Zydor

Reply to Why PC Gaming is Dying in PC Gaming GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]I've never heard anyone switch to consoles for update reasons, but it hurts to buy new hardware so you can play a game as opposed to playing it on a >$500 platform that you don't have to upgrade the hardware of.[/quote] Its the old story - they are different sections of the market place. People are in (whatever) sector for different reasons, its why the age old pointless console V pc shouting will rumble on for ever and never be resolved. It compares chalk and cheese. At the e

Reply to Will America always be a superpower? in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Proving once again that pragmatism trumps ideology every time no matter what side of the political spectrum you fall on.[/quote] And that to me is the key point. Every Nation has its own Culture, and a different way of struturing its economy. Crude example: in UK the short distances traveled by car compared to the US and the less dense public transport in the more open areas of the US are for a reason - the dynamics of real world life in respective Countries. The out

Reply to PC game piracy hurts us all in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]I would make the exception that someone who purchases a legal copy of a game and then uses a pirated copy of that game (e.g. due to DRM preventing them say reinstalling their legal copy) shouldn't be punished (even if it is technically illegal)[/quote] Thats a fair call, you make a good point, I had not thought of that angle, and I agree, it would be silly to prosecute. Regards Zy

Reply to PC game piracy hurts us all in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]There must be some serious informational asymmetries involved for EA to think this is all a good thing...[/quote] Totally agree. Re DRM - we are on the same page, I think. My only feeling is that the "smoke and mirrors" on pirating should not use the clear nonsense behind current DRM to justify pirating - pirating is pirating, whichever way anyone spins it. If the current DRM is wrong, and I believe it is badly implemented, then we fix that - we dont use that

Reply to The China Post in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]I think a lot of things have just lost its meaning.[/quote] You got that right! The result of increased communication methods over the last 50 years has been a greater awareness of whats happening in the big wide world, and also whats happening to other people in a personal sense. That all gives rise to comparisons and the inevitable argument along the lines of "whoa, I'll have some of that", or call into question existing labels that were originally based on past value

Reply to Does the U.S Prison system need a new direction? in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Sorry, but I really don't have much sympathy for somebody who beats up another person, even if the other person wronged them[/quote] Nor do I. I do have sympathy with consequences being out of all proportion to the offense. I spent 25 years in the military, my respect for, and adherence to, the Rule of Law is absolute. I also acknowledge that The Law cannot prescribe for all scenarios, we would never stop writing the case law. The Law has to be as clear cut a

Reply to Does the U.S Prison system need a new direction? in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]You have it correct.. 100%[/quote] Three kinds of people really get my vote in a big way: 1. Those who stand up to be counted for what they believe in irrespective of the Popularity Vote - given a Logical stance on the topic in question, lunatics need not apply. 2. Those who are loyal to their friends and colleagues - in both good times and bad 3. Those who are prepared to either acknowledge they were wrong, or will unreservedly take a Hit, knowing t

Reply to PC game piracy hurts us all in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]a game that in gernal takes less money then a movie like that should not run 3 times as much[/quote] When it sells 10 times less copies, 3 times the price is cheap. Pricing is determined on the number of copies likely to be sold compared to what the Market is prepared to pay. It has nothing to do with what it cost to make - only insofar that the latter determines an irreducible minimum price for normal trading. In regard to the general topic, Any software Pira

Reply to Why PC Gaming is Dying in PC Gaming GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Most people will do fine with the generic drivers, and really don't need to be constantly updating them. Only the serious gamer trying to squeeze the last bit of performance of out his system is going to care about getting the latest drivers from the video card manufacturer.[/quote] Mostly true - however individuals should be aware of the need to do so from time to time. Design teams will often use "features" only available in latest drivers. Whilst by in large they will still

Reply to Starting to wonder if computer cheats when in "colony rush" phase.... in Twilight of the Arnor GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]I had no idea the AIs leased all their ships![/quote] The giveaway that they are about to "hit the wall" is watch for AI colony ships coming out with aka 56 / 12 / even 2! people on board (click on the ship - its very small size anyway indicating numbers on board - you'll see the number manning the colony ship). The leasing not only placed a massive strain that broke their economy - and have little left to build future infrastructure - they have literally run out of people t

Reply to The China Post in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Driving Rules: 1. All road rules, regulations and laws come under the 'purely optional' catergory. 2. In the event of any actually compulsory rules, taxi drivers are completely exempt. 3. Use of your indicator light will shrink your genitals. Do not use. 4. If you are walking cross any road, at any time, at any place. Pray.[/quote] That could be London, Paris, New York, Berlin, Rome... wherever there is a National Capital City (and some others!), and oh so tr

Reply to The China Post in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]I presume this is by-product of requiring to be 'people skills' and popular in order to be voted in. If you're not charismatic and likeable, then no one will vote for you.[/quote] Pretty much. 70% of populations are Classified as CDE. The AB groupings are a distinct minority in most countries. Just like most people in the ABs tend more towards the philosphical/intellectual side of life, the CDEs tend to be more towards practical with less philosophical/intellectual content. C

