Sirian Sirian

Travel to Realms Beyond Your Ordinary Gaming Experience

▼

Travel to Realms Beyond Your Ordinary Gaming Experience

from Stardock Forums
This thread is intended to recruit new players to the Realms Beyond community through our Metaverse Empire. We don't exactly need a thread for discussion, as we have our own GalCiv forum attached to the RB website. (Realms Beyond is a veteran community of gamers with an established presence in several strategy and role playing games). However, some have suggested that our "meteoric rise" in the galactic standings represents a "mystery" and a possible threat to other empires. Surely not, says we. :)

Why not wait for interested parties to find their way to the RBGC forum, if they wish to communicate with us? That seemed wise at first, but the suggestion has been floated amongst our own that we should research "communication theory" and create a device called a "univeral translator" and seek to open communications with other empires on terms they are used to operating, through channels they are used to using. The ultimate wisdom of this idea, and this so-called translation device, remains in doubt among RB leadership, as the first attempt to use the wicked thing resulted in misunderstanding leading to combat and nearly kicked off a minor war, but we are an adventurous people and will give almost any idea a try, so here we go. :D

Our Empire Motto: WE SEEK CHALLENGE THROUGH VARIETY!

http://www.galciv.com/metaverse/empires.asp?id=555


We seek mastery over the game. The ideal at RB is to be able to beat the game on any map size, without choosing to abuse the AI's various inanities, without having to have perfect terrain conditions. Any alignment, any victory condition, any habitability range, any political party, any combination of bonus picks. If a challenge lies before us, we will embrace it. Mistakes, setbacks and losses do not represent failure, merely a chance to learn, from which greater success can sprout and flourish.

No skill level is too high or too low for RB. All we ask is that you play your best and have a good time.

RB players venture beyond the ordinary. If you are like unto our brother in the spirit in which you play, you would be welcome to join our empire. All you need is interest, an RB-style gaming attitude, and the desire to participate. Our mission is to have fun, to pursue excellence, to play fairly, to uphold the integrity of the game, to embrace variety and challenge, push the boundaries of the game and gameplay, experiment, learn, grow, and do it together.

Our passion is the AAR. We live to read a good AAR and to write our own. Fun shared is fun doubled. The RB Epics tournament for Civ3 sees every participant post their own AAR after each tournament game, with the chief entertainment value being sharing insights, experiences, and laughs. Whether we will hold a GalCiv tournament remains to be seen, but the possibility is out there.

We keep a list of rules for our GalCiv gaming. This list will grow and evolve as the game evolves and our understanding of it matures. We voluntarily refrain from (in our opinions) game-breaking tactics that unbalance a game or pigeonhole it into one "best" path to victory. Some game elements may be broken or have loopholes. Some moves may just be "too strong" and kill variety. We do not use these moves. We do not have to use them. Mastery over a game is established by taking the high road, by trudging uphill and building our strength and endurance. Our interests lie in seeing the game refined to where the game balance provides extended replay value and neverending strategic challenge. However, unless and until that state of polish is reached, we will set our own boundaries to create this effect for ourselves, whether or not it can be found in the game as currently programmed.

If this sounds like your kind of gaming community, we invite you to travel to Realms Beyond.

Our forum for Galactic Civilizations:

http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/237344

Players interested in joining Realms Beyond should venture to our forum, read the lastest version of our rules, and confirm their assent to abide by the rules we have set. We place the quality of our gaming experience ahead of our standing in the competition. Excellence brings its own rewards, its own forms of recognition and respect from peers. That is something no measurement or score could ever fully depict.

Anyone who agrees to our playing philisophy and signs their John Hancock pledging their allegiance to our posted rule set will be confirmed onto our roster. Come one, come all, for the time of your life. LOL Our star is rising. Our destiny is written in the heavens. :HOT:

We are also hoping to generate enough excitement to lure out some of the other RB players who have yet to pick up GalCiv. Surely when they see the grand party we are staging at our best starbase, some will be compelled to join in. And as far as "threat to other empires", that's purely propaganda. We have no hostile intentions. Now if some players are impressed with our culture and decide to emigrate to our worlds, that would not constitute hostile action against other cultures on our behalf. ;) We cannot help but to be ourselves. :D


- Sirian

[Message Edited]
16,218 views 354 replies
Reply #301 from Stardock Forums Top
Only thing that would worry me is that our esteemed Emperor happens to earn his living by creations of pen and keyboard!
End of quote


Ah. An artist. We happily await reciprocal tales of great deeds and silly toe-stubbings.

