Galactic Civilizations.

[Roland]

Galactic Civilizations (a.k.a. GalCiv) is a 4x TBS game (Turn-Based Strategy). It's a very macro-management-oriented game, with a very intelligent (and difficult!) AI, and multiple types of Victory Conditions (Military, of course, as well as Technological and Culture).

I recently picked this game up, and have been very pleased with it thus far. It's a very fun, if rather difficult, game. Looks to be one of those "easy to learn, difficult to master" games. It's Single Player only, but it's gauranteed to keep you coming back for more, if TBS games are your thing. Also, the company who made it (Stardock / Strategy First) has "budgeted" an extra YEAR of development time, for various fixes, enhancements, and yes, even free "Bonus Packs". They feel that, rather than force you to pay for an Expansion Pack, they would rather just dish out all the extra goodies FOR FREE over a period of a year. They have VERY heavy fan input, and even allow you to beta test every patch they make, no matter how small. And they patch A LOT. For reference, when I went to bad last night, I was playing v1.05.068. When I got up this morning, they were up to 1.05.071. One rather severe crash bug (involving macro-management aid; basically, the bug, while completely avoidable, made large games extremely tedious, ala MoO3 style :P) was fixed, and they're constantly working to improve / expand upon the game.

If you're looking for a good strategy game, and don't have anything against TBS games, I highly recommend picking this little gem up. All in all, a very fun, solid game.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way (;)), anyone here have this game already? I'd REALLY be interested in comparing build orders for Social Projects, research orders for Technologies, and just general strategies and playstyles. What's your favorite style of play? Do you tend towards Good or Evil? Any tips on Military, Cultural, or Technological victories? What about game size, and style? What systems, planets, etc. do you usually generate the game with? How do you set up your political party, and how do you go about maintaining it?

Open up the discussion! I'm eager to hear people's comments. :)

[Quark]

This is one of the games that I 1)Wanted to hear more about and 2)Have wishlisted. It definately sounds like a taker, but as I'm going to grab two expansion packs soon I think I'll hold of at least a little while longer.

[Kevin]

I've been intrigued by this one. I've been very disappointed with MoO 3 though I haven't had time to try the code patch for it yet. You're comments make it seem like you have played MoO 3 as well. Can you give a bit more opinion on comparision? I don't care about multiplayer for this type of game (and I think part of the MoO 3 problem is that they do somethings because of multi, which is bad).

I'll probably get this one regardless when the price drops (I usually don't spend more than $30 for a game unless I know I will really be playing the snot out of it, and I don't have the time to play the snot out of this one) but I have a MoO reference point (played all of them, lots of 2, and a fair bit of 1) so if you would be kind enough to do some comparison on that score I would appreciate it. It can be very broad comparisions since it will be an apples to oranges type comparision.

[Roland]

I do not, nor intend to (anytime soon), own MoO3. And to compare MoO3 and GalCiv is, as someone pointed out to me when I raised the question (IS MoO3 like GalCiv?), is to compare peaches and nectarines. ;) They're different games, with some similarities. (I'll link to a VERY good comparison towards the end of my post.)

But, I DO have MoO, and have played it enough to get a very good feel of it. So, I will compare it as best I can.

It's "bigger and better" than MoO, on some aspects. MoO allowed you to choose your Galaxy size, what races and how many you played against, etc. GalCiv does this as well. Unfortunately, while it offers a wealth of new options, it detracts from the overall "story" feel of MoO. One criticism I HAVE to level at GalCiv is that the races have no personality. They have no truly defining aspects. There's no racial / cultural grudges or alliances - it's all open-box. OTOH, to be fair, that's about the worst criticism I can level. ;) And, UNLIKE MoO, the interaction between the races is FAR more advanced (this is gonna be a LONG post starting from here on out, so be warned). The only scale in the game is one of moral ground: Good vs. Evil. I found this to be a step back from the cultured storyline of MoO (at least in respect to the races; in terms of overall story, and history of the game itself, they're each equal). However, it DOES open up a whole new world of possibilities - which the game happily takes advantage of.

