MarshallONeil

Reply to v1.3 Planet Quality Bonus Not Applied Correctly, AGAIN... in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

Just to clarify: In the last release, 1.2, the PQ problem for Neutral factions was that when you captured/flipped a planet, you would get fewer available tiles than the planet's Class rating. i.e., you would get 9 useable tiles on a captured Class 12 planet. With 1.3, things have gotten only slightly better. Now, when you play Neutral and capture a Class 12 planet, you will get 12 useable tiles. All of the tiles that would have been available through Soil Enhancement, Habitat I

Reply to End of Summer AI work in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

The Thalans, Drath, and Iconians are derivatives of the Terran Alliance AI. That's interesting. Why would it be that the first three (Terrans, Thalans, and Drath) always stop expanding after they have colonized a few systems, but the Iconians often become a decent-sized power and sometimes really kick butt? I wish the first three

Reply to I hope I'm wrong ... in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Mumblefratz, here's my $0.02 for your list. I hope the data collection goes well. Farm Improvements: Please add the last two missing levels of farms. Also, Basic and Intensive farming use the same graphic icon; this gets confusing when you have too many planets to manage. Morale Improvements: The last two, Zero-Grav and VR centers, have always been very expensive. Now it seems that our economy will become weaker, while these improvements give a much smaller morale bonus. Please

Reply to I hope I'm wrong ... in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I really would like a response from someone from Stardock... but if history is any guide I won't. Would you like a bandage for that big hole you just shot in your foot? The devs do occasionally provide direct answers in here, usually in the form

Reply to OMG why is making a ship so damn hard for me in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I remember a post from ages ago where someone said "My first ship looked like Homer Simpson's dream car." That was true of mine, too - don't worry, it will eventually come together for you. In the meantime, if you're going to use core ships, then at the very least you must take them to the upgrade screen and strip off ALL weapons, defenses, engines, sensors, and life support. Then stick on your best components. The core ships as they are designed are basically a trap - you can't

Reply to GalCiv II: v1.3 Beta 3 Change log in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

So, wait - the top-level farm now only produces 7 food and the top-level morale building only gives 2/3 of its original morale bonus? (Since the two really top-level farms are not in the game.) ?? Are you trying to prevent people from having high-population planets? I don't get it.

Reply to GalCiv II: v1.3 Beta 3 Change log in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

I need that sound clip of Beavis when he sees something on fire and gets so eye-bulgingly excited that he can't speak. I selected line after line as I went down the list, thinking each one was the thing that I was going to quote here as the best thing since Hyperdrive was invented. Many of them are really small things like fixing the ZOC on the mini map; the kind of things that take time to

Reply to Confession..Never finished a full game in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Definitely try the higher difficulties. The AI factions will do much more - for instance, they colonize more effectively, giving you a run for your money (literally!) in the early game. To keep the game interesting, set little side goals for yourself. I have given myself tasks like 'Adopt a Disadvantaged Minor', where I try to keep a minor faction alive throughout the game; try to get one or more planets up to 100 billion population; and my current favorite, try to absolutely max out my

Reply to FlavorText.xml and GC2_Conversations.xml can't be modded? in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

That's what I thought, too. Sorry if I came across a little harsh; I was sampling three batches of homebrewed mead earlier... The mod I'm working on is minor - literally! I took the eight minor races and switched them with major races. The actual gameplay part has come off without a hitch. It's actually sort of sad to see the fierce Drengin hordes confined to their single world, unable to go forth and conquer. The problem, as I noted above, is getting the dialog text to match t

FlavorText.xml and GC2_Conversations.xml can't be modded? in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

I've been working up a mod. I want to change the text that displays when you load a game (Galactic News, starts with "A Journey Begins" or whatever). I copied the FlavorText.xml file into my C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data folder and modified it, but the text didn't show up on screen during the game. I put the modified file into the normal game directory, C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Data\English, and now it does show up. <br

Reply to Metaverse scoring in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

(5) have a high population (6) build a massive economy (7) max out your influence rating (8) research everything in sight, and keep your research level high at the end of the game

Reply to Dark Avatar Update in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

and the possibility to sneak in alliances with nothing but bribes. There are other ways to get an alliance?