As for picking on Sirian in the Jedi tale--looks like all done in good taste (and funny, too).
End of quote


A lot of people on this Forum enjoy penning the odd story or two. Everybody has a differing point of view on what's appropriate, but most are just fine by anybody's standards. If you need a break from playing the game, fire up your word processor and jump in.

Side note - I've never really cared for published rulebooks, and if a little of that came out in the story, rest assured it's intended as good, clean fun. If that's a little rich for you, consider that the story's Sirian managed to talk down both Yoda and Wombie. Having had both of them as Emperors at differing points in my career, rest assured that's no mean feat!

(Ben nervously glances over his shoulder, muttering something about a frying pan and a fire...)
Reply #302 from Stardock Forums Top
>:( [Looks at Samurai Ben...Iron Paw clenches...relaxes...and clenches again....] ;p
Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #304 from Stardock Forums Top
I can take some heat. If I couldn't, I'd have gotten out of the kitchen a lonnnnnng time ago. :D

As for no RB activity, I got some new games this week. Well, not NEW new games, but new for me. I got Space Colony, which is a sim-city style game crossed with the Sims, in a sci-fi setting, with a lot of humor and light/wacky stuff. I have gotten my money's worth, glad I took a chance on it.

I also got Morrowind GOTY edition. I have been NEEDING an fps fix, and this is it! TES:Arena was Bethesda Softwork's first game, and it predated Doom. It was literally THE most intense two weeks of gaming I ever had. Like a dream come true. Until I realized the quests were monstrously shallow and repetitive. Then came Daggerfall, their second installment. I played it almost all the way through. Still shallow, but getting better. Morrowind is the third stab, and they have really taken some strides forward. Still room to improve, of course, but the quests are now all individually crafted, not randomly generated. Cuts the "replay potential" on paper, but in practice it greatly enhances the first-play experience. The game balance is a lot better and (gasp) so is the writing.

Now I can tell Morrowind is a BethSoft game with just a few glances. First of all, it crashes all the time. (Not good, but all their other games crash a lot, too, so what should I expect?) At least that's one benefit to waiting as I did: coming late to that party, I get the full run of patches, so fewer bugs and issues. Second, there's still the skill-based gameplay and open-ended spell and character systems, very flexible. Improved, too. And the gameworld is MUCH improved. They finally shrank the scale of it down to where they could flesh out every detail by hand, instead of setting up encounter zones and relying on (repetitive) random generation or overuse of the same settings and blocks of terrain.

Other empires rejoice! Morrowind will continue to suck up a lot of gaming time in coming weeks, perhaps longer. I'll slip some GalCiv in there, of course, and may be revived when the expansion hits, but some of our other players can take up the slack. The first game of each month scores full and subsequent games score significantly less, so each player can still contribute greatly if they can play at least one game per month. :)


As for Aussies, there are other Aussies in the RB community at large. We are a cosmopolitan venture, as our appeal spans the globe and reaches into all walks of life. :D


- Sirian
Reply #305 from Stardock Forums Top
We are a cosmopolitan venture, as our appeal spans the globe and reaches into all walks of life.
End of quote


Repeat after me: RB is not a cult, RB is not a cult...

What is your bidding my master...

LOL

Reply #306 from Stardock Forums Top
To get us back on page one...

Working on a gigantic painful... and oh my is it painful... *sigh* Any suggestions on how to get ot the end of this size map quickly...
Reply #307 from Stardock Forums Top
Repeat after me: RB is not a cult, RB is not a cult...
End of quote


Hehe...

I'd agree about Morrowind - reading your thoughts reminds me I should go back and give it another go. For those who like RPGs, it is an absolutely immersive experience in the first person. You'll need a pretty grunty machine, but the series of patches works well. In addition, Bethesda crafted the game to allow user written modules for practically ANY addition, some of which are amazing.