Good vs. Evil. The endless battle, so on and so forth. Some may immediately be turned off by this, but it's not as bad as one might think. There is quite a deal of balance between the two, and Neutrality is always available. Good races tend to dislike Evil races. Evil races tend towards military domination, while Good races tend towards cultural expansion and trade. This is not to say that Evil races don't trade, and Good races don't war - they DO. Quite a lot. Evil races will typically only trade with other Evil races, however, rather than with just anyone. If they find someone of a Good (or even Neutral) alignment who does not pose a siginificant threat to them (in more ways than one), they'll try to bully them around - demanding techs, Star Systems, or money. Repeated refusals will anger the Evil race(s), and they'll eventually go to war. This can, in turn, bring about alliances, where the Evil guys gang up on the Good guys, and the Good guys ally to defend against the Evil ones. It's really very intrinsic and interesting, gauranteeing lots of different angles to play. Good does NOT always triumph over Evil - there are no inherent bonuses that either moral side gets. The only thing it truly determines is who likes you, and who dislikes you. And there are dozens of ways of influencing THAT, as well. :)

Directly influencing the Good / Evil scale are "Events" - occurrences that typically happen during colonization of a planet, but also tend to happen at random intervals on already-colonized planets. One example would be landing on a planet with a "pre-stone age lifeform: do you a) allow them to live as they are, suffering a production penalty? b) move them to an unused portion of the land, so you suffer no penalty? c) enslave the race, offering you a bonus to your production?". Your choices during these events ultimately determine whether you are Good, Neutral, or Evil (and again, there is no inherent downside to any of this). The Computer-Controlled races start out with pre-defined Alignments, that you yourself set. You, as the player, OTOH get to choose throughout your game what alignment you want - and it can change at any time. Being Evil typically means you choose to extort your people (or other lifeforms) for your own greedy gains, while being Good typically means you aid your people, or choose not to interfere with other lifeforms. More often than not, being Evil gets you some sort of advantage, while being Good can oftentimes detract from you (in terms of production, Planet Quality, money, etc.). Of course, they aren't game-making / game-breaking events - just little things that add to the overall "story" of the game. Much like Diablo has random dungeons, so to does GalCiv have random "Events" to help keep the story fresh and new each time you play (to say nothing of the countless ways you can customize the game). The events don't add any on-going storyline (yet; the Expansion Pack {which is FREE, BTW, and is supposed to be finished by the end of the summer} will be adding linked-Events, so we may see some actual "storylines" come about; whether those linked-Events are hardcoded into the .exe, or incorporated in the modifiable .txts {much like MoO3 uses, I think; I haven't delved into modding yet, but it LOOKS to be the same exact system of modding; looks very promising, especially since the official site has a section devoted to user-made mods} remains to be seen), however, so don't go into GalCiv looking for a vastly unfolding story, like in an RPG. ;)

The starting of any game has oodles of customizations. You get to pick your Political Party, which has its own inherent bonuses, as well as 10 Ability Points to be spent in a multitude of different Abilities, to further customize your race. Then, you get to fiddle with Galaxy Size (everything from Tiny to Huge, which is EXACTLY as the name implies; GalCiv boasts that it could take months to complete a "Huge" Galaxy, and although I think that's a stretch, I'd say you're looking at at LEAST a multi-week campaign), Star System orientation (Scattered, Loose Cluster, Tight Cluster), and Habitable Planet occurence (from Rare to Abundant). Then you get into the AI Race customization, where although you don't have as many options, you still get a good number: which races you play against, their alignment, and their intelligence (AI is exceptionally difficult; just as the game boasts, they play more like Humans than Computers). You don't get to switch around the Races, as there are only 6 Major Races (including you), but you can turn on and off the occurrence of them. However, don't think that's all there is. It's not. ;)

