Questions about the GalCiv

from Stardock Forums
Hi,

I have read through the manual you have online for galciv and it sounds pretty good. I have just a couple of questions about gameplay.. elements that I feel are missing in current offerings that I have enjoyed in older games.

The manual is almost 6 months old.. if you have made very many changes, perhaps you should update it lest other folks like myself get a false impression of the game's content.

Combat:

The manual describes combat as a simple numeric comparison. Ships have attack and defense and thats it. No maneuvering, weapons are not distinctive, combat just rolls off with presumably the fleet with the better numbers winning every time. Is this the case? Is combat really this simplistic? Are there plans to enhance combat post release?

Planetary Building:

Are there build Queues?
Can I specify default Queues or create my own via the governors?

Map sizing:

I like to play on very small maps. This is in part because I like shorter game times, but mostly because I like fewer, more intense decisions.

How tiny is the tiny map.. would it compare to the tiny map in Moo2 which I always felt was "just right" for my style of game play.

Does your AI handle small maps well? Some AI in games doesnt do well unless it has a lot of space to work with.

Thanks for your help! If nothing else, I hope my questions give some insight to what some of us are looking for. I certainly was left feeling less then thrilled with some other 4x games currently released *cough*.

Regards,

Artuk
268 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Combat is the way you described it and talking from what I know there are not going to be changes made to it any time soon.

Your governors are your custom build queues (you have 3) so it is very easy to set up. Once you set your queues (governors) all you do is asign them to the planets and viola :)

Tiny maps are truly tiny. They are only 4x4 sectors. A sector can have anywhere between 0-5 systems I'd say. As far as AI goes if you set it to genious it will kick your ass on any map ;)
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Thanks for the reply. Sounds like they got 2 out of 3 of my concerns right. I guess I will just have to read about how the game feels tactically after release to see how the simplistic combat will work out.

I am beggining to realize what a masterpiece moo2 truly was.

Regards,

Artuk
Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
I don't think the one with better numbers wins EVERY time... isn't there a dice roll involved? If a ship is attacked, does the damage stay with it until it's repaired?
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
"isn't there a dice roll involved?"

Yes, the manual says the actual attack/defense values used in a particular round of the fight are randomly chosen between 0 and the number assigned to the ship.

I think this combat system is just fine. I only hope that the hitpoints are relatively high, compared to the attack/defense values, otherwise you will get a lot of "my tank died while attacking a spearman" type of whining...

"If a ship is attacked, does the damage stay with it until it's repaired?"

I hope so, but this I couldn't find in the manual.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
A battleship, for instance, has like 80 hitpoints.

But beyond that, as you research new weapons and defense technologies they are automatically integrated into your ship.

On top of that, you can build star bases and then add things like Micro fighters and battle stations to them which can improve the fighting power of nearby friendly units.

Example:
My Battleship:
Attack: 10
Def: 6
HP: 60

Bonuses: Advanced weapons, shields, and trade good Tri-strontium steel change it to:

Attack: 14
Def: 10
HP: 80

Near by star base has Battle Stations Mark I and Fusion Cannons which add another +2 to my attack.

You can also build things like starship foundaries and shipyards which can add more hitpoints to your ship.

And then there's your ability to repair ships in space which can get those hitpoints back up. The better your ability,the faster your ships get repaired.

I don't think people who want tactical combat understand how not-fun that would be for most people in a game like GalCiv.

GalCiv movement is free form. It's not a matter of selecting a fleet and having it move to a star system. If each battle had to be resolved through a tactical battle it would be very tedious. On a big game, you might have a dozen or more battles per turn.