I remember the first time I stood on a bridge in one of the main towns, in the pouring rain, looking down at the reflective water on the river then up at the sky, thinking: "I'm really HERE...."
Reply #308 from Stardock Forums Top
Morrowind was indeed marvelous in the graphic department but it was not very challenging to play and it was lacking in the storytelling part. I am still waiting for a game on par with Planescape: Torment, the last great story on a PC. Alas, it may remain the last great story forever. :(

~SDC~
Reply #309 from Stardock Forums Top
gigantic painful...Any suggestions on how to get ot the end of this size map quickly
End of quote


If you don't mind the devalued points on a cultural conquest, it is probably the fastest way to go if you have managed to build most influence wonders and trade goods. A few well placed cultural starbases will give you 90% ownership quite quickly. You don't even have to flip most planets. You may have to buy some alien starbases on influence ressources if you don't own the majority.

Oh look here, I got my black shield and I lost my vice. :)

~SDC~
Reply #310 from Stardock Forums Top
Congrats to both, Admiral! :)

How is life without vice? ;)

- Commander Physicist (still working on the promotion to Captain ;p )
Reply #311 from Stardock Forums Top
Terror stars are the other quick out on giant maps: for conquest, yes, but even for alliance (kill off those with whom you have poor relations, then ally with the rest).


Morrowind was indeed marvelous in the graphic department but it was not very challenging to play
End of quote


Neither was Diablo 1, if you went for all the strongest options. There's challenge available in Morrowind if you want it. How much do you want it? You have to go after it, but it's there if you are into the fps aspect of the game.

No, there isn't much story. It isn't a paint by number, but rather a blank canvas and a set of paints and brushes. You have to get creative to get something really good out of it. The game could still benefit greatly from more depth, but this is loads better than the two preceeding games.

"Too easy" also doesn't account for reloads, I bet. I have had to do a LOT of reloading, with my non-optimal character and thiefly activities. Morrowind would be hell to try to play hardcore. How much harder are they supposed to make it? For the default char classes and spells and non-optimal things -- not to mention variants -- to be viable, they can't cater the difficulty to the min/maxer. My two cents, anyway.

Oh, and there is a difficulty slider. I tried increasing that at first, since I thought I could at least run with the thing set higher than default, but no, after a thoroughly beatdown, I moved it back to zero (the middle, default setting). :) Could be a while before I pump it up again, too.


- Sirian
Reply #312 from Stardock Forums Top
"Too easy" also doesn't account for reloads
End of quote


I played a character who was quickly killed on his first trip out of town. He didn't live long but it was enough to show me the skill system worked pretty much the same way as in Daggerfall. I made another character, a thiefly type, and played the whole game without reloads. I don't remember the exact level, but I must have been level 10 before even moving out of the first town. This is where the game was too easy, levels were too easy to gain.

but this is loads better than the two preceeding games
End of quote


I agree on that, I don't remember much of Arena but Daggerfall was intriguing only for a little while.


You did not comment on Planescape, did you ever play it? If not, it is well worth the effort of finding a working copy, if you like an RPG with depth. It was one of the few RPG game that I played more than once, 5 times actually, and I had a vastly different experience all 5 times. I am still convinced I have not seen all the possible endings even thought my friend thought there couldn't be more twists to the story.


~SDC~
[Message Edited]
Reply #313 from Stardock Forums Top
I don't remember the exact level, but I must have been level 10 before even moving out of the first town.
End of quote


Egads, mon. What did you do? Stand around and endlessly repeat simple tasks like jumping, running, and sneaking? I got a couple of promotions in three different guilds and had been to several cities by the time I was level 4. I was definitely still level 1 when I left the first town, although I did stick around long enough to finish the readily available quests/jobs there first. There's one quest in the first big city I still haven't been able to beat. It's a five on one fight indoors, and at clvl 5 with iron weapons and spellcasting success rates of 40% and not much in the way of scrolls and other special bits, I tried everything I could think of and decided finally I needed more levels and options to stand a chance. I will probably give it another go soon, since now I have some magic with which to work.

Anyway, sounds like you went out of your way to find an easy path through the game. I'm at level 12 now, and at least four of those levels came from buying training to beef up the main skills I wasn't using often enough during gameplay for them to keep up with the ones I use more regularly. The only skill I have so far purposely repeated solely to advance it has been Acrobatics, and that only as I'm questing to distant locales involving a lot of walking and exploring.

Perhaps if you had aimed for adventure rather than skill building and rapid level advancement, you'd have arrived at a different perspective. At least that is how I am having a good time.

I did miss Planescape. I also missed Fallout, although I went back for that one and played about half of it. I did not enjoy it as much as some advised me that I would.

