Tommymac

Reply to Easier to flip then to conquer? in Dark Avatar GalCiv2 Forums

Another drawback to the flipping strategy is if you play against a race with a high Loyalty Bonus. The Yor are also immune or almost immune to flipping IIRC.

Reply to DL not working in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

You really do need to update your Video Card Driver before doing anything else. It is still the one from 2004. As Kyro said, GC will not run reliably on drivers written before 2005. You also have a Dual Processor PC. Check out the Sticky Thread on issues with Dual Processor Machines in the Bug Section here on the site. Your RAM memory is barely adequate for running XP...you have 512 Mb. I'd recommend getting more memory, not just for the sake of the game. Increase

Reply to is it just me or.... in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

Hi Oldstatesman, That is a neat trick you propose. Can't wait to try it out! Have fun I can't take credit for this ...there is a whole thread in the Strategy Section here... https://forums.galciv2.com/?forumid=347&aid=149365#1183491 BTW, you can extend this to Miners, Constructors, Frieghters and Troop Ships too. I like to build some of my Asteroid Miner ships with small hulls...they get 8 Hit Points. Later

Reply to I'm losing patients with this game, yeah I suck too. in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

But from what I gather its much harder to win without conquering most of the major colonies. Is this true? I don't find that true. I find that Influence Victories are the easiest to acheive - (and for me the least satisfying). Tech Victories are next in difficulty. Conquest the third hardest... And a "True" diplomatic win (My definition, not SD) the hardest of all - by that I don't mean one where you ally with one aI and th

Reply to is it just me or.... in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

In DA it is advantageous to rush build Colonizers on Small hulls without engines. The Speed limitations are not as important. A small hull Colonizer will cost around 660 BC, compared to around 1100 BC for one on a full cargo hull. You can pump out almost twice as many this way Take the Speed Bonus when you set up your race and you will still have 2 or 3 speed colonizers at half the cost.

Reply to Less politics please in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

If you scroll down to the bottom of the web page, on the bottom left corner is a link, "View All Recent Posts". If you click on it, it brings up all the most recent posts - including the forum they are posted in ... makes it easy to avoid the off topic category you don't want to see. On the other hand, I agree that the 10 Most Recent Posts applet that appears on the left column of the front page should not contain the Off Topic Section...that one should just be game

Reply to Terran Surprise Attack! in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Not to cast a downer on the occasion, but I suspect that this wasn't a case of a 'sneak attack', but rather an 'accidental attack'. Your planet happened to be on the way towards the Carinoids, so the fleet attacked it by accident. No, it was not on the way at all... In fact, I watched the Terran fleet back trak away from the Cari's to attack my planet. In my experience I've never had an 'accidental' attack occur in the y

Reply to Terran Surprise Attack! in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Nice thing about the attack I suffered was that the Terrans were in a 6 month old War with the Carinoids - whose planet was deep in my Influence sphere. The Cari's had some tough ships - so the Terrans were constantly sending in ships to replace those the Cari's destroyed. I was lulled to sleep so to speak - I got used to the Terran fleets in my space. Relations never went bad - they were Friendly when the Terrans bushwacked me. They did it the very next turn after I added a 25% Infl

Reply to I'm losing patients with this game, yeah I suck too. in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

Lower the difficulty level. You'll find it is much easier to get a grasp of things; once you master the basics then you can increase your level. There is no shame in learning on a lower setting. Also, stick it out - I've played games were it looked like I was a goner - and events happened that I was able to take advantage of to rescue the situation. You will always seem to be behind early in the game at the higher difficulty levels - the aI has a head start you must overcom

Reply to Dread Lords in Dark Avatar Campaign in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Yup. They are very very vulnerable when they first appear. In fact, IMO, too vulnerable. I've never let them build anything on their planet - I always take it ASAP. Costs a lot of pop to do, but it is worth it to get that plum planet. I wish they would appear better developed - then their appearance may be worthy of being called a Mega event.

Reply to Buying New Comp - Need Advice Please!!! in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

Re Vista: I am recommending to all my clients to stay away from it. The extreme built in DRM/Security measures are painful. Too many legacy apps do not run on it - and too many of those do not have versions that will run on Vista. Do not expect to easily download or play musicvideo files from some legitimate sites. Driver support for it is lagging. It is an extreme resource hog on current generation hardware. I have been an MS professional for over

Terran Surprise Attack! in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Wow! In my most recent game of DA, I was on the recieving end of a surprise attack by the Terran aI! They actually declared war on me by attacking one of my planets! No warning, no 'I'm Declaring War on you foul Drathian pigs' announcement followed by 3 turns of inactivity...they just up and attacked me! Wayyyy COOL! I've been waiting to see this behavior since GC2 came out - kudo's to Brad and team for improving the aI! The great thing about it was my relations w

