CraigHB

Reply to Piracy & PC Gaming in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]To be honest, I have told a lot of my friends to hold off on Sins of a Solar empire due to the fact of the problems a lot of people are having with graphics drivers.[/quote] I'm using nVidia driver version 169.21 which has been out for a while now. I have zero problems with version 1.03 of Sins. I've had sessions lasting several hours without a single glitch. I have to say it's one of the most stable games I've encountered. Also, I'm running the game with all video settings maxed

Reply to Piracy & PC Gaming in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

I think it's reasonable for game makers to expect someone with an interest in games to spend a little money on their video card. For the cost of a couple games, you can get one that will run most of them. Some games do require more top-of-the line hardware, but were's not talking huge amounts of money. I have one of those "$220 after rebate" G92 cards mentioned above and it plays everything smooth on high settings except Crysis. I do have to lower the settings on that one a bit. I d

Reply to The MVL Rulebook in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

I like the additional options for my own race setup. I enjoy it and it's an avenue of strategy. I don't think it's cheating. However, the MVL and the Meteverse in general are not the same thing. If players are feeling alienated by ARC, I can refrain from the practice for the sake the MVL's health. I'm not happy about it, but better to keep the MVL together than have it fall apart over something I can live without. Take a vote. You know how I will vote, but it appears most people a

Reply to The MVL Rulebook in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

Don't give this ARC more credit than it deserves. You cannot change things like ability bonuses and starting techs without tripping the cheat flag. The *only* thing you can change that has an effect on the game is homeworld, starting alignment, and super ability. Combining ARC with the in-game ability to customize opponents, you can use it to further immasculate straw dog races. When used solely on your own race, it offers some advantage, but I don't believe it has a significant im

Reply to How to beat AI, the guide in Strategy Sins Forums

Good info, thanks, putting it in "My Replies".

Reply to Annoying Things in Gaming in Gaming GalCiv2 Forums

The big game publishers are driven by sales. They're the ones with the deep pockets and they're the ones calling the shots. They don't care about the nuts and bolts. If it were up to the developers, every game would be polished on release and it would take a lot longer to get one out. If GC2 was a big name release, it probably wouldn't be the same game. We would see *some* support, but not at the level we see now.

Reply to The MVL Rulebook in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

If Cari flags this as a cheat then the discussion will be moot since flagged games are not submittable. Otherwise it's up to us. I don't have a problem with it. If you want to play with a universe full of evils or with all oppenents having super spy, then more power to you. Personally, I don't plan on modifying my opponents in any way, but I will set my super ability and alignment if I can.

Reply to GalCivII OR SoaSE? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Well, you guys (Stardock) may not put any copy protection on your games, but this security tape is certainly a pain in the ass.[/quote] Use Stardock Central (SDC) or the newer Impulse. It will keep your game updated for you and keep your serial numbers on the server. It's pretty convenient really. Just last evening I updated my Sins installation to version 1.03. I actually bought the game and downloaded it through SDC, hehe, no security tape required.

Reply to Help me understand please in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

It's a scoreboard that uses a weighted average of your submitted games. Use the Metaverse button from the main game menu. The game will start like normal after a panel that prompts for your user ID and password. When the game ends, you'll be provided the opportunity to submit it. The game does not have multi-player. There's a sticky thread at the top that explains why. It's entitled "Galactic Civilizations: The case for no multiplayer". The only official way to compete with others

Reply to Piracy & PC Gaming in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

I'm a PC gamer and don't have much interest in a game console. I bought Sins of a Solar Empire and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I was attracted to it because I like the Stardock method of distribution (SDC/Impulse) and it received a good review on IGN PC. I'll be keeping an eye out for other Stardock titles. I've gotten a ton of play off GC2 and will probably get a good amount off Sins as well. Conversely, I really enjoyed the stunning graphics of Crysis, but it's not a ga

Reply to MVL Round 7 in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

You can catch all the discussion on it in the rules thread and voice your opinion there, [link="https://forums.galciv2.com/165550"]here's the thread.[/link]

Reply to GalCivII OR SoaSE? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Yea, Sins can be pretty twitchy, but I just run the game at the lowest speed so I can take my time as much as possible. Ocassionally, I do encounter a situation where I'm waiting for the game to advance, but I just crank up the execution speed then drop it back down. Generally, I don't have more than about 30 seconds to mull over any one course of action. I've only gotten heavily involved in one other RTS and that was Company of Heros. Sins seems to have a more relaxed pace and I l

Reply to MVL Round 7 in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]What is ARC? Don't think I've heard that term before...[/quote] It's an ability we've been discussing in the rules thread. It's an acronym that's been coined for changing a small set of race characterstics in the raceconfig file located in My Documents\My Games\GC2DarkAvatar. These changes are Metaverse legal. The ones that have an effect on the game are starting alignment, home planet, and super ability.