Once you actually get through all that and into the actual game, the REAL fun starts (as if it wasn't fun already ;)). Be forewarned, however - the 5 other Major Races are NOT the only entities you will see. Minor Races will crop up from time to time, either just by colonizing a previously-uncolonized world, or as a result of Rebellion from another planet (it could even be your own!). These races, while typically weak throughout the game, act just as any of the Major Races would. They just lack the multitude of Star Systems that the Major Races get. Otherwise, they get the same Techs, Ships, etc. You will find them sending Freighters filled with Trade Goods to Star Systems controlled by any of the Major Races, so you will definitely find yourself crossing paths with them - be it on friendly, or unfriendly, terms. :) You start off with a minimal setup - a Science Vessel-esque ship (I forget the name; how bad is that? :(), and a Colony Ship, as well as one Star System - Sol. Then, it's a race to grab as many of the BEST Star Systems as possible. This is NOT a game where "He who owns most wins". If you pick lousy planets to colonize, you WILL lose - planets that are sub-par actually COST MONEY just for Life Support to sustain a population, and a world that is too low in quality will end up bleeding your pockets dry, instead of filling your coffers. Which is to say nothing of the Morale penalties for colonizing poor planets - if Morale gets too low, your colony(ies) may revolt, and become a new "Minor Race" of their own. Anything over 15 is habitable, but some planets (especially with good Tech Upgrades, and even moreso with good "Events") can get upwards of 40. Just as the old adage says: Quality over Quantity. ;)

One other thing to look out for, especially when colonizing: Influence. Influence makes the galaxy go 'round. It's even a Victory Condition (Cultural Victory), and it can make or break your game. Controlling sectors is VITAL, especially when you have colonizations in those sectors. If you have colonized planets in a star system(s) that resides in a sector owned by another of the Major Races, you're going to be in for some trouble. Your colonies, if the alien's Influence becomes to great, could defect and join their cause! Not only would you lose your star system, but it gets handed over to the aliens, thereby strengthening them (or, if it's a truly poor colony, weakening them) and giving them even MORE influence! Just as the game says, it's something to watch out for on both an offensive AND defensive side. Influence is important, but it's only one of many big factors in your game. It's a way to win the game, but not the only way - not by far. The more influence you have, the more power you wield in the United Planets (think the U.N., only more powerful ;)). This can lead to any number of things, from restrictions on Evil races (like limiting their Trade routes, or banning the use of Terror Stars - technological monstrosities that are eerily reminiscent of the Death Star) to bonuses on your economy (Sure, I'll run that Intergalactic Zoo! No problem! ;)). You are, of course, free to leave the U.P. at any time, but the perks of it IMO outweigh the perks of leaving - unless you're finding their rulings not in your favor. ;) Once you get enough influence in the Galaxy, you can control the U.P. completely, since there won't be enough opposition to stop you. After all, majority rules. ;) There's a lot more to this game than just influence and culture, though. Such as military. :D

Choose the route of galactic domination, and you can very easily find yourself ruling the starry skies. It's no cakewalk, especially if you're a poor diplomat - Good races tend to dislike Evil races, and will very often end up banding together to wipe you off the map. OTOH, being powerful, especially while being a Good (i.e. eliminating Evil races, while helping Good races), can be quite rewarding. Every so often, a race will pop in to say "Hey, we love you so much, oh Big Strong Humans who could crush us in an instant, we want to give you this money for a couple months to show our appreciation!". Truly a rewarding experience. And being a mighty Military has other perks, too: nobody else messes with you. ;) When you're militarily weak, you'll often find yourself being pushed around - by both Good and Evil races. After all, why not? They can, so they do! ;) If you're the big, bad king of the skies, though, why would they oppose you? If you're clearly stronger than they are, unless they have a serious grudge against you (be it morally, or because you just ticked them off over time), chances are they won't even try to touch you. It wouldn't make sense to. And if you decide to go on a conqeuring spree, you'll very often find your enemies surrendering to you - or to YOUR enemies! That's right, not only will races give in when they see all hope is lost, if they particularly hate you, they may pick someone they're friends with to surrender to, rather than give in to you! Just another thing to watch out for, and one more reason to stay on good terms with everyone. After all, why should everyone ELSE get to reap in the spoils of YOUR war? ;) You don't even have to destroy them, either, in order to get them to surrender. Oftentimes, simply cutting off their Trade routes (both incoming and outgoing), as well as eliminating their military might (both in space, and in orbiting planets) is enough to drain their morale and economy enough for them to simply say "You win". More often they'll simply plead for a Peace Treaty, during which you can usually exploit them for your own gain ("Sure, I'll lay off, if you hand over this tech and 100 bc a month for ten years."). Repeatedly wearing down on them, however, can ultimately lead to them simply throwing in the towel. And, depending on how your relations are with the other races (and more importantly, how THEIR relations were with your now-defunct enemy), you could see a siginificant improvement, or detriment, to your overall standings with the rest of the races.

