Cheat vs Cheese

Cheating is editing save game files, either to change information in it to allow it to be submitted multliple times, or to improve your score.  Cheating is changing the mods after you've started the game so that you won't trip the anomalous flag.

Cheese is exploiting a bug or feature in a game to gain an advantage.

Well said CariElf! Well said.

Ah, but that is where the next part of the question comes in. I have seen people claim that just about any way that you play the game (presumably except the way that they play) is cheese. Is CTRL-N cheese? How about 99 turn bribes? And if they are cheese, are they OK to use, or will there come a day when it is decided that those who used this cheese will be punished?

I think we have been throwing the cheese label around quite a bit lately. I am afraid that it is becomming a label to brand anyone who plays in a different manner. One of the strongest points of GalCiv is it's flexability in how you play it, and I don't want to see this community change that for the worse.

(1) Yes
(2) Sort of
(3) No

I will sometimes reload at colonization to get a better colonization event. But have to pay the price as the AI normally imediately sticks me with tribute. That is the cheesiest thing I do.

Here is an idea, everyone post what the cheesiest thing they do is. Might give us some great ideas or get the person Renigaded.

All right. The Diplomat will step up first.

I use super bribes for a huge number of turns, and Ctrl-N until I get exactly the starting position I want, sometimes it takes 20-30 times until I get one I like. But the side effect to the bribes is that I can never get off them, so I must always pay them the entire game.

Besides, I don't play a lot, so it doesn't mean as much if I speak first, and I haven't played in weeks.
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Interesting, I don't think the AI gives you any more credit past 99 months. Meaning anything over 99 months is ignored. I have played with this when buying things and it is true when purchasing items.

The minimal testing I've done suggests this is true for buying techs, but not true for bribes.

Oh, trust me, they work.

How many months is it to 2090. Never paid attention to the starting year

144 if my math isn't failing me. Starting date is Jan '78.

Why Vot you sneaky diplomat You never intend on paying your bribes.

Cheese that I use comes into two divisions.

Category one: Things that wouldn't work in 'real life'

Buying freighters and combat transports from the AI.
I consider this cheese because it doesn't really make sense that you could sell someone's own trade products back to them at a profit, or that you could invade someone's planet with his own soldiers.

Offering long term bribes I can't afford for more than one turn to gain an alliance victory.

Category two: Things that wouldn't work on human players

Buying resource starbases
I consider this cheese because the AI doesn't know how much these are worth.

Terror star alpha strike
The AI ought to realise it has a turn in which it could destroy all my terror stars and it never does.

(Incidentally, if anyone at Stardock wants to fix any of these issues, that's OK by me...)

I view this one as financing a coup or a civil war, or bribing someone in power to turn over the resources. That might make an interesting option to put into GalCiv 2...

My favourite cheese is Cheshire.

Now you have crossed the line of fair play. LOL LOL

Or should we say fair paw.

VoT what our your typical brides. mine were

5 for 99 real early

10 for 99 early

15 for mid game

20 for near end.

Skies the limit 2190

Nothing so short. 20 BC usually, and for more turns than you could ever play the game. If that didn't do enough, 40 BC or 60 BC. Later on, before 2190, if I wanted them all to friendly, 100 BCs did the trick for a while, made the end game bribes easier.

I am using much smaller and shorter brides. I keep everyone neutral early and warm to friendly mid game on. I hit them every 3 months with a new bride until I get them where I want them though. Maybe that is the difference. I am sure you play with diplomacy as high as possible too which I guess would be the only other factor. :notsure:

'brides'????!?

I guess he likes his wives petite! LOL

The Outlandish bribes has been on Cari's fix list for a while.. and I do believe that its being fixed in the next update.. (at least a weak)

When this exploitable bug gets fixed (yes.. she told me that there is supposed to be a limit on the number of months that you can go for) so I do expect the number of alliance wins to drop when its fixed
(and yes you can blame me for getting this fixed.. I reported it when all the talk about cheating started.. as I thought it may have been how it was being done.. which it wasn't... )

Ctl-N is not a cheese or cheat.. its mearly a time saver.. to save having to go : menu: mainmenu: start new game: ok: ok:
so its really a shortcut to a new game that was added by stardock.

And several at a time. Cannot afford the one I got, the truth be known.

No wonder I have been keeping the aliens happy. You guys are just offering credits when I am offering woman.
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Does explain my slow population growth though. LOL