Reply to AI's Lack of Interest in Sensors Places it at a Huge Disadvantage! in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Brad has said the AI continues to ignore sensors, for performance reasons. IIRC, the original AI ship-design timing of once per game year was also imposed due to performance reasons. Since the "AI uses CPU-intensive algorithms" to design ships more often was introduced, I have noticed improved gameplay with no performance hit whatsoever. My compu

Reply to Shock News : True story: Planet disappears from solar system in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

Maybe that poster who really, really wanted to bring back terror stars knew something we don't? And isn't it insensitive that now they're calling it a dwarf planet? Where's the dignity? Where's the love? It's little planet, damnit!

Reply to Trading in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

In the larger galaxies, I try to identify a high-class planet (17+, with 26 being ideal and I'll consider Class 15 or 16 worlds if they have enough farm and/or morale bonus tiles). This will become my paradise planet. On it I build the Restaurant of Eternity and my Economic and Political Capitals. I try to have at least four factories and a starport, along with ten farms and enough stock markets and approval buildings to keep morale at or above 75%. Why does that paragraph belong here?

Reply to Defending Planets in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I just put one warship in orbit around each planet and research all of the Diplomacy techs I can early on. A really high Diplo ability will almost guarantee that the AI will stay off your back until you're ready to fight on your terms - until you want to attack, basically. Once I get my offensive fleets built, I will never have to defend a planet, because I can always take out un- or lightly-defended AI transports before they get anywhere near my planets.

Reply to Benefits of Minor Races in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

You can make lots of money selling techs to them. They also make the perfect trade partners if you're working toward a military conquest victory, because you don't need to conquer them to win. Of course, they also have Class 15 planets, which are nice to have if you decide to invade; particularly if you've sold them lots of improvement techs and given them time to build up the place before you take it. Other than that, they just add a bit of flavor. Sometimes I make a secondary

Reply to Custom Racial Abilities in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Couldn't you change the inherent racial bonuses in the previous versions? Not the hardcoded "extra" bonuses that don't go away when you click the reset button. There is a way to get different sets of hardcoded bonuses, though, based on the other races' profiles. For example, if you want to start with inherent bonuses for trade a

Reply to Planetary Assaults in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

and it works whether I win or lose Point well taken. If I fail, and as others have stated, the choice I made when I assaulted the planet never took place, then why am I still paying the BC's?

Reply to Galactic Privateer in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

What happens when the freighters begin to move back into your home systems? Do the enemy ships attack other targets then?

Reply to Planetary Assaults in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

only losing one man in the effort Remember you're also losing a transport that cost billions of credits to build. And no matter how good your economy is, you're also losing the real time that it took you to select the option to build that transport, launch it, click the destination planet, wait for it to get there, and click through three invasio

Reply to space ships in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I think the fact that AI factions build cheap ships (not cramming in everything they can and skimping on engines and defenses) is the result of their deplorable planet development schemes. Have you ever started invading planets - I mean on the first turn of a war when the AI has not had time to destroy any of its planetary improvements - and seen just one factory and one research lab on every single planet? With only one factory, the AI factions' production capacity is so limit

Reply to Dark Avatar Update in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

Better yet, the new race logo will make my dream ship come true: Behold, the Ultimate Space Truck!!!

Reply to Planetary Assaults in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Most of the warfare ever recorded dealt with subjugating con[q]uered peoples and converting them to your side. That was true maybe up until WWII. Have you watched the news lately? Warfare has evolved from that model, especially warfare between different cultural groups, and that evolution is not finished. Pick any two countries in the world right

Reply to Planetary Assaults in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I just wish Stardock would add an option for "Single-Click Invasions" along with the starship battles options for those who don't want to repeat every step in the process for each planet. So, rather than having to click "Invade" and wait for the next window, then click "Skip" and wait for the next window, then click "Done" and wait for the next window, you just succeed or fail based on a random advantage % (about what you get, anyway) and go straight to the planet window. Well, unless y