Which leads us to another very big chunk of the game: Diplomacy. Diplomacy is more than just barter and trade (although that plays a BIG role in it). It's also being able to bend the will of the other races (both Major and Minor) to YOUR will. Have someone you just don't like, but aren't ready to make a move against? Want to wear down on TWO enemies at once? Or just happen to be utterly evil and perverse, and want to use the Galaxy as your own private combat arena? Persuade another race to go to war, and sit back and watch! :) That's right, you can influence other races into war, peace, or even alliances! All through the intricate art of Diplomacy. Diplomacy is most notable when it comes to trading - the higher your Diplomacy skill, the more you can gain in exchange for less. Hand over a few medium or good techs in exchange for that oh-so-coveted Star System you've been dying to get your hands on. Or, drop a little change in their purse to snatch up that ever-difficult-to-research Tech you've been dreaming about. On bad terms with someone? On good terms, but want to kiss up a bit? Hand over something for free. Keep doing it, and you'll find your relations with them steadily improving. Want to piss someone off into starting a war with you, just so you can crush them like a bug? Make constant demands of them, eroding their patience with you until they crack and commit war. You can do it all with Diplomacy. Make friends, make enemies, do whatever. Sometimes, if you're just on good (or bad) terms with someone, they'll join your cause just because! If they happen to have a dislike for a race, and you just happen to go to war with said race, there's a good chance your friends will join in the war against your common enemy, to help speed along their demise. And, on the flip side of the coin, if you're a superior power in the galaxy, you may find your friends coming to you pleading for aid against a more powerful race. Hand over free techs, money, starships, or even Star Systems to aid their cause and keep them alive. Or, butter up their opposition and get them to sign a Peace Treaty with your friend, thereby ending the war. The world is your stage, and Diplomacy is your puppet strings. :)

Then there's all the techs. The tech tree is anything but - it's more like a jungle, a bush, a vine's nest, filled with intertwining and interdependent techs and research paths. Ultimately, it's best to stick to one or two "trees", or sections, of the Tech tree, rather than try to be a jack-of-all-trades. Otherwise, you'll find yourself being out-teched very quickly, despite how you may have a multitude of techs at your disposal. Ten crappy techs do not necessarily outweigh one good tech, especially in trade. Everything from Weapons research to Industrialism; from Medical advancements to Trade and Diplomacy. You can rule the skies - with sword or pen - with all the different Techs at your disposal. And if you're weak in a particular area, you can always trade techs with other Races. This not only harbors good relations, it also enables you to get a leg up on areas you were previously behind in. Techs are a vital source to any campaign, no matter what style of play - and ultimate goal - you're shooting for.

Of course, there's even MORE to this game. It's VERY macro-oriented, and this becomes a BOON when you start playing the larger galaxies (Huge galaxies have 24 x 24 Sectors, IIRC - that's 576 total sectors; each sector can contain anywhere from 0 - 4+ planets; you do the math). Control your Economy across the galaxy through multiple sliders. Asign a Governor to your worlds to control build order for Social Projects, or to quickly swap what Ships are being built. Check stats on your relations with other races, your overall standings, and your current Trade routes. Make peace, make war. Lower taxes, increase spending. Drop Military production in favor of Research advancement. You can, of course, play on a micro-level (to a point), but as the game goes on, you'll find yourself appreciating the flow of the macro-management style. And the Expansion Pack looks to add to your abilities of macro-management, adding such things as Rally Points, among others.

