I'm having trouble getting into Galciv2

Well, at least you're being honest. If this is your first ever TBS, welcome to the genre! I actually started my computer gaming career on TBS games back in 1992 with the original Master of Orion, so I'm not entirely sure how to guide you into this game.

It's different than most of the other games it sounds like you've played. You have to get into the proper mindset first. You're not the pilot of a single ship or the commander of a single force. You are responsible for the fate of your entire civilization (at least in the sector you are playing in). Once you take that to heart, it should be easier to see where the draw is. GalCiv2 has the "one more turn" syndrome in spades, but you have to play for a while to get into it.

As far as the graphics go, I think that may be your system. I find the graphics to be pretty good. Not the top-of-the-line, but it's not meant to be. Also, you'll be glad to know that at least as of the latest Dark Avatar expansion pack beta, you can zoom in and out of the Tech Tree to get a larger picture of it. That may have been added by 1.04X but I really can't remember. And also, that's another thing -- if you haven't done so yet, update your game to the latest retail build. You could call it a "patch" but that's inaccurate -- there's nothing wrong with the game as you buy it from retail, but the 1.04X update contains many wonderful additions developed by the fans and developers after the game was released.

As far as hitting the turn button goes, you will be doing that quite a bit. It is a turn-based game after all. Seriously though, I think you should try to go ahead and up the settings. If you are playing on Cakewalk on tiny galaxies, there won't be much to do. Try making a Medium or Large galaxy and put the AI opponents on a harder setting. I think you'll see that things get much more tough and interesting as you do this. You'll have to manage trade routes, use diplomacy to make tech trades and keep the other civs off your back and do all sorts of things besides just fighting. Give that a try and feel free to post again if you don't find yourself being sucked in.

Turn-based games can be difficult to get into. My 14yr old son would rather play a first person shooter any day. Much of the action in GalCiv 2 (at least for me) takes place in your head while you are planning strategy, building ships, etc. It is a much slower pace than other games you may have played.

The artificial intelligence in this game is very good. Not perfect, but good. Some of the things you may view as limitations (the combat system is often discussed) are the way they are to enable the AI to plan for them. If the game seems easy or simple move up a few difficulties. I played my first game at normal at beat the game to a pulp. I moved up to tough and got whupped. I'm playing at painful now and if I win this game I might move up one more.

Give it some time and good luck!

Turn based games can be easy to get into as well... this one is not that impressive.


I would try other titles in genre

I would also ignore him, as he has no idea what he's talking about, having barely given GalCiv2 a chance. He's a bitter individual whose opinion is best disregarded.

Orionsol -- you are entitled to your opinion, but don't be a dick and try to ruin it for other people, especially people just getting into the genre. I never understood why people who don't like a game have to come onto the game's forums to tell everyone that. Ok, great. You don't like the game. We all do. Now go find yourself a life and stop bothering us.

Thanks for your advice everyone I'm going to start a large map on a higher difficulty setting later tonight. I'll proberbly come back and say it's too hard haha
Also I have to agree with apoc, Orionsol I respect your opinion but I don't intend on giving up quite yet, if you don't like the game don't bother posting here.
I think this game does require the user to have a fair amount of imagination and intelligence to get the most out of it. I don't think I lack those attributes too badley, although I wouldn't say I was clever haha
I may well post here tomorrow with my findings, in the mean time thanks again!

Try going for an influence victory, or an alliance victory.

One nice thing about this game is that there are several ways to acheive victory, you are not limited to conquest.

You mentioned that conquest is fun, and that you have always gone that way.

Well, it is also the easiest if you have the might to back it up.
Try keeping the military might for defense, and go for one of the more difficult victories. You will still, no doubt, have a war thrust upon you. At least one. So you will still have your fun, but will be required to use diplomacy and influence much more.

This game is challenging enough that the military victory isn't necessarily the best one. Diplomatic is a tough one to get. Influence gets bad press here as "simple" but it's quite expensive and hard to do without triggering a war and getting a bunch of bases destroyed in the process. I personally turn off the "technology victory" because it doesn't seem fun. Looks more like a way out of a long game.

You could also try varying which race you play (each has different strengths), as well as your moral tendancies (good, neutral, evil). Again this gives the game good replayability since things can turn out different with different settings.

When I start a new game, I have an idea of how I want to win and what kind of a Galactic leader/dictator I want to be. Then as the game progresses, my strategy changes to meet the challenges I face.

In truth, if you've not played TBS games before, TBS may not be your cup of tea but can still be enjoyable. IMHO GalCiv2 is one of the best space-based 4X TBS games around. So this is as good as it gets for the genre!

Diplomatic is a tough one to get.

Oi, and then some, at least for some of us! I've been playing since near RTM for GCII and I've yet to get what I consider a "true" diplo win. The couple of technical wins I had were by virtue of me or an ally killing off the one or two AIs that insisted on bucking the tide in my favor.

@ Of Virtue: If you've always wanted a game that keeps making you re-think how you play, I think you'll be glad if you manage to peck away at this TBS strangeness until it starts making some sense to you.

I think the board game metaphor is espeically apt. If you've ever enjoyed an Avalon Hill game (War of the Roses anyone?) or played the *original* Civilization around a table with friends, GCII offers an awesome PC variation with a potentially vast board, thousands of pieces, and suprisingly effective AI opponents that play by the same rules you do.

I will be honest with you and say that X2 is a far more exciting game to get into than Galciv2. If your looking for the same thrill again, i don't think you will find it anywhare. X2 was one of those freakish 'haleluja' games. It really isn't fair to compare it to other games.

Here are some tips for making Galciv more exciting;
Form trade routes only with the Drengin empire (makes em super strong), don't use espionage or you will miss out on random event wars, Don't colonise too many planets - 3 or 4 good star systems is about all you need on a medium/large map.
Don't trade techs too much (makes it too easy) but also dont use the 'no tech trading' option or the AI will smash you like a bug. Try to research all techs before going on the offensive - by then the AI will have some awesome fleets.

enjoy!

I'm also new to the game, but I've been able to get into it quite easily. If you've played TBS before, your probably better of playing at a difficuly of at least Normal in this game for first timers, the AI is very tough after bright and intelligent levels. Also, you don't have to go for military. You can go for influence by setting up a bunch of starbases. Or diplomacy, by trying to be friends with races of your own ethical alignment. But, if you want a good challange, set everyone to either normal or bright or, if you think your comfortable with the game, on intelligent. At these levels, it takes more than just military to beat them. If you find it easy at low levels, just raise it significantly. I've been able to get some good games with the computers at Bright. Though this is my personal opinion, I think that a map size of at least Large, with all 10 races competing, is optimal if you want a good game.