Gerakken

Reply to British Empire just formed. in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Arrr! There be pirates about. Good logo, J4. Just be sure to stick with raiding ships and not software and movies. As for my earlier comment, I just kind of have fun when I hear the Commonwealth types harp about how Britain could have owned the world, and then the French messed with the plan with their wars and colonial ambitions. Funny, the Spanish once harped how they could have ruled the world, but then those English came along and spoiled that plan. And so on throughout the history

Reply to G.R.O.S.S. communication thread. in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Ah, but we all know that choosing the Universalist party spells trouble. Take your chances with unexplained election crashes and disappearing resources when taking that party. I don't know what the official verdict is about 1.03, but the crash/disappearance chance is enough to make me suspicious. As for the Senate, I am not evil enough for that august body in terms of overall alignment, not yet. Afterall, I am like 4 good, 2 neutral, and 2 evil games there (with a third evil coming alon

Reply to ANZAC Empire, 'Bridging the Ditch' Thread in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Everything makes sense, more or less, after a beer or three, right! Now if only I can sometimes reign in the leader of my empire sometimes... But what am I complaining about? Pontius really has a great strategy: distract the other guys so that GROSS can slip on ahead. Kinda reminds me of Cait Sith in Final Fantasy VII, you know: the cat shouting at the enemies through the megaphone while riding the giant stuffed mog? ;)

Reply to British Empire just formed. in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Britannia ruled the waves, true. But the world was a little harder too pull off. You Brits (and Royalists residing elsewhere) can always blame the French and their brand of colonialism. ;)

Reply to Is anyone getting a peaceful high score? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Culture doesn't pay, but I still win with it anyway! Well, maybe not the latest game I am still working on. I have determined that I need to see another kind of victory, preferably conquest or tech, so I turned off culture wins in it. Maybe I am in a culture rut, or maybe it is the easiest way to win. Time to learn some new tricks.

Reply to The purple star in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Twinkle, twinkle purple star, How I wonder how swell you are. Wish I may, wish I might, That you hide from alien sight. Love those purples, yes I do! :)

Reply to Review in the Globe and Mail in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Decent, balanced review, but the poor soul needs to work on military deterence a bit, as I disagree with this little bit: "AI is sadistically hard, even on the beginner settings – things start out easy, but the enemy will soon back players into a corner (don’t say I didn’t warn you)." Credible force has a lot of meaning in Galciv. Of course, I hear about too many folks trying to hide behind the facade of the paper tiger star fighter brigade in order to make their empire look to

Reply to Did ya ever wonder??? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Too much micromanaging can be bad in Galciv. In fact, I get the distinct impression that the budget sliders are not lockable to keep me from fiddling with them, lest I waste 30 seconds trying to balance it just so! But, back to a serious matter, the only management item I personally have a complaint about besides the slider is wasted resources. Does it have to be that every colony I decide to take out of social production throw its share of the money down the drain? Individual system sliders are

Reply to Schizophrenia on the Metaverse? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Slitherin: But the GROSS crowd can be interesting at times. Besides, the misguided souls need my wisdom and balance. ;) I guess I am the black sheep of the family then. :)

Reply to What is an independent player to do?? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Well, I see too many circuses on the Metaverse with only a ring master and no performers. The way I see it, one can stroke his ego alone or go and make a difference with someone else. Maybe if more of these one person empires tried to actively recruit and organize then we could see some real action.

Reply to Planet/System Defense in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Defenses apply to all the planets in the system and all the ships in orbit. As for defending ground troops, I don't know if those social projects help that rating. I don't get invaded too often. I make sure that transports die before they get enough people near one of my planets to take it. :D

Reply to Research strategies in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

For me, map size does control the start path quite radically. The larger the map, the more likely it is going to be a run straight for impulse drive at about a 25% research rate. Speed is life on a large map. A small map makes it more likely that it is going to be a run straight to trade or to a dual path of a couple of weapon techs and a couple of defense techs to get star fighters and defenders. Trade if I think that the nearby neighbors are friendly, military if it looks like there is going t

Reply to How do I declare war? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Just move a ship with an attack rating of at least one into the other guy's ship, trade freighter, or planet. That will bring up a confirmation message about whether you really want to go to war with X.

