How does it compare to Galactic Civilizations II?

from Sins Forums

Greetings everyone. I have been following the forums off and on for the last couple weeks since I found out about Sins.

I have been a huge galactic conquest game fan clear back to the original Master of Orion. I love empire building games.

Couple of questions in which hopefully you can answer.

1. How does it compare to Galactic Civilizations II? I did not pick up the expansion, Dreadlords… was kinda disappointed in the fleet building and difficulties and limitations in ship customizations.
2. Since, the Sins is real time, does this get problematic when your empire gets bigger and bigger? Seems that the bigger it gets, the more systems you have to pay attention to in a RTS game, which is a snowball effect. Can game speed be adjusted in single player mode and can it be paused?
3. Are combat ships customizable? If not, is there a good selection?

Thanks
10,212 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

1)Stardock would be best answering this one.

2)The interface is pretty slick. Even as your empire grows, it is really easy to keep track of everything using the empire tree, or by zooming out in the main screen.  There are countless options for turning on/off UI settings as well.  There are also a number of automated features for research, build queuing, movement, scouting, colonizing, using abilities, placing structures, and so on.  You can feel pretty confident if you focus on your primary battles and let the AI handle your smaller unit skirmishes.

Yes, there are a number of speed settings to choose from and yes, it can be paused.

3)Yes. Capital ships are your 'hero' type units in the game.  You are able to outfit them with a selection of special abilities that will aid in combat.  As your ship (crew) gains experience more upgrade levels are unlocked and eventually you can obtain the ship's ultimate. Frigates and moreso cruisers are also customizable through research.  Even the most basic units can have a crucial role in the end game if you decide to research a given ability.  The strongest sense of customization in a game of this scale is the actual composition of your fleet as a whole. 

On a seperate note of customization, you are able to name your ships and planets, select your commander portrait,  choose your faction logo, name, and color.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
Hmm, if Capital ships are the hero ships, how many will you be allowed to have at most? Im wondering if the only attack/defend strategy will be to have your whole army at one point, or if maybe that will leave your empire vunerable to a more spread out opponment? :)
Siege of Centauri
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
Thanks for the great reply Craig.

So, it seems that I will have an automative AI working with me through out the game, and it is up to me to issue the key commands during my galactic conquest.

Looking forward to picking up Sins next week.

See you guys next week from the other end of my Gauss Cannon.
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
This game is not as deep as GalCiv -- by its very nature (RTS), it can't be. That said, its far deeper, and has far more management, than any other RTS to date.

And while ships can't be customized, capitol ships (limited by research) can be "customized" in that you choose what order to take abilities. There are only 10 abilities, so all level 10 capitols (of the same class -- each race has 5 classes) will be identical except for name... but its rare to see a level 10 cap, and such a foe is truly an enemy to be wary of!