qrtxian

Reply to Why is the AI so stupid? in Twilight of the Arnor GalCiv2 Forums

Good to know... I have the original DL and don't need to worry about the bugs anyway, but still glad to hear they fixed it. Off-topic: I just tried the DL campaign again myself and am really struggling all of a sudden... mainly because my economy is constantly teetering on the edge of collapse. I barely staved off disaster in the first mission by keeping my taxes in the 70s and selling techs to my ally... while the Drengin just built ships like no tomorrow. Anyone know why the campaig

Reply to 'standard' settings? in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

The previous posters pretty much said it all. One comment: [quote]Mega Events OFF(very personal...but on my first few games the comp generated events that easily turned me from losing to winning, thus killing my hopes of a 'thinking' man's game...of course now long dispelled). [/quote] This is indeed very personal, and I think comes down mostly to how much you care about winning/losing. As Mumblefratz's post stated there are many, many ways to play and there are

Mystery of economy score in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I would be the first to say that score in GalCiv doesn't really matter to me. The Metaverse isn't really my cup of tea and I don't believe it ever will be. That said, looking at my last endgame summary, I saw something in the economy scores that leaves me baffled. The Altarians, my ally, had an "average monthly income" of - 215 bc per month with an average tax rate of 59%. I had an average monthly income of 253 bc/month with an average tax rate of 43%. The Altarians' final econom

Modding minor races to be able to colonize in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

Title says it all. I read about someone doing this once, but I never figured out how to do it myself. Is it possible to mod a minor race to be able to build colony ships (and use them) and if so how?

Why are the evil AIs so weak? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I've been wondering for a while why, if evil is considered such a strong alignment by most of the players on here, the evil races (except the Korx, who use a different AI personality) do so badly in almost every game I've played. I know one reason is that the AIs never build the bugged MCC, which is one of evil's strongest advantages, but it still seems like the evil races do far worse then they should. I've had a few games where the Drengin were strong, and once or twice the Yor were a power

Reply to Why is the AI so stupid? in Twilight of the Arnor GalCiv2 Forums

I also agree with Tzukasa7 (except about galaxy size - I find the AI does best on smaller maps, although I like Gigantic galaxies for the epic feel) - the campaigns aren't really a good judge of the AI. Sandbox mode is the meat of the game, and that mission was particularly easy, as I recall (the campaign does get much, much tougher once the Dread Lords make their appearance). I will note that I've seen your original complaint happen in a war between two AIs - the Drengin blew up a Terran eco

Reply to Create Minor Races in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

1. There is no way I know of to give the minor race homeworlds names of their own (instead of "Race Name III"); you can, however, manually rename them in-game if you want. However, I don't think it can be done with modding. It might be possible by tweaking the CustomPlanets.xml file, but I've never tried. 2. I believe minor races can't have race movies; none of the defaults do. I created a mod where I "switched" the major and minor races, so that (for instance) the Snathi are

Reply to Can't go to war with Drengin. in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Does anyone know why relations are randomly set to Team like this? There must be twelve or more "Why am I a teammate" threads where someone complains about it, but I've never heard why it happens. I know if you set starting relations with a race for one game, you'll have to change them the next time you start, but in most of these "Team" incidents reported, it doesn't sound like the poster had ever set relations to Team before. Could it have something to

Reply to The Xenocide Option - Commentable version! in AARs GalCiv2 Forums

Forums ate my review, so I'll try again. This is very well done. There was one minor typo (the description of the Kin should read "are a four-armed, matriarchical, bipedal mammalian species", but other then that, it's well-written and engaging. I do wonder a little how well those who haven't read Jeapes (I have) will follow along. Strategy details are nice as well; I would appreciate a screenshot of the map to go along with them. BTW, my first AAR didn't get many

Reply to If I see "Forums Go Boom" one more time... in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

Funnily enough, I've just had five posts go through without a single forum error. Maybe it does have something to do with when I post (which is usually unnaturally early in the morning).

Reply to The Saga of the Exiles in AARs GalCiv2 Forums

Gah! Blasted Torians! I always thought the Torians in my games were aggressive but this bunch make them look like tree-hugging pacifists. I've always kind of seen the Torians as Babylon 5 Narns (i.e. they might have been nice guys once but after a few millenia of slavery they've got a bit of a grudge against the world) but the Torians here, especially, seem like nothing so much as cheap Drengin impersonators. BTW if they, the Drengin, and the Korath were all attacking the Altarians, why weren

Reply to Ascension and Evolution - The Story of mankind in AARs GalCiv2 Forums

Ah, good, a political update coming up! Not sure how many others like them, but I always find them pretty interesting. It should be particularly interesting to see how the Federation handles the conquest and integration of the Carinoids. Also looking forward to news on the Helios AI (which, depending on your perspective, might not be mad but perfectly sane). BTW, when's that promised Thalan update? I've been interested to see how the Federation interacts with a species

Reply to Redemption, Resurrection, Retribution in AARs GalCiv2 Forums

Thanks for the answers General. With the exception of mambaman's "The General and the President", I cannot name any AARs with human/Altarian relationships off the top of my head, but it just feels like they're more common then relationships between humans and humans (to say nothing of humans and other aliens!). Sometimes it seems like the Altarians are getting cast in the same "snooty, mystic, better-looking human" role as elves in a lot of fantasy. That clears up some of my questions

Reply to "Militaristic" in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Yes, as best as I understand it, the "militaristic" trait is randomly determined at the beginning of a new game and has nothing to do with the race's aggression slider. Edit: Silverbeacher, what events are there that change a race's aggression? The only one I can think of would be the "ethical reversal" event where an evil race becomes good or vice versa. I don't know for sure it does, but it seems logical (one thinks good Drengin would be less warmongering).

