Glad to hear this - I jumped in on the elite package assuming this would be the case, but got a little worried when I real a few posts speculating about the possibility of real time segments in the game. I'm a turn based guy, all the way - hope they keep it that way!
Hoping for no real time at all - just about any turn based option I would be willing to give a shot, but haven't yet seen a real time combat engine I like. I don't want any RTS in my TBS.
I have to admit - not three days ago, I swore I'd never pre-order again, after feeling disappointed with a game I thought would be a sure thing. Now, not even a week later - well, you see the badge... :) However, in this case: 1) I am a HUGE fan of 4x games 2) I am in desperate need of a good TBS game - and hopeful this will be it 3) I feel Stardock has been trustworthy in their dealings, and I'
Well, just to give you the devil's advocate view - one of the things I disliked greatly with Civ V (and the reason I went back to and stayed with IV) was some of the mechanics you mentioned. I hated them.... Not saying there couldn't be mechanics to make a smaller empire a viable option - and at this stage, with no info on gameplay, all we can do is speculate on GalCiv III. I do remember creating a custom race in GalCiv II built around rap
So, for preorders, assuming they ARE available through steam - I assume we'll be alerted via email when alpha is available and manage the downloads via steam? (edit: my mistake; I just realized this isn't really the right thread for the question as the OP was hoping against a steam version... :) guess I've just become accustomed to managing some of my steam content, so though I'm not a diehard fan, it doesn't really bug me anymor