Galciv3 Gameplay suggestions

from GalCiv3 Forums

Galciv2 (Star Trek vs Star Wars) has been my 4x game of choice for years and I still play it.

Picked up Galciv3 as part of the Steam sale and have played a couple of games so I still have much to learn.

 

My overall impression is that Galciv3 is a work in progress with DLC's and Mods to fine tune the game.

I see the MP focus and understand the change in game play to accommodate MP games.

Galciv3 has a better trading interface and the customization options are fantastic - I LOVE OPTIONS and modding to suit my play style.

I appreciate the larger memory space allowing larger games maps, more races, ship options - way to make that hardware work.

 

There are a couple game play issues with Galciv3 that are frustrating and reducing my 'fun'.

Please consider changing the following:

 

1. Allow players to group fleets and assign a key to quick-snap to them.

     For example: (Control+F1) to create a group and press F1 to snap to that fleet.  This is important for larger maps.

 

2. When exploring with a Survey module and you encounter pirates the game should snap to the ship and location so you can tell what kind of ship it is.

     I've lost at least ten non-combat survey vessels to pirates at anomalies because I guessed wrong on which ship was encountering which anomaly.

 

3. Host the best YouTube 'how to play' and 'tips' videos on the Stardock website.

     It seems the best way to learn the fundamentals is to watch YouTube videos. Contact the publishers, I'm sure they would give you permission.

     At least link to them in a really obvious part of the Galciv3 website.

 

4. Pirates are fun and their implementation has been good.  I like having a group of pirates destroy some of my vessels early on and then swoop in to mop them up later in the game.  I also like that they can prevent / delay development of parts of the galaxy with their presence.

     I'd just ask for more customization options regarding how common (where) or how aggressive pirate activity is.

     I'd like Pirates to shake you down and give you the option to pay them to not destroy your vessel that turn.

 

5. I'd like to see this game sold on GOG.com

 

 

Like I stated at the top, I'm new to Galciv 3 and appreciate the development of this franchise.  I've still got things to learn about the game and hope it has the chance to reach its full potential. Keep up the great work.

9,762 views 7 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

#5 is not happening, GOG doesn't allow games that use DRM, and GC3 uses Steamworks.

Reply #2 from GalCiv3 Forums Top


3. Host the best YouTube 'how to play' and 'tips' videos on the Stardock website.
End of quote

My experience/belief is Stardock have little to no interest in YouTubers other than with reviewers like Total Biscuit and Angry Joe to sell their games initially.

That being said they do have a "Pinned Post" for "User Created Videos" (they are not Nintendo luckily) in the GCIII General Forum.  Took me a while to find the thread myself actually.

https://forums.galciv3.com/452890/page/1/#3579373

You can find my Let's Plays and Guide videos on reply #18, I think I've created more content for the game on YouTube than anyone else all hardest difficulty, no super recent content (recent patches haven't changed much though imo) waiting for Stardock to patch the game, sort out micromanagement issues etc. currently, before I think about making more content.

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/MacsenGaming

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

"Galciv2 (Star Trek vs Star Wars) has been my 4x game of choice for years and I still play it."

 

How, I always had data-leak problems so the game would crash after 50 or so turns. Can you share your files?

Reply #4 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

How, I always had data-leak problems so the game would crash after 50 or so turns. Can you share your files?

Yeah, I can give you advice on how to get the GALCIV2 Star Trek vs Star Wars MOD running. 

Keep in mind that I was running it on XP with the limited memory space but it ran better on 8.1/10.

There are four main things to do in combination that made it work.

#1. Add " /LARGEADDRESSAWARE" to the shortcut to allow it to access additional RAM

#2. Limit the size of the maps you play on - NEVER select the largest (Immense) map under any circumstance.

#3. Tweak your display settings under the OPTIONS menu.  Play with LOW quality video and try reducing the display options. I suspect it was a video memory issue that was causing the crashes after 50 turns or so.

#4. Remove most / ALL ships from the MOD, delete the designs.  Yes the Borg and Federation ships look nice but there are so many that they slow the game and eventually crash it.

 

I also strongly suggest Auto-saving the game every two turns while you are tweaking your Options to find the right mix for your machine.

I spent about a week tweaking the game and have been crash free for over a year.  I play Gigantic maps with 8 NPC races and all the minors without issue.

 

I could share my files with you but I have altered the MOD to suit my style.

For example I felt the tech development was too fast - even on Very Slow tech games.  So I altered the MOD manually to reduce tech development by 50%.

I now play on Normal or Slow tech development and it proceeds at an appropriate pace for the style of game I like (large maps with lots of enemies on a Crippling or harder game).

 

GalCiv2 with the Star Trek vs Star Wars MOD is a wonderful game once you configure it to avoid the memory crashes.

Yes that takes some patience but it is worth it!!!

Reply #5 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Hi MacsenLP:

If you are right about Stardock'[s approach to YouTuber's... well that is unfortunate.  A lost opportunity for them.

While I understand that the internet is not generally a friendly place and everyone is a critic, the YouTube video's featuring their games are created by FANS.

I hope they will come around and realize that although you cannot control the net you can support the people who support your products.

 

They don't need to invest much in the tutorials if they ask someone to create a YouTube video for them and post / share it.

As a new player I found the YouTube videos to be really informative and a good use of my time.

I want to understand the new game play and the mechanics.  Sure some of those videos are too long but I'd hope Stardock would support the best ones.

 

Personally I want to thank all those people who took the time to play, talk and share their experiences with GalCiv3.

What will make this game an all-time great is a strong community of people to give feedback and develop the game to suit different play styles.

 

Heck, Stardock should have create a video contests within the community to encourage engagement and help people learn about specific parts of the game.

I'd love to see short tutorials on the different aspects of the game like:

- Trade

- Diplomacy

- Ship Combat

- Ground Combat

- Research

- Planetary Tile placement strategies

Reply #6 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting ojdrew, reply 5

I'd love to see short tutorials on the different aspects of the game like:

- Trade

- Diplomacy

- Ship Combat

- Ground Combat

- Research

- Planetary Tile placement strategies
End of ojdrew's quote

 

All of that's basically covered in my Let's Plays, not in concise form I guess but it's in there.  If/when I get back to making guide videos there's some good ideas there thanks.

 

Planetary Tile Management I did a guide on the video is mostly about adjacency and the basics from memory.  Specialize your planets and get as much adjacency bonuses as you can is pretty much what it boils down too.

 

 

There's very little content being made for GCIII on YouTube it's been like that for a while.  I could give reasons why I believe that is, I don't think it's a healthy implication for the games future personally.  There is still some interest in the game, my videos views went up a noticeably when the Steam Sale was on (not as much as previous sales) and I've been getting requests to do more content.

The fact that many people seem to be evaluating a purchase of the game based at least in part on watching YouTube videos would make you think Stardock might take more of an interest.  I'm not even sure if anyone has covered any of their DLC if they have its probably under 500 sub channels if that.

Reply #7 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Generally agree.

1. 7/10. Yep!
2. 6/10. Yea
3. 3/10.  Address gameplay, MP, stability, UI, bugs first.
4. 5/10. I guess. Although this affects only a small section of game time.
5. 1/10. But it's not an old game?  It's a new game...