We actually put in game automation code to test the AI throughout the course of development. We could always just have that pick up the reigns when the human dies, though the code will need tweaked. It's pretty rough around the edges. Definatly a fun little feature to put in, though ;) We'll see what we can do.
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I think so. The changes are fairly subtle, so winning either good or evil really comes down to how you manage your empire. They're are some nice advantages that come with either side, and both have disadvantages that weight out pretty equally (IMO).
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http://www.stardock.com/stardock/articles/galciv/gc_example1.html ^^ I think this is the link asorokop was refering to. It's that little walkthrough brad did with his game (there was a news topic about it last week). I'm sure some of the gamma testers would be more than happy to re-tell some of their more memorable encounters in galciv. I could tell mine, but as I get creamed every time, I don't know how entertaining they'd be to read. ;) They'd all end along the lines of...
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No, the player's morality is determined by the actions they take when a random event pops up. It almost gives the game an RPG element to it. You're empire isn't solely defined by it's stats at the beginning of the game (you actually always start the game as morally neutral). If you're killing off innocent creatures cause they smell, or using pre-existing races as slave labor when you colonize planets, other alien races will treat you like the jerk you are (or team up with you if they're evil
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hehe The ability for the TerrorStar to be upgraded after completion was totally unintentional. After playing with that feature, though, we realized how cool it'll be for players to make these moving battlestations that could give bonuses in any sector it was moved it to. You can't deny the power of a Starbase that can take out an entire starsystem, yet still have the heart to be home to a waterpark and galactic shopping center. ;)
The modular nature of UPIssues, Events, Anomalies, and SB Modules will help to ensure the bonus pack goes out without causing any major crash bugs. Of course, we'll be sure to play test it well before it's release ;) Like you said, they're nothing worst than a post-release add-on that renders the game unplayable :(
You'll be able to purchace the game online individually on March 26th. Till then, the only way to get access to the Beta is through Drengin.Net, but once it's released on store shelves, it'll also become available online. Hope this helps. :)
Oops, sorry. No, the first bonus pack is free, and additional updates and expansions will be available well past the inital release. If i remember right, some of the smaller updates will be free, whereas major expansion packs will come at an extra cost. Have'ta wait for the official word from Brad on that one, though. ;)
Info on who's using espionage and destabilization against you/others has been added to the gamma version of the game. When you get the final game, pumping up your espionage on players will give you this data ;)
Yeah, If you purchace Drengin.Net, you will be able to download the latest Beta version of GalCiv. This is about a month old, since we've moved into gamma testing mode a while ago, but should prove a fairly enjoyable experience. Come March 26th, we'll be releasing the full version on Drengin, which will include all additional features, graphics, movies, fixes, ect. You'll also get access to the free Bonus Pack that some of us are working on, with beefed up features, new graphics, ect.
One of the features to be included in the Bonus Pack (which will be released the same day as GC) will be beefed up game setup screens. You'll now have control of several of the games features, of which toggling vitory conditions will be available. We'll also be putting in a better ability pts. distribution meathod, multiple new options when tweaking the opposing races, more control over star placement, and for new players, a "Tutorial Mode" to help you out the first year of gameplay. Hope thi
The AI will also be constantly be altering it's spending sliders based on its needs. If it's not waring with anyone and its planets have alot of improvements to build, it'll lower it's Military spending and pump up its Social spending. Also, the AI will lease ships, but only if it has greater than -500bc in its treasury (the same limitation the player has).
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Sorry, this is an option that has been added, but wasn't correctly initalized in pref.ini for the release. Just go into the Options menu and toggle "Show Anomaly Popups" to on. You can now also turn off the ship data animation between the galaxy map and other windows. It only adds a few frames, but is a welcome change from the wait between screens in old builds.
The Development team actually got an EMail along these lines over the weekend, that we've reached a cut off point in game features and to work on weeding out all the current bugs on our list (and what a list it is) ;)
Blasted typos...I'll be fixing those in the morning. Sorry. (:( Hopefully everyone will enjoy the new battle options preceeding Invasions now, though!(besides the spelling mistakes) ;)
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hehe Yeah, that's definatly a bug...space monsters and pirates should ignore UP Laws :) I'll fix that for the next release.
Sorry Steve, our lists over here have gotten a-bit longer with the recient delay, so everyone is pretty frantic with getting new additions in before the gamma. I'll pick off the items on you list I'll be overseeing... 5. I'll check the code that tallies this up and see where the miscalculation is being made. 7. Weird. Could have something to do with the "music fade out" code. I'll look into it. 9. Yeah, there's alot of areas where text is just too long for the space
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Part of the polish list includes popup indicators that let you know in which direction you're moving for a win. If you're 7/10ths of the way towards a cultural victory, youll be told youre on the right track. if youre 9/10ths towards the cultural win, you get a message saying "it's only a matter of time". ANd the turn before you win you'll get a congratulations popup "You've successfully spread the culture of your race throughout the galaxy..." so, when the game is over, you do go "what the he
lol
That is weird. We'll look into it...and perhaps we should give an option to force the screen NOT to change based on morality. I know there are some folks out there that perfer the neutral screen anyways, so might as well kill 2 issues with 1 fix. :) (not that it'd really be a FIX for the CTD, just a way out).
One thing we'll be throwing in for new players is a "Rookie Mode", where the number of "first time" prompts is increased significantly. More of the clickable items in the game will have a popup attached to them, so the first time you click on the colony ship, you get a run down on what it is and how to use it. Same with certain buttons in the interface, and even after certain techs are aquired, a helpful dialog will stear newbies in the right direction. Of course, this mode turned off
Fixed for the next release! :CONGRAT:
:notsure: Odd. We'll look into that one. When morale is that low, the population should revolt before they leave (or dye our or whatever is happening there) :p
This council issue will keep players (and aliens alike) from attacking freighter vessels (wether they've already extablished a trade route or not). If you try to attack an enemy freighter and this UP Law is being enforced, you'll get a little memo from the council remining you of the resolution and preventing the attack.
Yeah, without the multimedia download you'll be stuck with just the text to read during some of the new "first time events". Hopefully, if you're connection speed is big enough, you'll get a chance to DL the multimedia portion of GC, cause the new scenes really do bring an extra 'spark' to the game. If not, they'll be available on the CD version when the game is released. ps. I'm glad you guys are enjoying all the little tweaks to the game. Every bit of polish helps. ;)