This game is both very simple and VASTLY complex. It offers literally thousands of different playstyles, and all that's with just the stock, out-of-the-box game. Modding, if my initial gimpses are correct, is a walk in the park, and the open-ended gameplay and multitude of customization options leaves a galaxy of options for Variant play (pardon the pun ;)). All-in-all, a very solid, fun game that will give you nearly-endless replay value. If TBS games are your thing, anyway. ;)

The developers are very motivated, very down-to-earth, and are VERY intent on hearing what the fans say. Not only that, they're always working on improving the game. And, not only do they have a FREE Bonus Pack out, and not ONLY is there a FREE EXpansion Pack already in the works, but they have promised ("budgeted", mind you) a full YEAR's worth of enhancements and additions to keep the game solid and fun. And, probably one of the most unique and inspirational aspects I've ever seen (IF they pull it off) - the Multiverse. Players submit their scores and are ranked among the rest of their fellow players, along with a host of other things designed for and around the Multiverse (guilds are quite popular already). But that's all beside the point: they intend to use the Multiverse to devise gameplay strategies to incorporate into the computer's AI for future enhancements, to further bolster the AI and turn them into a more "human" player. So far, they've done an excellent job at making the computer AI play like a real human just out of the box. If they pull off their ultimate plans for the Multiverse and computer AI, it will certainly be worthwhile. Not to mention incredible. :)

It IS single-player only. It IS a TBS game. And it is not "THE PERFECT GAME". But it IS a good game, and well worth much more than the money you plunk down to buy it (NOT including the FREE Bonus packs, Expansion packs, etc. that they're already working on). If TBS is your thing, this game is definitely worth the money. Much like Morrowind, it's a brand new gem among the plethora of games available to us today.

(Note to self: use less emoticons. Now I KNOW this is a long post! ;))

[Roland]

Took me awhile to get this. I'm done with those boards, since N54 sucks so HORRIBLY that I can't even load pages. It's a wonder I even got that forum to load.

http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/messag...geid=1055184396

[Chaerophon]

Sounds pretty good, Roland, might have to have a look at it! What kind of a system am I going to need to run that puppy? Doesn't sound too memory/graphics/etc. intensive.

[Roland]

Minimum Requirements
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
PIII 600 MHz Processor or equivalent
128 MB RAM
DirectX 8.1
8 MB Video Card

Recommended Requirements
PIII 1.0 GHz or equivalent
256 MB RAM
DirectX 8.1
16 MB Video Card

Not too hefty. The only big requirement is the processor, but even that isn't too bad. The RAM and video card requirements are light (equivalent of D2, IMO, although not nearly as graphically intensive), at least. It's certainly not a graphically intensive game, by any standards, but it IS graphically pleasing, IMO. Simplistic yet appealing. :)

$40 retail, at least where I got it. Worth every penny though. Well worth my money, anyway. ;)

[Kevin]

While I appreciate the info, and yes I did read it all, it didn't answer the question I wanted answered because well I didn't ask the right question. :) So, I will ask some more specific stuff to try and avoid that problem.

How does the interface feel? One of my biggest problems with MOO3 is the UI is poor, too many thing require too much "drilling" to get to. Too many things take 6 to 10 mouse clicks when it could have been done in 2 to 4. MOO3 also suffers from some of it is macro, some of it is micro, and for me what you have to micro is what I want to macro, and what I want to micro is what you have to macro. Ships and spies in MOO3 are micro, at least I consider it micro, and most of how they work is not fun. Control over what to build has to be done in micro, which sucks, I want to say to be able to say "I need 15 of these ships" and then the AI looks and says, these are the best planets to do it at so I'll get on that. Better would be, I wan 15 of these by this time so that I can have a macro influence on overdriving production. You can't do that. So, MOO3 forces you to micro some of that, when you should be able to macro it. I realize that in CalCiv things work a bit different, but hopefully that gives you an idea of what my problem is so you can maybe let me know if I will encounter it in CalCiv.

