: If we could predict that someone was going to commit a crime, should we intervene to stop them? Or should we allow them their free will and hope they decide not to do anything wrong.
The film-makers then 'load' the argument. Since no crime has been committed yet, you might think they'd do something mild, like take the potential murderer away from their victim and give them some form of therapy. Instead, they are taken away and stuck in a tube, without any right to a lawyer, a trial, a phone call, or any contact with the outside world. In case you're still unconvinced, they then reveal that a lot of the time, the psychics are wrong.
At the end, they abolish the system of psychic murder-prevention... I can't believe that would last, since every future murder would bring demands for its reinstatement.

#1623 by Ambassador Ray the Wanderer - 8/1/2004 9:50:41 AM

Talking to the "boss" of Star Chamber now.

He's exploring the possibility of getting Star Chamber onto Totalgaming.net.

Would be great if it happens. Maybe some of you Galcivers will decide to give it a spin and join Killa and myself here.

#1624 by Citizen Matthew Downie - 8/1/2004 10:33:45 AM

How would that work? Would you get more than the free download version?

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