Reply to G.R.O.S.S. communication thread. in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

One must have balance. This is not walking a grey line between black and white, but having the wisdom and experience to cross into black or white as the circumstances dictate. Extreme aliens sometimes call for extreme measures, especially when my new line of sea salted snacks is not selling well in Arcean space. "Commodore Perry, I need you to open that spaceport. How about giving them a 24 star blaster salute? And make sure those 8 billion trade representatives are ready to conclude negotiation

Reply to G.R.O.S.S. communication thread. in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

This is just a somewhat pointless status report to let the gang know what I am up to. Well, yours truly, one of GROSS's newest members, is going to try something completely different. I have practically been Mr. Culture so far in my meager exploits, so it is time to go for a different win. So, I will stick with only a diplo cheeseburger and a Techno Pop and forego the culture fries for once. This time, I be talking a military or a tech win. Just don't hold yer collective breaths yet. It usually

Reply to Schizophrenia on the Metaverse? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

While I am obviously in no position to lend clarification on this topic, my personal opinion is that two separate names for two separate people is fine in my book, but I have strong personal reservations about people who could (if it is possible) use this to exploit the Metaverse in the manner described. But fairness is a personal guideline in the end and cannot be fully enforced by outsiders without the potential exploiter checking his own actions first. Being ethical sucks, don't it? ;) <

Reply to G.R.O.S.S. communication thread. in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

The evil Emperor Pontius and Darth Coffeedragon have prevailed. I shall no longer resist. ;)

Reply to G.R.O.S.S. communication thread. in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

I must resist... the evil GROSS emperor is trying to convert the Metaverse!

Reply to The are you going to E3 poll is unfair in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Calm down, guys. [monk mode on] Physical passions are but momentary. Desires are distractions. Focus on what is lasting and not what is transient. [monk mode off] Ahem, sorry about that. If booth babes are your thing, go for it, just don't let them distract you from the products! ;)

Reply to How is it possible to get THIS score?? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Sure, the point system needs a recalc for all the older games. Yes, it does need some tweaks to compensate more for difficulty and less for map size. As for the "low score kills your stats" argument, you got to be in it for the long haul, baby. I got a lot to lose from some of this, but I am going to tough it out anyway and actually welcome a recalc and keeping some sort of rough averaging system. My recent submission dropped my average so that I actually lost an equal number of points

Reply to Save/Load Mechanism: Perhaps the Greatest Flaw of GalCiv in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

The influence thing is just a minor issue, really. Sure, it does cost me a little in that I have to take a minor setback toward the end of my games sometimes. (My stats say it all: culture wins mostly.) It is by no means a game killer. It would be great if it were fixed, but if someone laid bare all of Galciv's strengths and weaknesses on the table in front of me before I bought the game, then the influence needing to realign itself upon reload is just a minor irritation that does not reflect th

Reply to Strategy thread - some basic tips in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Trade is life. Choosing who to spend your precious few trade routes on is vital. Basically, unless you are lucky enough to get five routes to all the major civs without any of them getting mad in the process, you have to pick your enemy. Alliances are trouble unless it is one necessary for a win or for your survival. Minor civs should get toward the end of the line when choosing trade routes. The majors you want to be nice with are first. The focus being that you, the human, pick who yo

Reply to Rapidly dropping approval rating? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Despite it being a trendy political line these days, in Galciv tax cuts are bad news. 50 is a high rate and should be dropped to 40 or even 30 if you are feeling nice, but never get into a tax cut spiral to solve morale problems. Draw where that bottom tax line is and stick to it. If 35 is the magic number, you can start the game higher and slowly lower it down, but not below 35. If an economic boom happens and you decide that you are rolling in cash so you will cut taxes, think again. Is this g

Reply to IRL Political issues in GalCiv in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Well, if real Earth was a Galciv game, then I think the USA is well on its way towards a cultural victory. Afterall, litter enough foreign cities with McDonalds, Levis, and rap music and it does add up. But, it's not like this was any intentional government plan to promote US values abroad, just some aggressive capitalists seeking out and exploiting new markets.

Reply to GalCiv priceless humor in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Ah, yes, the irony of some of those Galcic moments. In my current game, a bloodbath erupted when a surrender went bad. It was during a long peace with everyone after a few short wars early in the game just to teach some lessons and claim my fair share (bad start position, only one colonizing candidate anywhere nearby). So, anyway, the Yor are getting beat up by a Arcean/Torian/I-League alliance and have two planets left. They surrender to ME, leaving me holding the bag out of position to take on