Other problems with MOO3 that I am hoping to not see are getting around the galaxy. While it is fixed in the code patch, you could only see plant names at the closest zoom levels, and while you could turn on empire flags to see what kind of influence people had where it still was not a good feedback. The game needs a toggle to put the color of the empire around the star system so that you know who the hell controls it. I don't mind the galaxy being so large that you have to scroll around it, but I hated that in order to get any feedback on who controlled what you had to play zoomed all the way in and scroll a crap load. I need high level feedback on what is going on in the galaxy in order to manage stuff. Can you at least easily see who has the most influenc in this area and the neighboring areas without a lot of scrolling and trying to remember, etc?

MOO3 has a more complex diplomacy system than the previous games, but it somewhat nebulous. It can be hard to tell why someone is happy or pissed at you, and relations can still go from really good friends to a state of war in a turn or two without any real reasons or indications as to why. The trading of techs and info in MOO3 isn't all that bad but some of the rest of the diplomacy is so frelled up it makes it annoying. Does GalCiv suffer from very erratic diplomacy?

Is the GalCiv UI customizable at all? Some of the MOO3 stuff would be much better if I could change it around a bit so that the stuff I care about is easier to get to. MOO2 handled the interface soo much better I thought, and it wasn't great.

Ah well. I think that covers more of my direct concerns, that I hope you can provide feedback on. If not, oh well, you provided a bunch of great information already.

[Chaerophon]

Not bad at all - however, now that even the games that AREN'T graphically intensive have moved beyond the capabilities of my system, I think that it is definitely time to upgrade :) (or at least use my girlfriend's computer at school which is more than capable)

[Roland]

I just lost that track, and went off to a new one. ;)

How does the interface feel?

Godly. The interface is smooth as silk and easy as a slide. I kid you not. It's one thing I just LOVE about the game. It's so easy to use, so NATURAL, I can't imagine it any other way.

Ships and spies in MOO3 are micro, at least I consider it micro, and most of how they work is not fun.

Ships are not built in the same way they are in MoO3. You don't custom-build your ships; they have pre-set ships that you research through Tech. Everyone has the same ships, so there's no worry about how you should outfit your ships, either. Keep in mind, though, that combat is also very different. But I'll get to that later. As you research through the ships, you CAN manually assign each individual planet to create a ship (micro), OR, you can use the wonderful Governor (which you can also assign to individual Planets, although the default is for ALL planets; assigning to individual planets takes a small bit of micro, but it saves you a ton, since it's still all automated after that ;)) to quickly change your planets Military project build queue. You can have all your planets that are building Star Fighters, for example, switch to building Corvettes, with just 3 simple clicks. (Select Star Fighter, select Corvette, click "Swap". It's that easy.) As for spying, it works differently than in MoO3. There's two sliders, much like in MoO, that you use to control the amount of funds (direct, not percentage-wise) you wish to devote towards a particular race. Espionage is the art of gathering intel on the race. You'll find out things like how their political party is faring, whether someone is paying them tribute to keep the peace, etc. Destabalize is the other option. This one is much more straight forward: you pay to disrupt their colonies, in the hopes of getting them to rebel against their former race, and thus creating a new "Minor Race". You don't steal techs, and you don't sabotage buildings. But you CAN find out intel on them (mostly diplomatic information, but sometimes you'll get lucky with an "Event", saying something like "Our spies have been working with the Carinoids {a Minor race}, and have found out that they have stolen all the Techs of the Drengin Empire. They are eager to trade these Techs with us, and are particularly interested in gaining Star Systems"), and you can disrupt their planets, thus forcing their Star Systems into rebellion and weakening their power (while at the same time giving you a new race to trade with, conquer, etc.).

While it is fixed in the code patch, you could only see plant names at the closest zoom levels

In all honesty, I can't remember if it displays Star System names in the main screen or not. I think it does, though. I know it does NOT display it on the mini-map, but it DOES display who owns what (through color-coding).

while you could turn on empire flags to see what kind of influence people had where it still was not a good feedback.

Influence plays a VERY big part in the game, and thus they incorporated it into the mini-map VERY well. Just about everything you could want, from Influence, to Ships and their Destinations, to Production on Star Systems, can be turned on or off on the mini-map via a series of buttons. I always keep Ships, Destinations, and Influence checked on, as it allows me to take one glance at the map, and know exactly where everything is, and what I need to do.