The best story I ever encountered in a game was in System Shock (the original). It did not have varied endings, but varied endings equate to breadth. The quality of each storyline would be the depth. Can a game have both? Depends on the game type. The two elements are usually at odds. More breadth means more replayability, but also either randomization/repetition or LOTS of created content. The one lacks depth, the other is very rare.


- Sirian
Reply #314 from Stardock Forums Top
Oh yeah, the five on one is a tough one. I wasn't pushing for skills as much as acting like a kid. Why walk someplace when you can run? Or better yet, get there by jumping from roof to roof. Even better if nobody sees you, you get the picture. :)

Oh look! A giant crab, let's shot some arrows on it!

The one skill I did train on purpose was swimming. For once this was a game where water wouldn't kill you instantly or be impassable terrain, so I figured having good swimming skills might prove useful somewhere. So I would do a job, then sneak to the pond and take a dive, taunt the sharks and get bitten a few times, then find a new job while I recovered from my wounds.

The various endings in Planescape had much to do with how much you learned about yourself, or rather your previous incarnations. You were often placed in front of 2 or more valid ways to solve something and some of those choices were far reaching and irreversible. For instance, you can sell one of your compagnions into slavery but you don't have to. Or somebody warns you not to sign anything, but by the time you learn that, you can hardly remember if you did sign something or not.

I know the name System Shock but I always thought it was some kind of FPS, à la Duke Nuke'em. Maybe I should have a second look.

~SDC~
Reply #315 from Stardock Forums Top
Nods to Jaxom's comment on Planescape. It really has both depth and breadth. I'll replay it just to re-read the story as I go along.
Reply #316 from Stardock Forums Top
I'm playing KoToR at the moment, it has a nice story so far. Reviews give it good marks on storyline as well. Since it's by the makers of Planescape, this is not surprising. If you're looking for a good RPG storyline you might want to give it a shot.

Going for strong options will also make the combat relatively easy, but it looks possible to variant it if you like. My current (first) character uses strong options, but at some point I may try a non-jedi game, i.e. using no jedi NPCs and no force powers during combat. This may be a candidate for my darksider.
Reply #317 from Stardock Forums Top
Well guys, I'm embarrassed to say that I am stuck. I decided to try a max difficulty crippling game, with all of the AI's evil and me choosing mostly good picks, and with absolutely no diplomacy picks - I got my clock cleaned twice pretty handily. I had already beaten all evil AI's in crippling, but it doesn't appear that I can do it without any diplomatic picks. I'm currently playing a crippling with normal alignments and only the populists, no other diplomatic picks, and it appears to be going well, but it doesn't appear that I will be joining the ever growing number of RBers in the Masoverse any time soon. Maybe it is just that I haven't been able to play much because of my work schedule. It should be lightening up in the next month or so. I'll be able to get some more games in then and maybe I can figure out what I'm doing wrong. Until then, keep writing the AAR's and I'll see if I can learn just what it is that I'm doing wrong.

Good luck with all of the other games guys! I spent a little time trying out UFO: Aftermath. I'm moving along in it - perhaps a little too fast. I think I researched the storyline pieces too quickly without researching the side technologies and building enough quality equipment first, but we'll see. Right now I have to rescue the 2 old greys, and I still only have 1 set of sun and 1 set of sky armor! :( Ouch! Oh well, I'll see if I can get through it whenever I get time to play it again. Right now I want to at least get my one game of GalCiv in for the month, and I'm starting to run low on time for that! :)
Reply #319 from Stardock Forums Top
Yeah Kotor was ok in the story department, for a Star War theme. I would never have gotten the game because I have a healthy disrespect for all things Star Wars, but my son insisted and the game turned out to be worth playing. I had a lot of fun playing an evil character, taking along Canderous and the red robot, Also fun to be evil while teaming up with both female Jedi.

Alverin, I played such a game with 5 evils while I was pure good. I had 2 trade routes to every civ, max diplo picks, and I was paying each of them a 1000 credits every 3 or so turns. My spending was down to 50% for most of the game, just so I could have enough money to stay alive. Eventually a big war broke out between the Drengin-Torian faction and the Altarian-Yor alliance, which gave me enough breathing room to culturally dominate everybody. You may want to to play a few games with default AI alignment while remaining neutral, to get the hang of diplomacy without diplo picks.

