hello and help

[el_dude]

hey there people,
this is my first time on the boards, so i don't know if this question's been discussed already or not, but I was wondering if there was anyone out there who had played space empires iv and galactic civilizations...i'm on a rather limited budget, and i don't really have time to get into two big 4x games at once, so i was looking for some suggestions as to which game is a better buy...mostly i'm looking for gameplay depth

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

Gameplay depth? SE4. I've played GalCiv b4... didn't like it. SEIV gives you the ability to manage massive empires, diplomatic relations are deeper, tech is more comprehensible, etc. Plus you can download dozens of different mods for SEIV or make your own, even if you've never ever used a PC before... all the important files are .txt and .bmp files. You just need Notepad (and perhaps Wordpad or MetaPad for the bigger files) and Paint to mod the game to your tastes.

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

btw check out this while you're at it:

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...c=1#Post331698

[Combat Wombat]

Well personally I would go for Space Empires IV Gold instead of Galactic Civilizations. SE4 has this great community and alot of mods so its a game that your going to be able to play for along time after you buy it.

Also welcome to the forums

[Gandalf Parker]

I played both. I really wanted to like GalCiv 2. Ive been following it since GalCiv 1 a long LONG time ago on OS/2. Its primary fame is supposed to be its AI which is what Im most interested in. It probably is great in AI but unfortunately the rest of the game was so flat that I got bored and dumped it. Maybe GalCiv 3 will have Brad improving the REST of the game. Just my humble opinion.

[DeadZone]

Space Empires without a doubt

Reason why GalCiv community is larger, due to that GalCiv is more widely avaliable (being that SE is brought only over the net)
Also, you tend to find that the community around here is closer and friendly than communities for other games

[TheDeadlyShoe]

this is hardly the place for unbiased opinons! However, even ardent GalCiv partisans will concede that Space Empires has far deeper gameplay. I suppose it really depends on how much time you want to invest in the game whether GalCiv or Space Empires is better. SE really is rather complicated...

The demo shows off the gameplay decently well, though.

Damn, now I'm remembering just how very, very long i spent playing the SE II demo before i realized there was a full version.

[Arkcon]

I played GalCiv in the OS/2 days as well, and I gotta say, the AI wasn't that great. I found the game compelling, working out all the ins and outs of the rules, but it was easy enough to build just enough to not alert the AI, and then counter attack when the AI declared war. That's what some people gripe about SE4 -- the AI seem s unpreditable, declaring way when friendly, and not giving up when all is lost. That's just to avoid falling into the trap of the crafty human player, with his gigantic fleet, offering trade deals.

The big thing was that OS/2 was multithreaded, so the AI could do so much more in the background, but like the Imperator says, the game is so abstracted, it could all be an algorithm, and wouldn't make much of a difference.

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

My suggestion:

Buy SEIV and have fun. Spend time on the forums. Get to know the peeps here. Download a coupla mods. Make a couple yourself and post them. Have something YOU made run on computers ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

Then you'll forget everything about GalCiv.

[Fyron]

Technically, you can make mods for GalCiv too... SE4 modding is more powerful and far easier though.

GalCiv does have better AI than SE4, but the rest of the game is poorly developed.

GalCiv combat is atrocious. Attack score, defense score, hit points, no designing, no fleets, nothing. Ships fight each other one on one. Compare this to SE4 combat where fleets actually fight each other, you can design your ships, ships have deep designs, etc.

GalCiv systems suck. A handful of planets all in one square. Compare this to SE4 systems where you can have dozens of objects floating around, ranging from planets to multiple stars to asteroids to storms.

GalCiv diplomacy is a bit better designed than SE4, and its AI actually uses it decently. GalCiv is only single player though, so who cares? Playing against the AI gets boring after a few games. Human opponents are far more satisfying.

GalCiv technology is just weird. Most techs give a 1% bonus to resource production, or combat bonus, or something like that. Compare this to SE4 techs where you actually get brand new components to use. Research armor and shields to improve the defense of your ships, how you choose to improve it. No magic universal upgrades, you get to choose how much armor and shielding is on your ships. Same with weapons and other components.

GalCiv colonies are poorly implemented. You can build every facility on every planet. SE4 actually has limits to the space on a planet based on size.

GalCiv ground combat is even worse than SE4. You just load civilians on transports and they are magically troops. In SE4, at least you have to design and build your troops.

GalCiv race customization is a joke. You can only play as humans, which is needless to say boring. You can only make a few minor tweaks. In SE4, you can play as any race (even add your own), and you can completely customize its strengths and weaknesses.

GalCiv does have a basic government system, which is interesting. However, like the rest of the game, it is rather lackluster and lacking in any sort of depth.

GalCiv has too many mechanics hidden away from the user. SE4 is better suited for strategizing.

Ok that's probably enough for now...