The game needs a toggle to put the color of the empire around the star system so that you know who the hell controls it.

Each Star System that is controlled by someone is not only color-coded on the mini-map, it also hosts a color-coded Empire Flag that is displayed right on the Star System as you scroll around. There is no zooming required, although you CAN zoom in the game (typically not necessary, IMO), on the mini-map.

Can you at least easily see who has the most influenc in this area and the neighboring areas without a lot of scrolling and trying to remember, etc?

Through the mini-map, and through the MULTITUDE of interfaces and menus, you can see EXACTLY what you want to, everywhere. It's truly beautiful how well they did the interface, at least IMO. And, players are constantly adding on to the "Wanted Features" list, which is just one more great thing because of the level of ONGOING support the dev team is giving this game. Already I've watched the game improve in several small changes since I got it, and that was only a few days ago.

MOO3 has a more complex diplomacy system than the previous games, but it somewhat nebulous. It can be hard to tell why someone is happy or pissed at you, and relations can still go from really good friends to a state of war in a turn or two without any real reasons or indications as to why.

This is mostly a non-issue. If someone is pissed at you, you'll know why. When someone demands tribute from you, if you refuse, it ticks them off. Repeated refusals will drag you into a war. If you're allied with someone, and they have a squabble with someone else and end up going to war, they will come to you and say "Honor our alliance and join the war, or we will break the alliance". Stick with the alliance, and you're suddenly at war with someone, even if you were friends with them moments before! Break the alliance, and your once-friends will be very upset with you. One of the victory conditions for the game is to unite everyone under a common Alliance. That is, everyone is allied with you. That is one way to win the game, although I have found it to be very difficult. If you choose the cultural / diplomatic side of the game, you'll find yourself trading techs or money between races just to create Peace Treaties, so wars are quickly squashed. ;) Conversely, you could of course always encourage war, and sometimes that's an even easier way of getting an Alliance victory: kill off all the Evil races, and then get the Good races to join up with you. :) Or vice versa. Suffice it to say, diplomacy is done VERY well in GalCiv. It's such an INTEGRAL part of the game, they had to do it right. And they did. The other big factor in relations is how you yourself are. If you're Evil in a galaxy of mostly Good races, you're gonna be hard-pressed to make friends with said Good races. And the converse is also true. However, races of your moral line will typically like you, or at least not be angry with you. Your morality plays a BIG role in who likes you and who doesn't, although it's not too often that any race will go to war with you "just because", unless they feel they can gain from you (i.e. they are a much stronger power than you). One random thing, though: certain events cause random wars, usually because "while ambassadors from A and B sat down to dinner, Ambassador A insulted ambassador B. The result spiraled out of control and into war." Things like that happen, although not often. But, wars are not endless. If neither side is getting anywhere, or if one side is significantly losing, you'll often find it MUCH easier to make peace. Oftentimes, if you're beating them, or at least not losing, they'll come to you asking to make peace, since they don't want to fight anymore. You won't suddenly be all buddy-buddy, but you also won't be hated. You'll just be on poorer grounds than if the war hadn't started.

Is the GalCiv UI customizable at all? Some of the MOO3 stuff would be much better if I could change it around a bit so that the stuff I care about is easier to get to.

Not to my knowledge. But then, you shouldn't really need it. It's all VERY simple, very easy to use, and it all makes so much sense. I find myself FLYING through the menus like they were a native language. They're just that good. :)

Ah well. I think that covers more of my direct concerns, that I hope you can provide feedback on. If not, oh well, you provided a bunch of great information already.

Always glad to help, especially with this game. I WANT this game, and this company, to succeed. They've done a wonderful job, and I look forward to supporting them for a long time. My experience with the MoO series is very limited (own 1 and 2, although can't play 2 due to mouse issues, for some reason; don't own 3), and even worse with the Civ series (never played a single one, nor do I own any of them), but I'll give the best impressions and comparisons I can. :)

[Roland]

Just like MoO3, the game is VERY customizable. Everything from Ships, to Anomalies, to Political Parties. You name it, and yuo can probably customize it. :) You can't beat that, now can ya? :D