CraigHB

Reply to Suicidal primer for the crippling level player in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Cool, thanks

Reply to tired of this metaverse BS!!! in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

I think the scoring system is fine as long as it's working as advertised. If there is something wrong with the calculations, that should be fixed, but I have yet to have a problem myself. Otherwise, the game designers set the rules in the metaverse as they do in the game. Stardock has decided this is how you score in the metaverse so that's how you score. Understand it and play it. I'm sure they try to satisfy as many people as possible. Anyway, it wouldn't really matter how they set it up

Need Notebook Computer in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Need some advice from you guys that play GC2 on a notebook computer. I need to buy a notebook, but I want one that can run GC2. There are so many options out there it's got my head spinning. The price range on notebook computers is vast. Naturally, I want to spend as little as possible. I've found the less expensive ones run graphics processors like Intel GMA 900, ATI Radeon Xpress200M, Intel Extreme Graphics 2, SIS-Mirage2. I'm sure I wouldn't have a problem with something like a GeForce

Reply to Playing above Crippling difficulty in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Awesome tips, Thanks! Glad to hear that I'm not missing something as far as the AI zooming ahead at higher levels. I'll try some of these tactics and see if I can win a game on Maso. As far as the AI, yea I figured the AI was not programmed to actually compete against Human players using the same rules. They'd probably have to develop a serious breakthrough in artificial intelligence to do that.

Reply to Game is Buggy in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Yea, I'll be glad to see the dead turn on start-up issue resolved. Don't really have a problem with the sliders. The scale does shift sometimes, but it's not an issue for me. Otherwise, I have little problem with the game, runs pretty smooth all around. I've definitely seen worse. The high update frequency is great. The game isn't pefect and I do have a few gripes here and there, but overall, it's a pretty bang-up job on Stardock's part. Keep those updates coming <img src="http://images.s

Reply to Dark Matter and Matter in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Well, look at what the theory is. It comes from a bunch of guys using mathmatics to explain cosmologic relationships. The math doesn't add up right now so they're making an assumption. Saying "it's generally accepted" does not imply scientific fact. It simply means it's what "most" scientists are using to solve the equations which, by the way, could be entirely wrong to start with. The theory doesn't carry a whole lot of weight right now, definitely not something to get too excited about.<b

Playing above Crippling difficulty in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

The AI really outpaces me after Crippling difficulty. When I try to play higher, I give up then go back to playing a game at Crippling. Do you guys who play above that level stay ahead of the AI the whole time? Or, do you let the AI get ahead and then use other tactics to beat them in the end. I was wondering if the AI plays by the same rules as Human players. The reason I ask is that I've noticed they can get a group of colonizers way out into a gigantic map out of normal range.

Reply to This game needs multiplayer love in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

They're not opposed to it at all. They just get don't get much demand to include it as a feature so they use the resources to expand on single player instead. Personally, I'm not that big on internet gaming so it's fine for me and according to the polls, it's fine for 90% of the players. Though, I do like the whole Metaverse thing, but that's something entirely different. Another problem with multi-player is that even a short game takes a certain amount of attention and dedication.

Reply to Dark Matter and Matter in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Possibly, but it's considered a "weak" force. You have to have *a lot* of it to do anything. A dark energy ray probably wouldn't do much damage, but it sounds cool. Should be a weapon in the game, "Dark Energy Ray, cost 15, size 12, damage 10"

Reply to Dark Matter and Matter in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Not really, it's generally accepted by the cosmologic community that dark matter and dark energy account for the "missing stuff" in the equations. Not only does it account for mass and energy, but it also accounts for forces and explains why galaxies don't just spin into dissipation. They say, "It's there, we just can't find it yet."

