OT, galactic civ II

[NTJedi]

One really nice feature about GAL_CIV_2... no copy protection on the CDs. THUS you install the game... and even if the CDs are damaged you're fine!
Sure enough this method hasn't seemed to affected their sales either... it's one of the hottest PC selling games. Copy_protection software does almost zero... the hackers only see it as a challenge and always beat it. Personally I dislike hackers because when they steal games it only encourages developers to move to the console games. GAL_CIV_2 is definitely ahead of their time for knowing copy software doesn't make a difference. If the game goes multiplayer I will definitely buy the game... also the developers of GAL_CIV_2 might be making MoM_2 !! Thus this GAL_CIV_2 might be the fuel for that game.

[Agrajag]

NTJedi said:
Personally I dislike hackers because when they steal games it only encourages developers to move to the console games.

Than those developers are quite stupid, seeing as console games can and have been cracked.
Granted, you'd need more expensive equipment (a DVD burner), but it doesn't change the fact that console games can be cracked.
If anything, it drives developers to MMOGs. While MMOGs can be cracked as well, the quality of the pirate servers is far inferior to that of the official servers, and so people are willing to pay for higher gaming quality.

As for GalCiv2, I played a bit at my friend's house and it seems quite fun. Maybe I'll report back after I try a bit more playing, maybe even buy the game myself.

[PDF]

I got the game from the 1st day (I'm a Totalgaming subscriber) and it's pretty good IMHO : very nice graphics, strategic depth, good AI.
Not-so-good points are a weird economic system and very abstracted ground combat. Lack of multiplayer has been largely explained by the Stardock team, and I don't hold it for a big issue - solo play is good enough.
Additionnally the Stardock guy are very friendly, and their dislike of Starfarce "protection" system is a good point

[Morkilus]

PDF said:
Additionnally the Stardock guy are very friendly, and their dislike of Starfarce "protection" system is a good point

Can you blame them? (skip down to Brad Wardell's posts, one of the developers of GCII)

[Agrajag]

Morkilus said:

Can you blame them? (skip down to Brad Wardell's posts, one of the developers of GCII)

Now I know for a fact that I'm buying GalCivII and giving up on all StarForce games.
Its a shame really, I was hoping to get HoMM V, but I can pass that up for the sake of bashing StarForce.

[DominionsFan]

The problem with this game is...that its only singleplayer. The game is fantastic, but I beat the AI on the hardest AI settings now, there are many cheap tactics to wipe the best AIs in the game _easily_ ... sadly.
I hope that the 1.1 patch AI update will give us more competition really.

[Arralen]

Ok, now that you now that cheap tactics which the AI can't cope with because the developer didn't think about them - can you toss them aside and win the game without them?

[DominionsFan]

Arralen said:
Ok, now that you now that cheap tactics which the AI can't cope with because the developer didn't think about them - can you toss them aside and win the game without them?

Yes of course I can. All you gotta do is to design the right counter ships against the AI fleets, and nuking their planets while waging war in the space. The AI cannot defend against that. If you build all kind of ships with different defenses/weapons, you wont have problems ever...of course if you mastered the game itself. :-)

[Gandalf Parker]

More importantly, did you provide files and info back to Brad about the always-win tactics? Thats one of the powerful differences in that game (and dominions and other such games) is that the developers are willing to receive our info and fix it.

[DominionsFan]

Yes Gandalf, I posted those cheap tactics on the forums, also sent email. :-)