JD28

Reply to "Cheating A.I." and how to "cheat" (mostly for newer players) in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

I have noticed income loss when moving the sliders around, especially in larger empires. Perhaps it depends on how your economy has developed over the game, and how the sliders have been arranged during that development. All guesses, to be sure. But I'd rather run 33/33/34 at 100 spending than run some other ratio at a lesser rate of spending due to income loss. For me, that loss seemed greatest when I reduced the social element... JD

Reply to Terror Stars! Now with pleasure palace and waterslide!!! in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Hey, there IS a search function. Weird...

Reply to "Cheating A.I." and how to "cheat" (mostly for newer players) in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Havo, THe 80 military/20 research split is for the early game only, and should allow you to crank out a colony ship every 3 turns from earth. As for later, it's difficult for me to make suggestions based on what your wrote (somewhat vague--that's ok), but let's say you really, REALLY need a fleet of dreadnoughts. Furthermore, let's say that you've also pretty much built all of the useful social projects. I would set my sliders at 40-50 military/15-20 social, 25-35 research.

Reply to Terror Stars! Now with pleasure palace and waterslide!!! in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Ah, I apologize then for repeating words already spoken, but I don't make it a point to read the entirety of the boards. The terror star exploit wouldn't be so, well, exploitable, if the alien civs would react to my obvious culture attack. Sigh... JD

Reply to "Cheating A.I." and how to "cheat" (mostly for newer players) in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Oops, forgot about diplomacy! Making it quick: Military techs trade at a premium, so sell them DISCRIMINATELY to other civs whenever possible, and don't trade for them yourself. Also, if you trade to one civ (say 2d phasing), trade it to all civs as the prostitutes will trade it to each other anyway. Just make sure that you reserve your best military tech for yourself... That is all, JD

"Cheating A.I." and how to "cheat" (mostly for newer players) in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Okay... Just need to say that I'm growing somewhat tired of hearing folks whine about how the "a.i. is cheating" just because they are repeatedly getting smoked in their games. Chances are, you're either not effectively managing your economy or you're not using diplomacy to your advantage. I'm not expert, and I'm having some trouble with the darned metaverse, but here's what I've learned and read in other posts about helpful strategies any level up to intelligent (have yet to

Terror Stars! Now with pleasure palace and waterslide!!! in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Hey all, Recently, I built a Terror Star to teach the Altairans a lesson for their arrogance in attacking me. They lost about 5 systems, but, more importantly, my terror star acquired a movement rate of 6 during its assault. Perhaps it was movement bonuses from my techs, maybe it was all the military upgrades to the terror star, but I was under the impression that the star was forever stuck at a movement of 1...any similar experiences/thoughts on this? Also: found a

Reply to Any tips for the early game? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

SpringSTNYC, I tried the following suggestions from others and they seem to be working on the intelligent level. First, expand, expand, expand. The first few months/years (depending on galaxy size) are all about property. You want to be cranking out the colony ships as fast as you can. Although you can buy them, this will saddle you with debt. I prefer to change mili/soc/research to 75/25. Others prefer 80/20, but do whatever suits your taste. Crank your taxes as

Kudos to you! in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

I understand there's already a similar thread, but I wanted to emphasize one point in particular. Two things make a game great: 1) The game itself, and 2) Developer support. Galciv is an amazing game, and I know it because I will say "just one more turn" until the birds are singing outside and I need to be at work in three hours. But I am exceptionally grateful for the amount of support from Frogboy and the other developers. It's not often that the lead developer for a projec

Reply to Where do I find "sdcentral" for the patch? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Thank you, tigs. :D JD

Where do I find "sdcentral" for the patch? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Avatar Frogboy and others have already acknowledged the speed advantage bug in the abilities screen (it doesn't work). Frogboy suggested "sdcentral" for the fix. Could tell me where and how to find it? Thanks, JD

Reply to Semantics or did I live too sheltered of a life as a child? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Windscion, No, quoting him does not appear to, but if you look at the meaning of the words themselves and not the source (either Lord Voldemort or the "children's book, whichever you're taking issue with), it makes an interesting point within the context of the game. Whether the Galciv player is portraying a "good" or "evil" civilization, both are actively trying to win the game. This is achieved through power, either of the military sort or of the cultural influence variety.