Reply to What is the key to more powerful weapons? in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Is that all they research?[/quote] Pretty much - its why most times you will have faster ships etc (blue techs), and certainly better diplomacy etc etc (the yellow techs). The AI leaves the yellow and blue techs alone (as such), and will concentrate very early on weapons techs. Their tactic of leasing ships (thats why they appear so quickly), restricts greatly their options due to an increasingly crippled economy in the early game, so they cant research all. They end

Reply to Starting to wonder if computer cheats when in "colony rush" phase.... in Twilight of the Arnor GalCiv2 Forums

The AI leases its early batch of ships, hence the number that suddenly appear early game. If you watch the stats graphs closely, you will note AI races have a massive drop in output/economy at the same point of every game it flatlines to zero, and the period of almost zero growth can be long. The latter is a result of the AI having to get over its initial very big leasing purchase - they went broke and have to wait for population increase to build revenue. It can be "terrifying" to w

Reply to Honesty and Common Sense Sweeps the Galaxy in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

Ohhhh - you cynic you :LOL: Regards Zy

Reply to what's the greatest movie monster of all time? in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

Lets hear it for Godzilla !!! The damn thing is so conceptually stupid and naive, you gotta love it :LOL: Regards Zy

Reply to Twilight--No Box--False Advertising in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]What the hell is with all the people here, crying about not getting a box, seriously dont you have anything more important to do than complain about a cardboard box, Jesus its just a lump of pulped paper.[/quote] Well said. Also the manual gets out of date the day after publishing due to the continuous improvement philosophy used by Stardock. Its similarly the reason many games are switching to pdf supplied manuals, apart from the sheer cost. If fan bases insisted on print

Reply to Please slam my game in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

A double post, but I have just realised this is a more appropriate thread for the suggestion. In Civilization Manager, you click on the building column to bring up the Quick Build Screen. From that you select the building to purchase, and away you go, all fine. Underneath the Quick Build screen the Civilization Manager resets itself back to an initial default state in terms of showing you the list of (whatever). On the larger size of maps, there is often a considerable surplu

Reply to The China Post in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]All the govenrment want is simple, just don't preach about state politics and stay out of it. Everyone knows that in China, why should all those underground christians should be any different.[/quote] If we are honest its fundamentally the same in many Countries in "The West", although government control is far closer in China. What is certain in "The West", is that if the Churches get too involved in State Politics - apart from voicing an opinion like anyone else - they will ge

Reply to Does the computer cheat? in Twilight of the Arnor GalCiv2 Forums

In fact do several cntrl-n's anyway. The "setups" will be infinite, of sorts of shapes sizes and concentrations. The fact is the AI in GalCiv does not "cheat". I've lost count of the number of times this one has come up over the years since GalCiv came out. Its usually a case of assumption based on many other game titles that heavily use Scripting as an AI control mechanism - with those, many can and do"cheat", and its annoying. Does not happen with GalCiv. There are occasions when

Reply to The China Post in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]I think they were careless in making those comments[/quote] More than careless .... [quote]This group wrote an open letter to the Chinese people saying that the earthquake also is vengeance for attacking Tibet and taking the torch to Mt. Everest.[/quote] I call it verging on moronic. I certainly dont agree with a few things happening in China at present, although I do believe in the long term direction they are heading. What I am certain of, is comment

Reply to The China Post in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

I have just spent 30 mins going through an astonishing series of photos of the earthquake zone, a very sobering collection of images that really drive home the gargantuan scale of what happened, and what they are having to deal with. If you have not seen them, I would suggest having a look - there's dozens/hundreds, keep clicking the "more photos" option at the end of each series of photos. (The more graphic/ugly ones are pre-warned & sidelined as such, for those inclined to react badly to such

Civilization Manager - Small Tweak, Large Benefit in Twilight of the Arnor GalCiv2 Forums

In Civilization Manager, you click on the building column to bring up the Quick Build Screen. From that you select the building to purchase, and away you go, all fine. Underneath the Quick Build screen the Civilization Manager resets itself back to an initial default state in terms of showing you the list of (whatever). On the larger size of maps, there is often a considerable surplus of funds per turn depending on an infinite number of factors.&n

Reply to The China Post in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]One of the challenges we as a country must face is how to embrace the 'good' of the new form of society whilst doing our best to minimise the 'bad'. I don't have any simple answers for that.[/quote] There are no simple answers for that, and on many occasions there will be no answer - simple or otherwise. Many love to zoom in on those kinds of negative aspects - in any topic - highlighting obvious negatives, and throwing out bandwagon rolling comments and opinions (usually based

Honesty and Common Sense Sweeps the Galaxy in Everything Else GalCiv2 Forums

A strange energy source has swept the Galaxy, causing an unusual outbreak of original thought, common sense and honesty ... our scientists will keep an eye on the effects of this ........ - XYZ News recently renamed itself Advert Income Corp. - At the ongoing Presidential Campaign, candidates announced that popular Issues and concerns were not the central plank of their campaigns, having great dental jobs and baby kissing techniques was. - Toothpaste ma