Help out a GalCivII noob!

from GalCiv2 Forums
I come from a fairly strong CivIV background and I felt like changing things up, hence why I bought this game. So far, things seem fairly similar but very distinct, and I'm liking it so far.

My first question is where can I find beginners guides or extensive information about the game? I've read the one on the front page and while it gives out important information, it's still too basic. I know there are probably tons of stuff buried in the forums, but I was wondering if anyone could quickly link me to them :)

My second question is can I cut off or limit how much my population grows? It seems to me the biggest thing causing my economy to crash during early to mid-game is because my appeal drops dramatically. The cause of this drop is linked to a negative morale when a planet has a high population. I know you have to build buildings that increase morale, however, it seems I can't do this fast enough without wasting precious tiles to build other buildings. Things would be a lot easier for me if there was a function that temporarily caps off the population until I can research the next morale-based technology.

Thanks, Chris
5,316 views 15 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
There are a couple of decent write-ups here. Click on the FAQ tab. The one by cyberj914 is the one I can recommend. It's pretty out of date but is still a useful guide for starting out.

As far as CivIV is concerned it's a good foundation but you will be both surprised and shocked at how much more is involved with this game. IMHO there are far more ways to win in this game and almost infinite subtle variations of strategy that make this far more complex than Civ4, at least at the highest levels.

As far as being able to *quickly* link to stuff here, good luck. There's a lot of stuff here but you're pretty much going to have to search for it, no one is going to be able to give it to you on a platter.

As far as population growth, don't build any farms until you're ready, that keeps your pop (except your home planet) limited to 6B. Other than that there's no way to do it. However, you can just simply not worry about your approval and once it gets to 40% the planet will stop growing on it's own.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
can someone help me1 I am a total noob here and don't know how i can play with others in this game.. can someone please put some light on this for me? love to play with you guys if i can ever find you!
Star Control: Origins
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
There is no multiplayer Aloof. The AI has been coded to provide more than a challenge for you. The MV is a high score list, if you will, where one compares their Meta games to others.

IMHO it is the no multiplayer aspect of this game that makes it so good, SD had to make the AI far more powerful and complex compared to other games to provide as good as a challenge as a human opponent would.

I think it has worked.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I couldn't agree more. ;)
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
If GC2 were multi-player, I highly doubt I could ever win. There's always someone better to come along and take you out and that's the guy that always wins. So for me, I'm perfectly happy to play the AI. I can actually beat *them*  ;) 
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Multi-playing option is an oxymoron for more reasons than i can ever list here... but what about a few?

- As stated above, Human playing abilities involve VERY complex "brainy emotions" that no algorithm can truly mimic. Coding an AI takes logic beyond reactive behavior(s) and combines a processing pattern to SIMULATE thought. Humans think differently every fractions of a second, CPUs are somehow limited and won't ever reach that level unless the multi-trillions grid of neurones (including memory/skills/intelligence/soul/etc) can be reproduced exactly. Sure, the AI/workarounds DO provide a challenge... but i doubt anyone can actually code a brain.

- What if Joe-Schmo from Denver or Tokyo has just inflicted me a painful defeat? I'm probably sad or upset, s/he's glad and sticks a tung out. Soooo what!

- Competitive conditions has more to do with gaming principles and features (balanced, effective, interesting) than they could depend on HOW they're tackled by anybody - including AIs and Humans.

- 95% of fun relies on personal definitions & feelings. And not mathematical equations.

- I enjoy keeping track of great scores as it compares in a period of time, from games to games i can improve or decay this "illusion". While every Multi-player games are standalone activities. Once. Never repeated. Final. Where's the growth in that?

Yup, many arguments "against" Multi-playing but lemme mention one last thing; simply, TBS.

- Zyxpsilon.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
If GC2 were multi-player, I highly doubt I could ever win. There's always someone better to come along and take you out and that's the guy that always wins. So for me, I'm perfectly happy to play the AI. I can actually beat *them*   
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You play on obscene it looks like. Thats nothing to sneeze at.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hi!
If GC2 were multi-player, I highly doubt I could ever win. There's always someone better to come along and take you out and that's the guy that always wins.
End of quote

But he's not always there. In some games you are him. ;) Sure the knowledge and skill are needed to compete in MP games, but 4x games aren't chess. Here's also luck involved. Usually an expert player will win 8 out of 10 duels fought with an advanced player. But if it happens he has bad luck with habitable planets (let's say he ends only with a half of expeced planets, what's entirely possible), he simply can not survive that duel with an advanced player with double his planets and economy.

BR, Iztok
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
But he's not always there. In some games you are him.
End of quote

But the thing is, how many games do you have to lose to be on top just once? A lot. I used to play an online TBS game a long time ago and that was always the case. It's more fun playing the AI because you can adjust the difficulty to your own ability. In multi-player, the game difficulty is going to be dependant on the ability of the best player, and that's almost certainly going to be very high.

Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Here's a few noob questions for anyone with time to kill. ;)

Is there any way to upgrade a ship other than "buying" the upgrade in space? For example, can I send it to a planet and "build" the upgrade, similar to how it would work in MOO2?

Is there any way to enhance a ship's repair rate, other than new techs or racial modifiers? 1 hp per week is fine and all for the little ships, but it seems like my bruiser ships in mid-game never get back to full strength before the next battle!

And how do I change my nickname?
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hi!
In multi-player, the game difficulty is going to be dependant on the ability of the best player,
End of quote

Nope. The ability of others to recognize him as a leader and organizing an alliance that will tear him apart.
. Seems in your games there was not much between-turns diplomacy. In Stars! there's usually so much of it, that it takes me half an hour to do my turn, but easily several hours to do all the e-mail or IRC diplomacy. :HOT: It could be such a burden that we have a special no-diplomacy game, where we're forbidden to say anything about the game, but general terms: gen times, pauses, replacements etc.

BR, Iztok
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Is there any way to upgrade a ship other than "buying" the upgrade in space?
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None that i have ever seen.

Is there any way to enhance a ship's repair rate, other than new techs or racial modifiers? 1 hp per week is fine and all for the little ships, but it seems like my bruiser ships in mid-game never get back to full strength before the next battle!
End of quote


Is that whilst in orbit? I always put damaged ships in orbit, i think they repair faster there than in open space, but that could the rate you are talking about to.

And how do I change my nickname?
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Not sure, but it can be done, Kryo will be along shortly to help ya out here. If not pm him. :)
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Alrighty found my old thread and now for some questions :)

1. How is spending calculated? I can put the numbers together for both income and maintainence, but I can't figure out spending. I think one source has to be if your constructing a ship, but I'm sure your improvements costs money too, just how much?

2. Fairly simple question, when you check a specific planet's summary page, are the listings for the amount of production and research given before or after bonuses are applied?

3. My newly colonized planets are very slow when it comes to increasing population. One of the biggest things I noticed were that I was building too much on these planets when the populations were <1.00 and I wouldn't be racking enough income due to this. How can you increase the population early on? I think I read somewhere you can send another colony ship? Would you guys recommend building farms that early on?
Reply #15 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hi!
1. How is spending calculated?
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Check wiki: Military production and Research.

2. are the listings for the amount of production and research given before or after bonuses are applied?
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Before. Only the most basic prodiction is shown. But if you check the planet with a spy, you'll see the max output values with all bonuses included.

3. My newly colonized planets are very slow when it comes to increasing population.
End of quote

Keep approval of them at 100% and you'll have double pop growth. Use colonizers to ferry pop only if you don't have any other planet to settle. Farms only increase pop cap. While your planet is below 6B it's pointless to build a farm.

BR, Iztok