Reply to Was I ripped off in the abilities screen? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Sweet. Thank you, BoogieBac! -JD

Reply to Built and used my first Terror Star last night in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Yes, you need to upgrade a starbase with several terror star modifications, I believe the exact number was four. In addition, the game prompted me to pay 5,000 b.c. to complete construction of the base. While this is expensive, I like the idea because it prevents the MOO 2 syndrome of the large civilizations having 30 "death stars." They SHOULD be rare. Unfortunately, the damned things fly at 1 parsec a turn, so build close to the enemy star systems and make sure you protect

Reply to the AI DOES cheat in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Bonkku, When I first played the game, I was missing the absence of any kind of published tech tree. In my first game, I was guessing and fumbling my way through the tree and finding some techs too early and others way too late. But, as I played on, I realized that I was having a blast figuring out the nuances of this great game. You may be different, but I have no desire to read through tables and graphs of explicit game mechanics. I suppose it's similar to prefering Playboy

Was I ripped off in the abilities screen? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

So I downloaded 1.01 and was pleasantly surprised with the new ability choices. "OOO!" I think. "Speed +1! My ships will move one more parsec every month...think of the possibilities." So I pick it and discover that it did not help me at all. My colony ships and constructors still moved at their normal rates, even though the ability clearly describes ships "moving 1 more parsec per month." Anyone else notice this? JD

Reply to Semantics or did I live too sheltered of a life as a child? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Lastpick, Interesting point. "Good" and "evil" are subjective terms meaning different things to everyone. In Galciv, an evil civilization will exploit its civilian population to gain an advantage, whereas a good one will suffer economically to protect it. In terms of instigating a war, I see no reason why a "good" civilization would not start one. When you say that you did not provoke the Altarians, how do you know? Perhaps you have a base they covet. Perhaps th

Reply to Just got the game....now to get started...one piece of advice needed though., in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Fludlerk, Definitely load in the patch. Among other things, it tones down some of the unbalanced random events that can wreck your game. It also defuses the "technology trader" abusive strategy detailed elsewhere on the boards. Have fun with the game! JD

Reply to Saint alterian using terror stars !! in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Interesting thread. I suppose that would depend on your definition of "good" vs. "evil." I don't need a philosophic conversation in the galciv forum, but I think that Ancient Warrior makes an excellent point. Throughout history, civilizations have fought wars and committed vicious attacks in the name of good. In World War II, Allied bombers flatted the German cities(and I mean bombed to rubble) of Dresden and many others. True, they were industrial centers, but the civilian

Reply to Bug Reports in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Possible bug, but I haven't been able to (nor do I want to try) repeat it. I stacked a fleet together consisting of 26 ships. I click next turn. The stacked fleet then had only 15 ships or so. There were no reports of enemy engagements, but no sign of the missing ships in either the map or in the fleet management menu. Maybe it was all the crack I smoke, but has anyone else seen this bug?

Reply to Terror Stars in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Yes, Dearmad, constructor improvements to the terror stars would be welcome, and I'd take the movement of 3 over the current snail's pace any day. But one terror star should definitely be a HUGE deal, which is why they are appropriately expensive. I don't want the MOO 2 syndrome in which each civ has thirty "death stars." Also, Dearmad, as I stated, I built the terror star within 7 parsecs of the target,and it took 7 turns (months) to arrive. That is all fine and good, but af

Reply to Suggestions in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

God, I'm critical today :) Also, when a colony finished building something, the game brings up a menu notification. Sometimes the menus contains several notifications (i.e., colony 1: Constructor, colony 2: Defender, colony 3: Colony ship). Maybe I'm a sub-normal moron, but I find it difficult keeping track off all my respective colonies' locations. It's not like Civilization III in that there is no geography or landmarks to help me identify colonies. To allevi

Reply to Suggestions in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

One more thing: One of the daunting tasks in Galciv is keeping track of my ships, especially once I pass the one hundred ship range. While the ship listing helps somewhat, I have some ideas as how to organize the information in a more user-friendly manner. First, let me name the fleets. Second, let the fleets appear in the ship listing: Fleet Ticonderoga -Battleship Redoubt -Battleship Avenger -Battlecruiser Intre

Reply to Suggestions in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Hi, love the game. That being said, although I've posted this rant elsewhere, I was disappointed to find that my beloved terror star, for which I used 4 or 5 constructors and spent 5,000 b.c., would take approximately 3 YEARS to reach the target. No fun at all. It would be simpler and quicker to a) conquer the target via transports, or b) culturally assimilate it. While both strategies are viable, I wanted to experience the sadistic pleasure of detonating a star. Call me sic

Terror Stars in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

First, love the game. Second, I was saddened to learn about the complete impotence of the terror star. Since it has a movement of 1, and is typically constructed in the late game, it usually requires years to reach a destination. Even if I construct it near the enemy target system, the death star (oops, terror star) is useless after its one year journey to the target. So for 5,000 b.c. and 4 or 5 constructors, I get a pretty orb and bragging rights. Whoopee. Please