Reply to Apolyton.net's GalCiv II review in GalCiv II News GalCiv2 Forums

I pretty much disagree with everything ToS says. Yes - those categories debatebly have some issues - but most are not noticable to the casual player Perhaps, but the defense-bug alone unfortunately already is enough to make the game more or less unplayable As I sta

Reply to Apolyton.net's GalCiv II review in GalCiv II News GalCiv2 Forums

I pretty much disagree with everything ToS says. Yes - those categories debatebly have some issues - but most are not noticable to the casual player. And the negative spin put on even the good points make me question the purpose of such a review. But to each their own opinions. It's good to read diverse opinions. Solver has it pretty much nailed down IMHO - good points and weaknesses. I trust his judgements - been reading Apolyton for a while now, and though I don't always agree wit

Reply to Evil the best? in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

But I got to keep all my evil bonuses when I made my ethical choice for good. Yes, you do get to keep the benefits (or penalties) of your choices. That is why you may have to pay BC's to choose an alignment other than they way your choices have defined you. Choosing some good and some evil can balance out so you remain aligned where you started...

Reply to A more diplomatic AI in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

Peace Treaties are the biggest flaw in the system IMHO. The aI is losing planets by the bucketful, but until your military ranking is much greater than theirs they will not even entertain an offer. If you do get a treaty, because their attitude towrdsd you stays low, they are prone to declare war again almost immediately, usually sealing their doom. Just because they have a high ranking due to defenders in orbit, does not mean they are strong militarily. Also, if they are wa

Reply to Beginner Question -- Colony Ship Rushing in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

On Edit: Double post. Sorry.

Reply to Beginner Question -- Colony Ship Rushing in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

You can use Small Hulls with Colony Modules to save a bunch of money in the Colony Rush. This is most effective in DA because you cannot put engines on them and they are slow....and speeds in DA are generaslly slower. Use you initial ability points on a speed bonus and you will have 660 BC Colinizers with speeds of 2 or 3 right out of the starting gate. You save about 400 BC's compared to the Cargo Hull based model, thus you can sustain the Rush period for a lot longer period.

Reply to GalCiv II: DA Beta 1 of 1.6 in here in Beta Reports GalCiv2 Forums

I have the same issue with Ships disappearing when zoomed out to Tactical Mode. I'll send in a save game tonight if still needed. Also, some ships are there, but they do not go to their stylized 2D Icons - instead they stay at 3D - and are so tiny you cannot see them until you zoom in again to 3D view.

Reply to I'm a miserable failure... in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

Yes - colony, trade and constructor modules can fit on small hulls. I have started using these in DA. You can't put engines on them ...and only room for one or two life support modules initially. If you pick the Speed bonus ability at the start of the game, this means that those ships will be able to move 2 or 3 squares without engine modules. But since speed has been nerfed overall in DA, this is not that big a deal. The Ai is slow too...You can research Engine te

Reply to G4 Gives Dark Avatar a 5/5! in GalCiv II News GalCiv2 Forums

Great job Stardock! All reviews must be taken in context...professional reviewers sometimes have other motives...as do posters on the forums. You can get a sense of that by reading other reviews by the same reviwer...or other posts by the same poster to get where their agenda, if any, may be. In the end, the big test is not how many flaws a game may have...but is it FUN. Does it have that "One More Turn" magic...and Stardock has hit both targets in the bullseye IMHO.

Reply to First war ships? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Re gifting strategies to keep the AI off your back...monitor the Foriegn Relations tab every turn. If you see an AI start to drop below a neutral attitude towards you, watch out. I monitor what the AI is building tech wise...and if possible, research that tech first....then gift it to the AI that is starting to dislike me one or two turns before they get it themselves. I am not giving them something they would not have in a turn or so, and I usually get a temporary positive boost in the

Reply to First war ships? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

It's all about perception with the AI...there are a few tricks to make them think your military score is higher than it really is, thus they will not be as prone to attack you. The Spin Control Center helps. You can fool the AI into thinking you are stronger than you are. Put cheap low value ships in orbit around the planet containing it. If you are not agressive, keep your high value ships in orbit when possible (i.e. no threat in the immediate area)- they get a few bonus p

Reply to Ways to improve Starbases in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Eliminate the micro-management of upgrading them. Use a 'fire and forget trade Route' system - i.e. you send one starbase constructor to it to establish the route, (it becomes a 'mini-constructor' like a freightor will on a regular trade route) then pay a small weekly fee to maintain the route, and a large one-time fee whenever you want to upgrade. You can make upgrades automatic - just like planetary improvements. The routes are suseptible to enemy attack just like mini-freighters.

Reply to Recent Posts? in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

You can see all posts up to the minute if you click on the very tiny "View all Recent Posts" link at the very bottom of the page.