First Impressions (Just Purchased Today)

from GalCiv2 Forums
First a minor gripe: In I.E. 7 and Firefox 2 using the Vista operating system the words when creating a post , such as "Title" are white on a white background. Annoying. Moving on.

I have to admit I've been eyeing Galactic Civilizations ever since it first popped onto the net many years ago but never bothered purchasing. That changed today when I read their stance on CD protection along with a post in this very forum where a developer replied within the first ten or so replies. On that information alone along with my archane knowledge of GalCiv 1 I bought the game. I'm actually still downloading it but I just wanted to publically let the developers know that when you put your players first some people ( i.e. people like me ) notice and even a few fanatics ( i.e. me again ) will purchase a game based solely off that. While I've been writing this I read a few reviews and it looks like I made a good decision based off the game as well.
2,717 views 5 replies
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The lack of invasive copy protection software is the main reason I tried GC2. Up until then, I hadn't really played any TBS games. However, I've enjoyed the game quite a bit and am pleased with the purchase. The only negative is that GC2 now requires the Stardock Central handler application to keep up with the latest updates and releases. It's not a "bad" program especially compared to things like StarForce and the like. It does add another layer of software, but offers some convenience.

Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
With SDC, you can run the program only when you want to check for an update, and the site usually lets you know when an update occurs.

Not intrusive at all. (at least to me) I'm sure the commerical CP crap takes up more space unless you pirate it out.

Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hello all, have been a lurker for quite some time. I too finally purchased the gold edition just a few days ago and I must say I am impressed. So far the game is living up to it's nicely established reputation. I have pretty much played these types of games since Civ 2 came out long ago, and this one is right there at the top of the list.

I have only played a few medium sized standard games at the normal difficulty level and now I am ready to turn it up a notch or two. What level would most of you suggest I try? I was thinking about going on the intelligent level now, playing as the Yor.

Looking forward to the challenge of a first try with no AI handicaps.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You'll find you can crank up the difficulty as you get your style of play nailed down. Personally, I start out on Normal and crank it up a notch every game until I start losing. Right now, I'm playing Dark Avatar on Tough with all races at the full intelligence the level allows. I think DA is generally harder than Dread Lords. I did eventually win a few Suicidal games in Dread Lords, but most of the time, I get creamed. I typically play Dread Lords on Masochistic, but don't give all the races the full intelligence. I usually pick one to be my "mashocistic level" opponent. I'll probably do that in Dark Avatar eventually, but for now, all races get full intelligence. My favorite race to play as in Dread Lords is the Yor. In Dark Avatar, I seem to be settling in on the Thalans.