Reply to Artificial Gravity in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Based on current science, FTL is not possible for an atomic mass. The energy required to move it increases to infinity as it approaches the speed of light. However, there are lots of things in the universe as yet unexplained by modern science. For instance, it's generally accepted the extreme gravity of of a black hole bends space and time. This is were the theory comes from about bending space in order to cross vast distances in a short time, .i.e. wormholes. Could happen in about 1000 yea

Reply to Download vs. download and shiping in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I bought my copy of GC2 off the shelf. I have to admit that poster has come in handy a few times. The packaging is nice too.

Reply to Howdy in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

A couple of these ideas will be addressed. There have been threads talking about expanding diplomacy and other race modification stuff. The expansion pack adds some of those features. Also, the game receives pretty regular updates that resolve bugs but also expand the game so you may get a pleasant surprise down the road. Personally, I'm pretty impresssed with the depth of the game as it stands. I think the ship editor is really amazing. My only complaint right now is some of the

Reply to another one to drop StarForce in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

Good to hear. StarForce needs to die.

Reply to New Forums Preview... in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Nice, look forward to the change. - Craig

Reply to Fear of a Ban in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

I find one thing that helps a lot is if you are not sure about a negative message, sit on it for a while and then come back and read it later. Sometimes you read it later and think to yourself, "Sure glad I didn't post that! Let me soften this up." I've saved myself plenty of heartache that way.

Reply to Forum Crashes Browser in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

Yea, it seems only particular threads crash my browser. To take a guess, I think one of the medal images is doing it. Right now, the "Answers to questions about the Metaverse" thread does it every time. As an experiment, I'm currently browsing the forum with images off. It looks hideous, but it's not crashing.

Forum Crashes Browser in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

I've been having a problem with IE where the GalCiv2 Forum is regularly crashing my browser. It doesn't do it all the time, but does it often. I get a dialog box that states IE has encountered an error and then my browser windows close. It seems to do it at the end of the page load when the medals are downloading. I'm running Windows 2000 SP4 and Internet Explorer 6 SP1. I've tried everything and have not been able to alleviate the problem. For instance, I've deleted all the files in my Te

Reply to got a question...need help in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

I think it always gives that error no matter what the problem is. The serial number is long and it's the one on the CD case so just make sure you are entering it correctly.

Reply to Best size to play ? in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

I did notice the game gets very CPU intensive toward the end when you have a lot of planets. I have a pretty fast machine, Athlon 64 at 2.5 GHz and it starts to slow down noticably after you own over 40 planets or so. It doesn't cause a problem, but you do need a good machine to run this game through its courses with a gigantic universe and abundant habitable planets. As far as the video card goes, you can get away with a lower grade card on this game. It really doesn't tax the v

Reply to The Kat Lords in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

Hey Kat, did pretty good on my last game. Moved us up one rank. Playing Crippling this time, should do even better.

Reply to Answers to questions about the Metaverse in Metaverse GalCiv2 Forums

Yea, that was a significant error and a source of confusion for me. I understand the formula now. They simply went from ^.5 (square root) to ^.4 which results in a smaller number. I understand the forum is probably more of a nuisance to Stardock than anything else, but if they *are* going to post information, they should take some care in making sure it's correct.

Reply to Metaverse ReCalc complete in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

That forumla calculates my metaverse score exactly. Somewhat of a difference (between number of games ^.4) and (number of games ^.5) which, as originally stated, would simply be the square root. Seems like an odd thing to change. I think it would have been better left at .5 because it makes an already complicated formula more confusing. Square root is easy to get a hold of in your head, throwing around numbers with odd fractional exponents is not. I wonder if that's an error in their scorin

Reply to Question about Influence in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Nice trick, have to try that one.

Reply to Ship Guide - Help in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Dealing with ships can be confusing at first, but you settle into a strategy pretty quick once you've played a few games. Great tips in the previous posts. Main thing is to outpace the other races then you have the resources to build bigger ships with more weapons. As stated earlier, specialize in one line of weaponry at first. I like missles myself. Do well in the initial planet grab. Once you've beat the AI there, you've got a good chance of winning. Your fleets will generally be more p