Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords

[Joshua Randall]

When GalCiv1 was the rage, I found a bunch of nice strategy guides for it (probably on gamefaqs.com although I'm not positive). One of them had a complete tech tree -- more like a tech spiderweb, but anyway...

You guys should search around for similar stuff for GalCiv2. It's gotta be out there. The game is not THAT new.

 

[andargor]

When GalCiv1 was the rage, I found a bunch of nice strategy guides for it (probably on gamefaqs.com although I'm not positive). One of them had a complete tech tree -- more like a tech spiderweb, but anyway...

You guys should search around for similar stuff for GalCiv2. It's gotta be out there. The game is not THAT new.

OMG, a person did indeed write a GalCiv2 FAQ on gamefaqs.com.

Very amazing, I can't imagine the hours spent on this!

*reading*

 

[Threedub]

I've really enjoyed GC2 and it's part of my playing rotation right now. I do agree with the poster above, I think Trancejeremy, that said it is kind of boring if you're not fighting a war. Basically, exploration and then racing to planets is fun and after that you might as well start knocking in some heads.

 

[John Crichton]

I'll just add that it's the one game that got me off of CivIV when it came out earlier this year. The custom shipbuilder is just too much fun and makes up for the shortcomings like the uninspired tech tree. And the ability to download/install was excellent. They also sent me the collector's edition boxed version when I bought it for good measure.

Looking forward to the expansion.

 

[Hand of Evil]

It is a very good game, still not Masters of Orion 2 but a lot like it.

 

[D.Shaffer]

I love GalCiv2 and I'm eagerly awaiting the expansion. That said, it does have its problems (Some of which are being corrected).

I dont like the fact that without planetary invasion, you cant damage someone elses planet at all. If you dont care about keeping the planet, or even dont really want to grab it anyways, it's a bit to easy to exploit the ground combat system. Just send in 1 soldier and use the more destructive conquering techniques (Like Tidal Waves, or Core Detonation). I'd like being able to put in orbital/planet based defenses beyond just stationing ships in orbit, too.

The Tech tree is a bit monotonous. I'd like it to be a bit more interweaving. It's more like a cadelabra then a tree.

Everyone can colonise the exact same worlds. There's no real variety beyond special tiles and PQ. (This is being changed in the expansion)

Espionage is boring. (This is also being changed in the expansion)

I'd like a bit more control over the space combat. I dont require controlling each individual move, but I'd like to be able to prioritize certain targets and issue simple commands. (Concentrate all fire on that Super Star Destroyer!) I'd like the weapon types to have a bit more variety beyond getting past defenses, too. Additionally, I think the first strike is way to important and would like ways to randomize that a bit (Which also opens up the idea for components/research that improves your initiative)

 

[Ferghis]

Despite the fact that it is an excellent game (after being patched up), I hated it. This is most likely due to my limitations. The game allows you to control an immense amount of features, and because I like to take advantage of most options offered in a game, even a short game takes an immense amount of time to play. So the rewards/efforts ratio ends up being very low, at least for me. I have to admit that the game is done very well, and deserves some credit in this respect.

 

[SecondTime]

I love GalCiv2 and I'm eagerly awaiting the expansion. That said, it does have its problems (Some of which are being corrected).

I dont like the fact that without planetary invasion, you cant damage someone elses planet at all. If you dont care about keeping the planet, or even dont really want to grab it anyways, it's a bit to easy to exploit the ground combat system. Just send in 1 soldier and use the more destructive conquering techniques (Like Tidal Waves, or Core Detonation). I'd like being able to put in orbital/planet based defenses beyond just stationing ships in orbit, too.

The Tech tree is a bit monotonous. I'd like it to be a bit more interweaving. It's more like a cadelabra then a tree.

Everyone can colonise the exact same worlds. There's no real variety beyond special tiles and PQ. (This is being changed in the expansion)

Espionage is boring. (This is also being changed in the expansion)

I'd like a bit more control over the space combat. I dont require controlling each individual move, but I'd like to be able to prioritize certain targets and issue simple commands. (Concentrate all fire on that Super Star Destroyer!) I'd like the weapon types to have a bit more variety beyond getting past defenses, too. Additionally, I think the first strike is way to important and would like ways to randomize that a bit (Which also opens up the idea for components/research that improves your initiative)

The 'first strike' aspect of combat was removed in 1.2. Now both sides get atleast one shot. This was done to provide a reason to install defense modules and because the A.I. is inevitably not very good at taking the tactical initiative. A good change IMO.

 

[BlueBlackRed]

I bought the game: gave it a 5/10.
- It was released too soon. Way too buggy early on.
- 4x games should not require a powerful video card. (A gripe I had for CivIV, but I'll still play that game.)

Thanks to the bugs, I think I even asked for my money back from their online store. Never got a reply.

 

[trancejeremy]

The 'first strike' aspect of combat was removed in 1.2. Now both sides get atleast one shot. This was done to provide a reason to install defense modules and because the A.I. is inevitably not very good at taking the tactical initiative. A good change IMO.

It does even things up a little, but offense still very much rules. It's just that your attacking stack/fleet will wear down more. In my first game of 1.4x, I tried giving ships balanced atack/defense ratings. I got clobbered by the AI with his attack only ships.