Reply to Invincible Arceans? Something's not right... in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]2. As far as I'm aware, the AIs will not choose to go to war with anyone while the DLs are alive. But as you've discovered, you can still bribe them into it.[/quote] Here's a question: if there are AIs at war when the "Dread Lords Return" mega event occurs, does this mean they'll make peace? More generally, does this apply to every situation where DLs might appear (mega event, Milky Way custom map, campaigns) or just to this scenario?

Reply to "Militaristic" in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I'm fairly certain that adjusting an AI's aggression will have no effect on whether they have the "- Militaristic" penalty in diplomacy, which is what Sole Soul is talking about. I can't be absolutely sure as it's not an option in DL, which is all I have. As far as dealing with it, if it's really harming your ability to form alliances, my only solution would be to buddy up with the races that don't have it - there's always at least one or two, and I'm almost certain it's not

Invincible Arceans? Something's not right... in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Recently, I loaded up an old saved game of the "Dread Lords on Parade" scenario in DL. Although this scenario is frequently a bust as AIs gang up on and crush the DLs before they become a threat, I recalled them as being a real menace here, so I gave it a try. Things are going nicely (as far as the DLs being a threat), although I've got them on the defensive. However, there's been a few weird events I've been wondering about: 1. The Arceans had the misfortune to start right next to th

Reply to "Militaristic" in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]If you're able to ally even with a minus (or two), what difficulty level, and how long into the game?[/quote] Tough difficulty - I'm about ready for Painful but haven't played any games yet - on DL (alliances may be harder or easier on the expansions); generally, mid to late game as it's usually after I've researched all the diplomatic techs up to Majesty or higher. In my experience, enough pluses can outweigh a minus, but the more I play, the more random allianc

Reply to Redemption, Resurrection, Retribution in AARs GalCiv2 Forums

Good post! Things look to be moving along fast now - I personally expected it to be a few more chapters before our hero rescued his lady fair (although lately I'm growing a tad irritated by the number of Terran/Altarian relationships in GalCiv AARs). No offense meant by that - but when do we get back to the war?? Also, just how much power does the Uslynthinis Movement have in Altarian society? Originally it sounded like they were just a fringe hate group, but more and more, they're lo

If I see "Forums Go Boom" one more time... in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

Not quite certain if this is the right place to post this, as it isn't a GalCiv II bug. It does, however, concern the GalCiv II forums, which are arguably the most crash-ridden forums I've seen in my life. I've taken to copying every post I make (including this one) so as not to have to rewrite it when (not 'if') the forums "Go Boom". Seriously, how do I avoid seeing the Forums Go Boom Message at least once on every post I make? This just doesn't seem like it's normal. Is

Reply to "Militaristic" in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I have seen complaints about this before, and I am about 90% certain that "militaristic" refers to the race in question, NOT to you. I believe this was discussed in a very old development journal but I'm not certain. However, I've always assumed that it's referring to the AI race and not yours, especially as it seems like races with the "militaristic" penalty indeed behave in a more, well, militaristic fashion. They also seem to have the War Party as their political party a lot (maybe a conne

Reply to I need help from the community on running a GalCiv II PNP game. Lore experts appreciated! in Twilight of the Arnor GalCiv2 Forums

My thoughts on the matter as a minor-league backstory expert: A. First, I just have to say that I frankly despise the use of the D&D rules for science fiction settings or anything besides their fantasy origins. That said, a good starting point would be the little +/- in each race's description (i.e. "Strong Diplomacy/Weak Military"). A few other details of relevance: Arceans are strong but not terribly bright. Drengin are very bright and highly rational, b

Reply to Milky Way custom map in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Wow, not one response in two weeks? I guess no one plays this map...

Reply to Redemption, Resurrection, Retribution in AARs GalCiv2 Forums

I would have to say Altos, for his valuable role as a voice of reason to Jordan's... recklessness (not that Jordan listens to him that much). He played a similiar role for Jim's stodginess in Altaria's Last Stand. Ordo was (or hopefully is... I suspect he'll be the titular "Resurrection") really cool as well, particularly once he began adding personality upgrades. As villains go, the Dark Avatar in Jordan's Revenge was great. I doubt we've seen the last of him either...

Reply to Random issues with this game that keep bothering me in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

My thoughts on the subject: 1. For most of the races, this isn't actually that big an issue. Drath and Altarians seperated a long time ago... I think millions of years. I've read the Altarians barely remembered the Drath except as myths. Humans and Altarians have never actually met before. Drengin and Torians (btw, a similiar concern of mine: if the Drengin need to research Planetary Invasion, how did they conquer the Torians before?) quite possibly never learned each other's