Reply to I feel like i don't belong. :-( in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]hehe, I remember the one time we tried to build a 6ft long potato gun and hooked a propane tank to it. Don't do that.[/quote] ROFL, also don't try to make sky rockets with tinfoil and gunpowder.

Reply to The MVL Rulebook in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

I will be using advanced customization to specify super ability and starting alignment for my own race, but will not be modifying opponents in any way. In the current game, for example, I played as Altarians started with evil alignment and super hive. Did it fail to meet the specifications of a this new proposed rule? I don't know for sure, but I can tell you it was the hardest most thought provoking game I've ever played. I enjoyed it greatly.

Reply to GalCivII OR SoaSE? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Compared to GC2, there's less micro-management. Of course, I haven't played any big maps with Sins. I have not yet felt the motivation to play a Sins game that requires more than one sitting. But, options are available for pretty big maps with a number of opponents. It's possible to set up a long game and in that case, micro-management might be a factor. Planets need buildings to be of use and ships need to be queued to build, but the range of buildings and ships is pretty limited. The tec

Reply to GalCivI or GalCivII in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I've never played any of the campaigns either. I want straight for the sandbox mode. I started a Dread Lords campaign once, but lost interest pretty quick. I dont' think it would be worth playing through GC1 just to get the backstory. I haven't found it to be all that relevant, at least to sandbox mode. If the GC2 expansions are any indication, the game evolves greatly with each release so I would go with the most current one.

Reply to GalCivII OR SoaSE? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I have both games and I'm happy with the purchase of Sins. I think I like GC2 better. RTS games have a constant rush feeling all the time that I don't find particularly rewarding. TBS is much more relaxed and you can play a game a little at a time without getting too lost. Sins is a good game though. It doesn't have quite the depth of GC2, but it's a fun game and definitely worth the purchase. Given either or, I would have to go with GC2 unless you have your heart set on RTS.

Reply to The Galactic Diplomats in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

Speaking of video, I just set up a new wide screen panel. Boy, every thing sure looks...well, wider. Anyway, it's a decent panel and it has fairly good performance. I didn't spend the big bucks, but I think I did pretty good. Games sure look nice. I think I'll really appreciate the screen real estate on those gig/abun games.

Reply to The Galactic Diplomats in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

Hopefully avoiding the tired console vs. PC debate here, but I think you're right. It's possible to keep a PC more up to date with the latest hardware, supporting higher resolutions and frame rates. How often does an updated model of a particular console come out, maybe once every three years? I get a new video card around three times in that time span. I suppose you could get a new console as soon as any maker comes out with a new one. That might provide hardware updates as often as once a

Reply to I just flew into this galaxy, and boy, are my arms tired! in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I've been learning Sins of a Solar Empire (great game so far) so I've been browsing the Sins forum. It's hosted by Stardock so it looks similar to this one (my user ID even works there), but I can tell you, the overall tone is a lot different. There's a bunch of trolls there offering up digs in just about every thread. This forum is so much nicer and more intelligent. Still, I'll spend time on the Sins forum just to learn the finer points of the game, but I'm not going to "hang out" there.

Reply to Compare all TEC, ADVENT, & VASARI Ships with this info chart in Strategy Sins Forums

Thanks for that, I've logged maybe 8 hours on this game about now and I still don't have a good idea of what ships to build. I figured the higher they were on the tech tree the better. That helps alot in getting a feel for the hierarchy.

Reply to The current location for the Sins save directory in Technical Sins Forums

[quote]Why? only reason you will want to access the settings file is if they become corrupted and need to be manually deleted for the game to run...[/quote] There are several reasons to have easy access to the user data, like settings and save games. For one, to access the user settings file to make changes not provided in-game (I did that right off the bat to disable the logo movies). Another is to remove stale record files and save games. Those files are not small and can consume large

Reply to Sins of a Solar Empire Technical FAQ in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

It seems pretty goofy to put the game's user directory under the hidden "Local Settings" folder. I found it pretty quick, but I knew where to look for it before reading this thread. I've only enountered one other game that used this location. Every other game I've played uses "My Games" under "My Documents" or keeps user data in its own "Program Files" directory. Certainly, other games are not finding this GFW situation a pidgeon hole. In any case, the location of user data for this game is

Reply to The Galactic Diplomats in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

Hehe, fortunately for me, my wife owns the TV. A game console would never work in my household. Fine with me. More time for computer games!