Edit: Ah Zed, if you play a darksider without force powers, you will miss many funny stuff ;) Go heavy on the force persuade (evil grin)
~SDC~
[Message Edited]
Reply #320 from Stardock Forums Top
I'm embarrassed to say that I am stuck.
End of quote


Don't be. Try to look it not as "doing things wrong" but as "could be doing more things better". Also remember, Maso kicks my butt from time to time. I still have to use spoilers or my replay to beat a lot of maps, and some are just too harsh even then, with a runaway neighbor with whom I can't seem to delay contact or improve relations, who swallows me whole right out of the gate.

Certainly you should not let one or two results determine your fate and self-image as a GalCiv strategist. :) The main reason some of us advised you to play Crippling without diplo picks and tech sales to majors was to make sure you didn't try to increase the challenge too quickly. Plus some of us have more gaming time than others, so you should allow yourself a comparable number of gaming hours before you compare your results, or you're giving yourself a short straw. Don't do that! Just have fun and the rest will follow.

Sometimes, too, a particular game doesn't suit a player's own strengths. For instance, I am at best a mediocre RTS player. I improve with practice, but if RB were organizing around a real time strategy game, I'd be a back-of-the-pack participant, no matter how much I tried. I don't multitask in real time very effectively. (If I try to walk and chew gum at the same time, I may stumble over something, or I may bite the inside of my cheek by mistake. Oops!) But eh, losing isn't a problem. Doing my best and improving at whatever pace I can manage is the fun part.

Don't push too hard. Don't stop pushing, either. Find the right pace for you and your situation.


- Sirian
Reply #321 from Stardock Forums Top
I echo what Sirian says, Alverin. This game can very easily kick anyone's butt, given the right conditions. I was only able to make the jump to maso quickly because I did not rely on the diplo picks--sure I used them a bit, but not to the detriment of other picks. I was also working my way through the parties, so I was open to all kinds of strategies.

Certainly no reason to be embarrassed. We all have games that work and games that we struggle to just make improve any time. 3D flying games kick my butt up and down. Descent just killed me--gave me a headache every time I tried it.

Keep at it--and do not worry about getting to maso--it will still be here waiting for you. Perhaps if we set up the next SG either with crippling or maso--this could give you another opportunity to see others' stategies first hand. I know that helped me keep heart through my first couple of games.

-- Bam-Bam
Reply #322 from Stardock Forums Top
Also fun to be evil while teaming up with both female Jedi.
End of quote


Go heavy on the force persuade (evil grin)
End of quote


:SURPRISED: :SURPRISED: :SURPRISED:
Reply #323 from Stardock Forums Top
Well, I just rushed through a game with only the populists pick, no diplomatic bonus. I finished it first as a Tech victory, as I hadn't done that before. I verified what everyone has said about the crappy score, went back three turns, set up 2 alliances for virtually nothing and I was done. I'm going to give it another shot with no diplomatic picks at all - including the populists. I think the all evil thing is what was killing me. Still, there is only one way to find out! :) Thanks for the encouragement everyone! I'll keep improving - little by little.
Reply #324 from Stardock Forums Top
Funny you said that, Alverin. I just completed my first tech win on maso--even starting with just two planets. Was so disgusted with the tech score, that I bought my alliances one turn removed from the tech win.

Yeah, I know RB is not about the score, but urgh--this was a tough win--I ended up with 4 planets after the torians surrendered, then I had to get evil to keep the Drengin happy--they got the +13PQ event and were absolutely HUGE!!! All the lousy tech win would give me was 17k vs. 41k for the alliance that I could have gotten an hour or two earlier. [end rant]

Anyway--time for bed and a day or two away from the game. I need some time to think of a good next varient , since I have beaten maso with all the parties, all victory conditions, and all map sizes. That SG definately greatly increased my abilities--even faster than what I saw in Civ3 SGs.

I highly suggest that all RB folks consider the next SG--even if you think you have the game mastered--I am sure there is something we all can learn, and we might come up with some good variant material... ;)
Reply #325 from Stardock Forums Top
Edit: Ah Zed, if you play a darksider without force powers, you will miss many funny stuff Go heavy on the force persuade (evil grin)
End of quote


Note, I said no force powers in combat. :)

My Queen B will hate the Force and everything to do with it, so she won't be playing with the other Jedi characters, though certainly Canderous and HK-47 are possible. She might even eschew the use of a lightsaber! Dominate Mind, however, she probably just considers to result from her natural manipulativeness...