New to the game, many questions

A) if you use Stardock central i believe there is a history "button" in the bottom left corner

I don't think so....but then again i don't know much (in general) if you have any questions please do post them

C)No...you are right.. starting positions are important. Good thing is that this alone will let you play the game over and over without it ever being the same

D) Tough question....in my oponion this is partly experience, but when you do trade the text will turn green if the AI is willing to make a deal, so you play around with it and try to add something (when it turns yellow the AI wont accept the deal

4) They have alot of the same concepts, but this game (again in my opinion) has got so much more depth to it than CivIII (among other things the events)

5) You can only control empire wide spending (and taxation), you adjust this from planet to planet. On your domestic screen you can control how spending should be divided between military, social and research for all planets. Here http://www.galciv.com/encyclopedia.asp you will find a guide one economics.

The way i learned to play the game was by playing around and posting question here.

If i'm writing rubish or it doesn't make sense please ask again.

A: Do not let all the bug reports scare you the game really very stable. I would get R1.13 if you can.

B: There are lots of Newbie tips in various posts.

Here are a few
1) Keep the intelligence low for a few games.
2) Build lots of Colonies why you can get them.
3) Build the Diplomatic Translator
4) Do alot of trading.

C: Starting position is a very big factor. I like the Planet Earth to be a class 20 system, have lots of nearby systems I can grab. I you do not like the first map given to you press "Control N"


D: Send a frieghter to a distant system the route return more cash. The trade route screen overviews the states. Trade Technology Aliens value some tech more than others. You learn more why you play.

E: Apples and Oranges, Stardock orginally developed GC many years ago back in the OS/2 days. So why somethings seem alike; I think it is mainly just because they are both turn base strategy games.

F: There are great manuals including the manual in the download area. The main factors are morallity, population, class and what every bonus you start with or collected during the game.

Click on the latest download, DON'T HIT YES!!!!!
Then over to the left, there is a file that says history. If you scroll it down, it should tell you.
Off hand, I think 1.10 was a major major upgrade and expansion over what came previously. the Graphics were updated, some of the sizes changed, the scoring system completely redone. I'm on 1.11 or something. I wont get 1.12 o 1.13 do to that bugginess either.

B. I have only had the game for a day and so far I am no good at all. Any newbie strat guides out there
Some tips. Diplomacy is everything in this game. Trade early, trade often. the minors are much more exploitable.

Start out with heavy ship building and 100% on spending. Move your tax lever over to the right till your initial moral is about 70 or so. He who wins the rush for planets, usually wins. Make sure you start your research/social production spending fairly rapidly. I usually settle into a 20/30/50 split (maso) after a short time. But on Normal a 30/30/40 should do you fine after awhile.
Watch the leases on small maps. They look attractive, but can bankrupt you quickly.
Give the aliens a gift BEFORE they demand tribute. Then you can get away with saying no sometimes. That way, you control what you give them not they.

You can also check the strategies forum (button to the left)



No it is not because you're a beginner. Your starting position DOES make a big differenc in how well you will do. Cntrl-N keeps your specs but generates a new map. IF you're surrounded by aliens on a small map with just one planet in the corner, you're usually gonna want to cntrl n out of it.



No what will you give me for it. But as I recall, you can always do better on civ3 than the what will you give me for it option gives you. But go to the trading screen. If the proposed trade is green, they accept. If it's yellow, they don't accept. So if for instance you wish to trade Aphrodisiac, just play around with it untill you get the best deal you can.
At harder levels, the ai gets a bit more stingy with its trades.



Go to the encyclopedia. Button top left.
In general, your economy and spending rations determine production. That is, unless your spending goes beyond the productive capacity of the planet. (determined by pq and how many production facilities it has.
One Caveat. If you don't have production at a planet (ie cue is empty) it still sends the bux and the bux are lost (not diverted)

E. Is it just me or did CivIII copy alot from this game?

Since I don't know what the original Galciv looked like, I don't know.

A good mindset for the most part of this game is the old saying "Walk softly but carry a big stick", if you start throwing your weight around too soon the AI will react to that in a bad way, but always be prepared to defend yourself you never know when a random event will plunge u into war no matter how humble you have been!

Exploit the minor civs, thats what they are there for! I also like to do the majority of my trading with the minor civs, this way i'm not aiding the economy of a race that will probably try & conquer me later.

yes i recommend downloading 1.13, i was a bit apprehesive at first after reading about the bugs but its a definate improvment on 1.12, (just remember to save just before the UP convene)

The good thing about this game is that there are many different stratagies that can be used, one stratagy that works on one game may not work in another game, you sometimes just have to go with the flow and do what u think is best. No game is the same!

read the posts regularly, you will learn lots about the ins & outs of the game from them (although some people do ramble on a bit....hmmm!)

Absolutely patch to 1.13. The game is stable now--there are a few crash to desktop fixes, and the disappearing ships bug to fix--any of which are manageable at this point.

As far as strategy, you have gotten good advice above, but one good source of information in one place is the current Realms Beyond succession game (a game where a team of players takes turn with one game). The game can be found here. http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=72311

Good luck, and like the folks said above--there are lots of strategi9es that can win this game--there is a whole lot of replayability.
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